'Adult festival' faces backlash from women's advocacy organizations, civic groups

Korean women's advocacy organizations and civic groups protest an opening of an "adult festival" featuring Japanese pornography actresses over its potentially negative impact on sexual exploitation.

Women's organization members hold a press conference in front of the Suwon Station on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Korean women's advocacy organizations and civic groups protest an opening of an "adult festival" featuring Japanese pornography actresses over its potentially negative impact on sexual exploitation.

The festival, titled “2024 K-XF The Fashion,” set to be held from April 20 to 21, will host a lingerie show of the actresses and accept age-verified people with the charge of entrance fees.

“We strongly condemn ‘2024 K-XF The Fashion’ as it sexually commercializes female body and sexual activities,” the organizations said during a press conference in front of the Suwon Station on Tuesday.

Suwon-based social organizations, including seven women's right organizations and some 30 civic groups, participated in the press meeting.

“[The festival] is simply an event where it makes it natural for men to satisfy their sexual desire through prostitution and sexually exploiting females,” an organization speaker said. “Opening a festival exploiting and commercializing women should be immediately put to a halt.”

This year's festival will be the second to be held. Its previous one was held in December last year in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi.

Visitors will be able to get autographs from the Japanese pornography actresses, alongside watching the lingerie show.

“We're expecting 100,000 visitors this year, considering 1,000 visitors came to the Gwangmyeong event last year,” a Suwon City Hall official said. “We are unable to intervene as the event is taking place at a private exhibition hall. However, we ask for citizens to refrain from participating as we also see that it will have a negative impact on adolescent education.”

BY LEE HAY-JUNE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]