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Website Offering Intimate Encounters With Koreans And K-Drama-Style Dates Under Investigation
Interview With ExpertA website selling different dates with Korean men in Brazil, including intimate encounters in motels, has sparked serious concern among authorities.
The man behind the website has been identified as Rikito Morikawa, a Japanese national who allegedly recruited young Korean men for the illegal business.
The site, Kdramadate, targets fans of South Korean television series popularly known as K-dramas, many of which focus on romantic relationships.
Highlights
- A website offering paid dates with Korean men in Brazil has come under investigation.
- The website, Kdramadate, was reportedly run by a 23-year-old Japanese national who also worked as a "rental boyfriend."
- It offered four packages, which included coffee dates and intimate encounters in motels.
These shows have garnered a robust global fanbase over the past decades, with Netflix both streaming numerous Korean dramas and funding the production of new ones.
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Brazilian authorities are investigating a website that sold paid dates with Korean men, including motel encounters
Image credits: Prime Video
Kdramadate is now under investigation for s*xual exploitation. According to G1, the website invited potential clients to “live their K-drama fantasy” by paying them to spend time with a Korean man in São Paulo.
The website offered four packages: a coffee shop date in the city, dinner at a traditional Korean steakhouse, a stroll through the park, or an intimate experience in a motel or private residence.
It also promised clients that they would have lines from popular TV series whispered to them or that they would pose for a K-drama-style photoshoot with their “date.”
Image credits: Unsplash
The commercialization of these encounters has reportedly drawn the attention of the Consulate General of the Republic of South Korea in São Paulo and the Brazilian Association of Koreans, who are investigating the matter.
A screenshot submitted as a complaint to the consulate showed Rikito explaining that the price for one hour of an intimate encounter was R$ 70 ($13), while three hours would cost R$ 170 ($30).
The website also featured “testimonials” from alleged clients who claimed to have purchased the packages and spent time with the “oppa.”
The platform, called Kdramadate, was allegedly operated by Rikito Morikawa, a 23-year-old Japanese national
Image credits: Netflix
“Relive the magic of K-dramas with your oppa. Tours of iconic scenes and unforgettable experiences in a romantic setting in São Paulo,” read the Kdramadate site.
The literal definition of “oppa” in Korean is “older brother.” However, beyond the literal meaning, the term is often used among romantic couples in Korea, and women use it to refer to men older than they are, Dr. Min Joo Lee, Professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College, told Bored Panda.
Image credits: Unsplash
According to Dr. Lee, K-dramas construct a specific type of masculinity that influences how non-Koreans view Korean men.
“I don’t think K-dramas intentionally aim to construct such idealized images for foreign audiences. After all, romantic K-dramas have been, for the most part, entertainment primarily written by and for Korean women,” she explained.
“However, for some foreign viewers who do not have access to the different varieties of Korean masculinity, it may be easier to assume that the dramatized masculinity is the only type of Korean masculinity, and that it accurately reflects real-life masculinity.”
The site offered packages ranging from casual coffee dates to intimate encounters in motels or houses
Image credits: Unsplash
Associating only that type of masculinity to all Korean men results in racial and s*xual fetishization, the professor explained.
“After all, the definition of fetishism is to boil the nuances and complexities of a culture or an ethnicity down to an easily consumable simplification.”
Grace Jung, the author of K-Drama School, explained that these series target a hetero cis-female audience, and that its male characters are projections of the female screenwriters’ “idealized fantasies.”
Image credits: Netflix
“Such men typically tend to be gentle, loving, attentive, and available to women’s needs and emotions. In general, they also tend to be financially wealthy, politically influential, handsome, and/or physically fit,” Jung added.
The Consulate General of the Republic of South Korea issued its first alert about Kdramdate on October 23, asking potential victims to get in touch.
Days later, the agency stated that, upon analyzing testimonies and further evidence, it had determined that the website involved the crime of s*xual exploitation.
