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This is an archive article published on October 27, 2006
S Korea146;s answer: Sex
Condom sales and bookings at several of South Korea8217;s pay-by-the-hour 8220;love motels8221; surged after North Korea8217;s nuclear test, according to statistics released on Thursday.
Seoul | October 27, 2006 12:00 AM IST
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2 min read
Condom sales and bookings at several of South Korea8217;s pay-by-the-hour 8220;love motels8221; surged after North Korea8217;s nuclear test, according to statistics released on Thursday.
South Koreans are used to living in the shadow of war, and life has continued as normal across the country in the wake of the October 9 test. But statistics on the number of condoms sold in recent weeks suggest despite their blase reaction to the North8217;s nuclear bluster, many South Koreans may be seeking solace in sex.
A leading chain of convenience stores reported on Thursday that their condom sales rose to an average of 1,930 a day in the week after October 9, compared to 1,508 a day for the year to Septermber 30.
It was impossible to know whether the increase in sales was directly linked to a heightened sense of vulnerability or stress among South Koreans. However, the head of the Korea Institute for Sex Education, Seong Gyeong-won, said 8220;People tend to have urges to procreate in times of extreme situations.8221;
A popular online reservation site for South Korea8217;s 8220;love motels8221;8212;the popular term for lodgings built for clandestine rendezvous8212;also reported a rise in bookings immediately after the heightened security threat, according to a report in the mass-circulation newspaper Chobun Ilbo.
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