生活艱難，韓國(guó)老人走上賣淫之路

　　Koreans could once be sure that their children would look after them in their old age, but no longer - many of those who worked hard to transform the country's economy find the next generation has other spending priorities. As a result, some elderly women are turning to prostitution.

　　Kim Eun-ja sits on the steps at Seoul's Jongno-3 subway station, scanning the scene in front of her. The 71-year-old's bright lipstick and shiny red coat stand out against her papery skin.

　　Beside her is a large bag, from which comes the clink of glass bottles as she shifts on the cold concrete.

　　Mrs Kim is one of South Korea's "Bacchus Ladies" - older women who make a living by selling tiny bottles of the popular Bacchus energy drink to male customers.

　　But often that's not all they're selling. At an age when Korean grandmothers are supposed to be venerated as matriarchs, some are selling sex.

　　"You see those Bacchus Ladies standing over there?" she asks me. "Those ladies sell more than Bacchus. They sometimes go out with the grandpas and earn money from them. But I don't make a living like that.

　　"Men do proposition me when I'm standing in the alleyway," she adds. "But I always say, 'No.'"

　　Mrs Kim says she makes about 5,000 Won ($5, or ￡3) a day selling the drinks. "Drink up fast," she says. "The police are always watching me. They don't differentiate."

　　The centre of this underground sex trade is a nearby park in the heart of Seoul. Jongmyo Park is a place where elderly men come to while away their sunset years with a little chess and some local gossip.

　　It's built around a temple to Confucius, whose ideas on venerating elders have shaped Korean culture for centuries. But under the budding trees outside, the fumbling transactions of its elderly men and women tell the real story of Korean society in the 21st Century.

　　Women in their 50s, 60, even their 70s, stand around the edges of the park, offering drinks to the men. Buy one, and it's the first step in a lonely journey that ends in a cheap motel nearby.

　　The men in the park are more willing to talk to me than the women.

　　Standing around a game of Korean chess, a group of grandfathers watch the match intently. About half the men here use the Bacchus Ladies, they say.

　　"We're men, so we're curious about women," says 60-year-old Mr Kim.

　　"We have a drink, and slip a bit of money into their hands, and things happen!" he cackles. "Men like to have women around - whether they're old or not, sexually active or not. That's just male psychology."

　　Another man, 81 years old, excitedly showed me his spending money for the day. "It's for drinking with my friends," he said. "We can find girlfriends here, too - from those women standing over there. They'll ask us to play with them. They say, 'Oh, I don't have any money,' and then they glue on to us. Sex with them costs 20,000 to 30,000 Won (￡11-17), but sometimes they'll give you a discount if they know you."

　　South Korea's grandparents are victims of their country's economic success.

　　As they worked to create Korea's economic miracle, they invested their savings in the next generation. In a Confucian society, successful children are the best form of pension.

　　But attitudes here have changed just as fast as living standards, and now many young people say they can't afford to support themselves and their parents in Korea's fast-paced, highly competitive society.

　　The government, caught out by this rapid change, is scrambling to provide a welfare system that works. In the meantime, the men and women in Jongmyo Park have no savings, no realistic pension, and no family to rely on. They've become invisible - foreigners in their own land

　　"Those who rely on their children are stupid," says Mr Kim. "Our generation was submissive to our parents. We respected them. The current generation is more educated and experienced, so they don't listen to us.

　　"I'm 60 years old and I don't have any money. I can't trust my children to help. They're in deep trouble because they have to start preparing for their old age. Almost all of the old folks here are in the same situation."

　　Most Bacchus women have only started selling sex later in life, as a result of this new kind of old-age poverty, according to Dr Lee Ho-Sun, who is perhaps the only researcher to have studied them in detail.

　　One woman she interviewed first turned to prostitution at the age of 68. About 400 women work in the park, she says, all of whom will have been taught as children that respect and honour were worth more than anything.

　　"One Bacchus woman said to me 'I'm hungry, I don't need respect, I don't need honour, I just want three meals a day," Lee says.

　　Police, who routinely patrol the area but are rarely able to make an arrest, privately say this problem will never be solved by crackdowns, that senior citizens need an outlet for stress and sexual desire, and that policy needs to change.

　　But law-enforcement isn't the only problem.

　　Inside those bags the Bacchus Ladies carry is the source of a hidden epidemic: a special injection supposed to help older men achieve erections - delivered directly into the vein. Dr Lee confirms that the needles aren't disposed of afterwards, but used again - 10 or 20 times.

