Once You Cross a Street, You're on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea
Prostitution is the oldest “profession” in the world— that’s what they say. According to Havocsope, total prostitution revenue is $186 billion worldwide, with 40-42 million women prostituted. The number itself is staggering, but the reality is hard to grasp with the statistics only. Bomnal’s memoir Once You Cross a Street, You’ re on the Edge of a Cliff is a personal record of her twenty years in prostitution and a firsthand report of the industry people call “sex trade” with a clear statement that prostitution is not a profession, but oppression. Bomnal’s personal history starkly presents a larger picture of the prostitution industry: how the pimps trap women with “advance payments” ; the physical and sexual abuse of the “clients” ; and the close relationship between the police and brothels. This system built upon the exploitation of women makes it so easy for women to take a step into the industry and much harder to seek escape from it. At this point, the boundary between “forced” versus “voluntary” prostitution is pointless— all it takes is one misstep.
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Once You Cross a Street, You're on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea
Prostitution is the oldest “profession” in the world— that’s what they say. According to Havocsope, total prostitution revenue is $186 billion worldwide, with 40-42 million women prostituted. The number itself is staggering, but the reality is hard to grasp with the statistics only. Bomnal’s memoir Once You Cross a Street, You’ re on the Edge of a Cliff is a personal record of her twenty years in prostitution and a firsthand report of the industry people call “sex trade” with a clear statement that prostitution is not a profession, but oppression. Bomnal’s personal history starkly presents a larger picture of the prostitution industry: how the pimps trap women with “advance payments” ; the physical and sexual abuse of the “clients” ; and the close relationship between the police and brothels. This system built upon the exploitation of women makes it so easy for women to take a step into the industry and much harder to seek escape from it. At this point, the boundary between “forced” versus “voluntary” prostitution is pointless— all it takes is one misstep.
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Once You Cross a Street, You're on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea

Once You Cross a Street, You're on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea

by Bomnal Bomnal
Once You Cross a Street, You're on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea

Once You Cross a Street, You're on the Edge of a Cliff: Surviving the Sex Industry in Korea

by Bomnal Bomnal

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Overview

Prostitution is the oldest “profession” in the world— that’s what they say. According to Havocsope, total prostitution revenue is $186 billion worldwide, with 40-42 million women prostituted. The number itself is staggering, but the reality is hard to grasp with the statistics only. Bomnal’s memoir Once You Cross a Street, You’ re on the Edge of a Cliff is a personal record of her twenty years in prostitution and a firsthand report of the industry people call “sex trade” with a clear statement that prostitution is not a profession, but oppression. Bomnal’s personal history starkly presents a larger picture of the prostitution industry: how the pimps trap women with “advance payments” ; the physical and sexual abuse of the “clients” ; and the close relationship between the police and brothels. This system built upon the exploitation of women makes it so easy for women to take a step into the industry and much harder to seek escape from it. At this point, the boundary between “forced” versus “voluntary” prostitution is pointless— all it takes is one misstep.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781925950922
Publisher: Spinifex Press
Publication date: 07/27/2025
Pages: 304
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bomnal is a Korean writer and anti-prostitution activist. Bomnal is her pen name, meaning “spring day” in Korean. Her memoir Once You Cross a Street, You’ re on the Edge of a Cliff received the 2021 Culture for Sexual Equality Award of Korea.

Table of Contents

Letter to English-speaking Readers Part I. A Long Tunnel Chapter 1: How Did You Get into Prostitution? Chapter 2: At the Age of Eighteen Chapter 3: Second Rounds Chapter 4: Bar Burnout Chapter 5: The Island Beyond Hope Chapter 6: The Glass Room Alley Part II. Finding a Way Back to Myself Chapter 7: Pimps from My Past Chapter 8: Men Buying Women’s Dignity Chapter 9: The Invisible Faces Chapter 10: Who Am I? Chapter 11: Farewell to My Past Chapter 12: Trauma Engraved in My Body Chapter 13 Reinterpreting My Experience Chapter 14: The Silence Around Prostitution Chapter 15: What Was Taken, What I Took Back Epilogue
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