THE REALITIES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING EVIDENT IN S KOREA AS A LIFE FOR FAME AS A SINGER IS COERCE INTO A CLUB BAR SERVICE USED TO SERVICE FOREIGN WORKERS IN KOREA FROM SRI LANKA, BANGLADESH, THAILAND, AND TURKEY AS ONE OF MANY GIRLS INCLUDING A PHILIPPINE GIRL SPIRALS INTO A CALL GIRL WORK FORCED BY ITS OWNERS FOR THE SAKE OF MONEY MAKING TO ITS EVENTUAL PERFORMING OF SEX FAVORS - IS THIS KOREA'S 21ST CENTURY COMFORT WOMEN FORM OF SLAVERY

……Controversial E-6 Visa
Aquino, who currently stays at a shelter with three of her colleagues, is one of some 4,500 foreign workers who arrive in Korea with the notorious E-6 Entertainment Visa each year.
The visa is issued to foreign athletes and dancers and singers who wish to work in tourist hotels, bars and clubs in Korea. Yet according to last year’s survey by the National Human Rights Commission, 70 percent of female E-6 holders have experienced sexual abuse at least once during their stay here. Many of them become victims of sex trafficking.
In spite of the visa’s reputation, the number of E-6 holders increased from 4,246 in 2011 to 4,940 in 2013. The number of E-6 visa holders who eventually became illegal immigrants has risen as well, from 1,446 to 1,504. The government estimates that about 70 percent of the current E-6 holders are from the Philippines.
For Aquino, Korea was a land of opportunities. Back home in Cagayan de Oro, she worked as a telemarketer while singing part time for events such as weddings.
Aquino, who holds a degree in hotel management, earned about 250,000 won a month. It sounded promising to go to Korea and sing full time. That way, she could support her 3-month-old daughter better, she thought.
After a few sessions with brokers and singing in front of officers at the Korean consulate to “prove her vocal skills,” she left her baby to her ex-boyfriend to move to Korea.
Before leaving the Philippines, without telling her why, her brokers deftly glued together two pages of her passport, hiding her E-6 visa before they took two layovers in Iloilo, in the Philippines, and Hong Kong.
“I asked them why we aren’t taking a direct flight to Seoul, and they just said because it’s cheaper to (take multiple flights),” Aquino said.
It was only after she came to Korea that Aquino learned about the existence of the Overseas Employment Certificate issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Under current Filipino laws, those who have obtained an E-6 visa from the Korean government must obtain the OEC in order to leave the Philippines.
Those with the E-6 but without the OEC are banned from leaving the Philippines at all international ports in the country. Getting an E-6 visa from the Korean authorities without an OEC, however, is no problem.
“Many brokers use a simple trick of sticking two passport pages together at the airport in the Philippines,” said Kim Jong-chul, a lawyer who represents Aquino and her colleagues.
It is believed to be a frequently used tactic by the brokers to fly out with the women in the Philippines as tourists, thereby not needing an OEC, and then enter Korea with an E-6 visa.
“I believe the OEC is only issued when the government of the Philippines has verified that the Korean workplace is safe and legitimate after an inspection by their Seoul-based officers. I think the Filipino government is working hard to protect its citizens, but it should work with its Korean counterpart so such brokers can’t maneuver around the system so easily,” said Kim.
None of the four women staying at the shelter said they knew anything about the OEC before leaving the Philippines.
Trisha Ramos, one of the four, still remembers the moment that made her feel utterly helpless while staying at the detention center.
“I called the Embassy of the Philippines (in Seoul) for help,” she said.
“They said they cannot help me because I’m illegal ― because I don’t have the OEC.”…….
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150615000845