　　The results, she says, can be seen in one local survey, which found that almost 40% of the men tested had a sexually transmitted disease despite the fact that some of the most common diseases weren't included in the test. With most sex education classes aimed at teenagers, this has the makings of a real problem. Some local governments have now begun offering sex education clinics especially for seniors.

　　Hidden in a dingy warren of alleyways in central Seoul, is the place where these lonely journeys end - the narrow corridors of a "love motel" and one of the grey rooms which open off them.

　　Inside, a large bed takes up most of the space, its thin mattress and single pillow hardly inviting a long night's sleep. On the bed-head is a sticker: for room service press zero; for pornography press three; and if you want the electric blanket, you'll find the wire on the far side of the bed.

　　So here you have food, sex, and even a little warmth all at the touch of a button. If only it were that simple outside the motel room, in South Korea's rich, hi-tech society.

　　But for the grandparents who built its fearsome economy, food is expensive, sex is cheap, and human warmth rarely available at any price.

　　據(jù)英國(guó)廣播公司網(wǎng)站(BBC)報(bào)道，韓國(guó)人過(guò)去可以肯定等他們老了，他們的子女會(huì)照顧他們，但是現(xiàn)在不行了——那些許多曾辛勤工作改變國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)的人發(fā)現(xiàn)下一代有其它更需要花錢的地方。以至于一些老年婦女走上了賣淫這條路。

　　金恩子(音譯)坐在首爾鐘路3號(hào)地鐵站的臺(tái)階上，掃視著眼前的景象。她今年71歲，鮮艷的口紅和鮮紅的外套將她襯得更顯得蒼白如紙。

　　她旁邊放著一個(gè)大包，她在冰冷的混凝土地上動(dòng)一下，包里的玻璃瓶就叮當(dāng)作響。

　　金夫人是韓國(guó)“巴克斯酒女”的一員——老年婦女靠向男性推銷巴克斯酒(Bacchus，一種功能飲料)為生。

　　但是通常他們不只賣酒。在本該被尊為家里的女性長(zhǎng)輩的年紀(jì)里，有些韓國(guó)老年婦女卻在賣淫。

　　“看見站在那里的那些巴克斯酒女了嗎?”她問(wèn)我。“那些婦女不只賣巴克斯。他們有時(shí)候和老男人出去，掙他們的錢。但我不干這種營(yíng)生。”

　　“我站在小巷里賣酒的時(shí)候也有男人提出要跟我過(guò)夜，”她又說(shuō)道，“但我都會(huì)說(shuō)‘不。’”

　　金夫人說(shuō)她每天賣酒能掙5000韓元(人民幣31元)。“快點(diǎn)喝，”她說(shuō)。“警察總是盯著我，他們不管我是不是也做這種事。”

　　“巴克斯女郎”的地下性交易據(jù)點(diǎn)是首爾市中心附近的宗廟公園。老年人常到這里下棋，聊聊家長(zhǎng)里短消磨時(shí)間。

　　公園在孔廟附近，孔子尊老的思想幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)塑造了韓國(guó)文化。但是，在這些青蔥翠綠的樹下，這些老年男女偷偷摸摸的交易是21世紀(jì)韓國(guó)社會(huì)的真實(shí)寫照。

　　50歲、60歲、甚至70多歲的老年婦女站在公園邊上，向男人推銷酒水。買一瓶酒，接下來(lái)就是去附近廉價(jià)的汽車旅館過(guò)夜了。

　　公園里的男人更愿意跟我而不是跟那些婦女交談。

　　一群老爺爺圍著一盤韓國(guó)象棋，專注地看著棋局。他們說(shuō)，這里一半的男人找過(guò)巴克斯酒女。

　　“我們是男人，所以我們對(duì)女人有好奇心，”60歲的金先生說(shuō)。

　　“我們買點(diǎn)酒，然后塞點(diǎn)錢到她們手里，接下來(lái)的事就順理成章了!”他咯咯笑著說(shuō)。“男人都喜歡女人圍著自己，不管他們年紀(jì)多大，性欲強(qiáng)烈與否。這就是男人的心理。”

　　另一個(gè)81歲的老人興奮地和我說(shuō)他有一天花錢找巴克斯酒女的事。“我是為了和朋友們喝酒，”他說(shuō)。“我們可以從站在那里的女人里找女朋友。他們要我和她們玩。她們說(shuō)，‘哦，我沒(méi)錢，’然后她們就黏上來(lái)了。和她們上床要花2-3萬(wàn)韓元(人民幣122-183元)，不過(guò)如果她們認(rèn)識(shí)你，有時(shí)會(huì)給你打折。”

