Imported Prostitutes Don't Need HIV Testing, But English Teachers Do

I have been in South Korea for more over a year and a half now.  In this time, I have been forced to have three HIV tests done on me.  The first when I got here.  The second when I wanted to renew my contract (you know, in case I spontaneously got it while only living in Korea).  The third was a mandated government physical that my schools told me that every government employee in Korea must get every two years for health insurance reasons.  They included an HIV test for me because I was a foreigner, but I am guessing they do not give the test to regular Korean teachers.

Many international human rights groups have been slamming South Korea the last two years for screening foreign work visas against people with HIV/AIDS.  I personally do not mind being tested.  I wish everyone was tested, and then everyone was educated about the dangers and health risks of the disease.  There is no reason why a person with HIV/AIDS cannot be a teacher in any country.  HIV/AIDS cannot be spread through sweat, tears, saliva, breathing, or by mosquitoes.  So, people need to calm down.

I would have no problem having an HIV/AIDS coworker or school teacher of my children.  I would shake their hand.  I would give them a hug if they needed it.  They are still a human being and a lot of good people in this world have the disease through no fault of their own (rape, contaminated blood transfusions, significant other cheated on them).

But then you read news such as this... and you just recall how backwards Korea thinking still is.  The article was on the Korea Times, and I got it via Brian:

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will scrap compulsory human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests for foreigners seeking to acquire an entertainer’s E-6 visa, and workers renewing their E-9 visas here. 

However, the tests will still be required of those seeking E-2 language teaching visas.

Currently, those who are applying to come to Korea on the E-6 visa for more than 91 days should either submit HIV testing, or take a test within 72 hours on arrival. 

The E-6 is issued to those seeking to work in bars, in hotels as singers or dancers, and athletes playing for local sports teams. About 4,000 such visas are issued every year.

Those on the employment permit system, the E-9 visa, will also no longer have to submit results or be tested to renew their residency.

The health authorities will submit a revised bill to the National Assembly for approval in the near future.

“We’ve decided to ease the rules as HIV is not transmitted through air or water but through human contact most of the time,” ministry official Jeong Eun-gyeong said, explaining the reason behind the revision.

The move came as the HIV rules have been criticized by international civic groups and others. In May last year, former Health Minister Jeon Jae-hee was advised by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to scrap the system. [...]

However, the latest move is likely to spark more disputes over the continued testing requirement for E-2 visa applicants and holders. 

“Education is considered a very intimate relationship. According to an unofficial survey by the Prime Minister’s Office, the majority of parents wanted solid evidence of their children’s teachers’ HIV status,” said an official of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. 

“The continuation does not mean the government regards foreign teachers to be HIV positive or have the potential of transmission ― it is just intended to assure the parents. We are considering revisions in this area, too,” he added. [...]

Except continuation of the testing of English teachers DOES mean that the government regards foreign teachers to be a high risk group for transmitting HIV.  This is completely ignorant and ass backwards.  Foreign women from poorer countries, like China and SE Asia, who are brought here to be entertainers and sex slaves to Korean business men no longer need to be tested for HIV, but educated, college degree holding English teachers need to.  Astonishing!

I then also just read this in Extra! Korea this same week!

Police in Busan have arrested a 19-year-old* girl, Ahn, who had sex with 20 men despite knowing that she was HIV positive. It looks like she was engaging in “wonjo kyoje” (원조교제), so-called “compensated dating,” in which men pay schoolgirls for sex. The kicker in this story?

She [Ahn] reportedly said that she suggested using condoms, but they refused to do so.

What could be the cause of such a rash attitude? Lack of sex eduction? Naivity? The desire to experience the “full pleasure”? I bet Grand Narrative could write a lengthy post.

* I’m not sure if this is by East Asian age or international age. If the former, she could be as young as 17.

Koreans have a problem here.  Prostitution amongst Korean men is the problem, not native English speakers.  I hope the wives of these twenty men who paid to have unprotected sex with an HIV positive 17 year old girl realize that it is their fathers, husbands, and brothers who are more of a risk to their children than foreign English teachers.