Authorities discovered the company falsely listed a cultural center as its address
Image credits: Unsplash
In Brazil, pr*stitution is defined as the act of offering s*xual services and it’s legal as long as it’s practiced by adults. It also allows for contributions to the INSS (Brazilian Social Security Institute).
In contrast, s*xual exploitation is illegal and involves the commercialization of s*xual services provided by someone else, whether that person is an adult or a minor.
Bruno Kim, the president of the Brazilian Association of Koreans, told G1 that he and Rafael Kang, a criminal lawyer from the consulate, went to the address published by Kdramadate and discovered it was not the company’s headquarters, but another building, the Hiroshima Cultural Center.
Image credits: Netflix
The cultural center then sent an extrajudicial notification to Rikito, who removed the address from the website and replaced it with another one.
According to the lawyer, at least ten young people of Korean descent were invited by Rikito to work with him via Instagram, WhatsApp, and phone calls.
Rikito, a 23-year-old from Hiroshima, described himself on the website as an “international model with roots that blend Korean and Japanese charm, fluent in 4 languages, and passionate about Brazilian culture,” as per G1. He also said he “brings the magic of K-dramas to real life.”
Clients were promised scripted romantic gestures, including their date whispering lines from famous series
Image credits: Unsplash
Kim credited K-pop and K-dramas with significantly increasing the visibility of Korean culture in Brazil, but lamented that this interest was, in some cases, followed by initiatives that “exploit this fascination in a questionable way.”
“I have a deep concern for the reputation of the community in Brazil. It is essential to preserve the cultural integrity and trust built over decades since we arrived in Brazil in 1963, ensuring that situations like this do not happen again,” he stated.
Rikito reportedly left Brazil after his residency was revoked
Image credits: rikito.morikawa
Amid the investigation, Rikito has reportedly returned to Japan after the General Coordination of Labor Immigration canceled his residence permit. He also shut down the website earlier this month.
His lawyer stated the young man, just like the people he intended to recruit, worked as a “rental boyfriend,” taking people to parks and motels.
Kang, the criminal lawyer at the South Korean Consulate, celebrated that the case was made public in time to scare Rikito away and to ensure there were “no real victims.”
“I am still in contact with a police officer and we will continue to monitor the situation,” he stated.
People described the website as “bizarre” and “dangerous”
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What do you think ?
Rika 1 hour ago
I see no issue with it, everyone is of legal age and able to consent. It's not even a new thing: wealthy Asian women visiting Northern Europe love to buy drinks and stuff for men with blond hair and blue eyes in exchange for their company. There's no s*x involved, they just like to strut around with a "real" Viking carrying their shopping bags.
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 1 hour ago
I can not decide if this is ridiculous or just "what is the problem?". Maybe both
Apatheist Account2 1 hour ago
I see no problem with this at all. Who is being exploited? As long as they are safe and appropriately rewarded, what's the problem? I've never really understood why earning "immorally" is fine, but "living off immoral earnings" isn't. I think this is outdated moralising and it should just be seen as another job, subject to regulation and tax like anything else (although quite how one enforces quality standards, I'm not sure). Of course it's open to corruption, but in civilised countries I really can't see any reason not to allow this.
Rika 1 hour ago
I see no issue with it, everyone is of legal age and able to consent. It's not even a new thing: wealthy Asian women visiting Northern Europe love to buy drinks and stuff for men with blond hair and blue eyes in exchange for their company. There's no s*x involved, they just like to strut around with a "real" Viking carrying their shopping bags.
Geobugi🇰🇷🇰🇭 1 hour ago
I can not decide if this is ridiculous or just "what is the problem?". Maybe both
Apatheist Account2 1 hour ago
I see no problem with this at all. Who is being exploited? As long as they are safe and appropriately rewarded, what's the problem? I've never really understood why earning "immorally" is fine, but "living off immoral earnings" isn't. I think this is outdated moralising and it should just be seen as another job, subject to regulation and tax like anything else (although quite how one enforces quality standards, I'm not sure). Of course it's open to corruption, but in civilised countries I really can't see any reason not to allow this.
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