　　老年人是韓國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)成功發(fā)展的犧牲品。

　　他們?cè)谂ぷ鲃?chuàng)造韓國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)奇跡的同時(shí)，將積蓄投資給了下一代。在儒學(xué)社會(huì)中，成功的子女是最好的養(yǎng)老保障。

　　但是，隨著生活水平的快速提高，觀念也在迅速改變?，F(xiàn)如今，很多韓國(guó)年輕人說(shuō)，在這個(gè)快節(jié)奏、競(jìng)爭(zhēng)激烈的社會(huì)里，他們連自己都養(yǎng)不起，更別說(shuō)養(yǎng)父母了。

　　政府在社會(huì)的快速轉(zhuǎn)變中暴露了短板，倉(cāng)促間要提供一個(gè)行之有效的福利制度。與此同時(shí)，宗廟里的老年男女沒(méi)有積蓄，沒(méi)有養(yǎng)老金，也沒(méi)有家人可以依靠。他們?yōu)樯鐣?huì)所忽視，就像生活在自己故土的外國(guó)人。

　　“那些依靠子女的人都是傻子，”金先生說(shuō)。“我們這代人對(duì)父母唯命是從，我們尊敬他們?，F(xiàn)在這一代人教育水平更高，經(jīng)歷得也多，所以他們不聽我們的了。”

　　“我60歲了，也沒(méi)錢。我不指望孩子養(yǎng)我。他們還要為自己年老準(zhǔn)備，都自顧不暇了。這里幾乎所有的老人都是這樣的情況。”

　　據(jù)李善皓(音譯)博士稱，因?yàn)檫@種新型的老年貧困，大多數(shù)巴克斯酒女到老年才開始賣淫，李博士可能是唯一一位詳細(xì)研究她們的學(xué)者。

　　她走訪的第一個(gè)婦女68歲開始賣淫。她說(shuō)，大約有400名婦女在宗廟公園里進(jìn)行性交易，所有這些人從小就被教育尊敬和名譽(yù)比任何事都重要。

　　“一個(gè)巴克斯酒女跟我說(shuō)，‘我餓，我不需要尊敬，不需要面子，我只想要一日三餐，’”李博士說(shuō)。

　　警察會(huì)按時(shí)在這片巡邏，但是很少抓他們，他們自己也說(shuō)這個(gè)問(wèn)題不能通過(guò)強(qiáng)制來(lái)解決，老年人也需要釋放壓力和性欲的出口，這項(xiàng)政策需要改變。

　　但是執(zhí)法不是唯一的問(wèn)題。

　　巴克斯酒女拎的包里裝的是隱藏的傳染病原：一種可以幫老年人重振雄風(fēng)的特殊藥劑，可直接注射到靜脈。李博士證實(shí)，這些針管使用后不會(huì)被處理，而是再繼續(xù)使用10到20次。

　　李博士說(shuō)，在當(dāng)?shù)氐囊豁?xiàng)調(diào)查里可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，在接受測(cè)試的人，40%的男性染有性傳播疾病，一些在生活中常見的疾病并沒(méi)有納入測(cè)試中。大多數(shù)性教育課程主要針對(duì)青少年，老年人不在教育行列，由此產(chǎn)生這一現(xiàn)實(shí)問(wèn)題。一些當(dāng)?shù)卣_始提供專為老年人開設(shè)的性教育診所。

　　隱藏在首爾中心城區(qū)昏暗而又狹窄擁擠的小巷里的是這些寂寞旅程的終點(diǎn)站——“愛情旅館”的狹窄走廊和其中一個(gè)開著門的灰色房間。

　　房間里，一張大床占據(jù)了大部分空間，薄薄的床墊和孤零零的枕頭伴人度過(guò)艱難的漫漫長(zhǎng)夜。床頭上貼著一張紙：客房服務(wù)按0，色情服務(wù)按3，電熱毯的電線在床的另一邊。

　　所以在這里，只要一個(gè)按鍵，就有食物、性，甚至些許溫暖。要是汽車旅館房間外面的韓國(guó)富裕、高科技的社會(huì)也是這樣簡(jiǎn)單就好了。

　　但是對(duì)于那些為如今冷漠無(wú)情的經(jīng)濟(jì)做出貢獻(xiàn)的老年人來(lái)說(shuō)，食物是昂貴的，性是廉價(jià)的，而人與人之間的溫情不論多少價(jià)錢也得不到。