So what is a “Juicy Girl,” anyways?

There are two groups that may be used to categorize juicy girls in Korea: Koreans, and Third-Country Nationals (TCNs).  An earlier post of mine has several links you can use to research the TCNs, so I will concentrate on describing the Korean juicy girls for the sake of brevity.  Just keep in mind when reading about the TCN juicy girls that it is not entirely human trafficking, as the press likes to portray.  Many of them choose to come here again and again because they are making far better money than they would at home, and several of them do support large families.

Native Korean juicy girls can be categorized as follows:

• Old Ho
• Old Pro
• Young Ho
• Young Pro
• No Go

Old Ho.  This represents the older generation of juicy girls that grew up providing services during the ’70s and ’80s.  A system frequently used in those days bears a striking resemblance to the life-long debt system of TCNs trafficked in the ’90s and today.  Poor families, having little use for a daughter in the male-dominated society, would sell their daughters to "mama-san," who would then raise the girl through her school years.  Upon graduation from high school, the young woman would be forced to repay mama-san for rearing her through childhood.  Many of these women who were not purchased by GIs to escape Korea long ago can still be seen in juicy bars throughout Korea, often with heavy makeup and wigs.  They cater to older Korean men and very drunk foreigners.  Many of them have unfortunately become homeless alcoholics.

Old Pro.  This class represents the majority of juicy bar owners.  Some of them are college educated, and several of them are already married (often to a former customer) and have families.  Those who are in the business of owning TCN juicy girls are rigid disciplinarians, often lining their rooftop apartments with concertina razor wire to prevent escape, and beating juicy girls who have a bad day or aren’t charming enough.  Often an old pro chooses to work as bartender so that she can keep an eye and ear on everything.  Behind the counter she keeps a book which records each juicy girl’s number of drinks sold each day.  If a juicy girl falls far behind the others in this race, she may find herself traded or sold to another establishment.  Finally, the old pro sees herself as a senior juicy girl, and will often have loyal customers to whom she caters regularly.  She often dresses quite elegantly and has learned a great deal of English and Japanese over the years.  These juicy girls can often be seen in casinos on or off-post gambling.

Young Ho.  These are the backbone of the juicy girl corps.  More often than not, they have failed the college entrance exams and have been unable to find another source of employment.  Some have divorced, accrued large debts, or in some way dishonored their families to become a pariah and must therefore seek marriage to a foreigner as a ticket out of Korea.  I knew of one who had twice become pregnant by a Pakistani guy; both pregnancies ended in abortion.  Her father was a Korean church minister.  There is no shortage of work in Korea for these girls.  During daytime hours, some of them are the girls you see dancing with miniskirts and over-the-calf leggings in front of newly opened stores or places where a sale is going on.  At night, they become juicy girls or masseuses in the ubiquitous Korean massage parlors (just look for the barber shop poles).

Young Pro.  By far the most successful members of the juicy girl class, these women are the most cleverly deceitful.  Before the prostitution crackdown, many of them were the front-row girls in the red-light districts.  The majority are college graduates or currently enrolled in a college, and their juicy girl job helps them to learn English conversational skills and slang.  Rather than pay money at a hagwon to talk to foreigners, foreigners pay these women to talk with them.  What a bargain!  These juicy girls often lead a double life and have regular jobs during the day working in shopping centers, restaurants, offices, and so on.  Their families seldom know that they are working as juicy girls, so they are able to maintain somewhat strong ties to their family, and even have several Korean friends and a boyfriend or fiance who doesn’t know her secret life.  These women are always looking to the future and have some sort of grand scheme.  An old pro often trusts a young pro enough to put her in charge of many of the manegerial functions of the juicy bar.

No Go.  Just as North Korea has been labeled an "Outpost of Tyranny," South Korea should be labeled an "Outpost of Tranny."  With high-quality, cheap plastic surgery so widely available in Korea, many men have become women and entered the juicy girl trade. 

My next installment of the juicy girl series will describe a typical shift of a juicy girl.