- Victory for civil rights or a setback for public morals? You decide.
Are you currently in South Korea and looking to get your rocks off with a foreign, artificial lover? If so, we’re not sure why you’re reading this, but boy do we have good news for you.
You can now legally import a foreign-made sex doll into South Korea.
The East Asian country’s customs officials have clarified their guidelines regarding sex doll imports. So far, they’ve stopped the amorous artificial aliens at the border based on a more-or-less liberal interpretation of South Korea’s morality laws.
However, the legal basis for their actions has been murky at best. Now, due to several lawsuits and subsequent rulings from various judges, Korea Customs Service has given in.
Or maybe they just got tired of constantly fighting over humanoid sex toys.
The Foreign Ones Are Just Better
Despite the fact that it was almost impossible for South Koreans to import sex dolls, they are actually legal in the country. You can freely purchase a Korean-made sex doll as the authorities are very unlikely to crack down on them.
There’s just one issue with Korean dolls — at least if you believe the people selling their foreign competitors. Lee Sang-jin, the manager of an online sex doll importer Carenshare, told AP News that the quality of foreign dolls is far superior to Korean ones.
That’s why South Korean sex doll enthusiasts want to purchase their lovers from abroad, we suppose. And technically, they could always do that — there’s no law in South Korea that specifically prohibits the import of sex dolls.
However, there’s another law that has proven difficult. South Korea has an umbrella law that bans the import of any and all goods, products, or materials that “harm the country’s beautiful traditions and public morals.”
And according to the Korea Customs Service, foreign sex dolls do just that.
Based on this legal clause, customs officials have seized more than 1,000 sex dolls since 2018 — and potentially thousands more. We assume they may not be keeping an exact tally.
Judges Defending Dolls
As you might expect, the drought of foreign sex dolls has been a massive turnoff for both South Korean sex doll users and their imports. So, they went to court.
And then they did it again, and again. All to defend people’s right to do it again and again with their dolls.
In a surprising twist (at least to us) the judges actually sided with the sex doll importers. In one ruling after another, the judges determined that it wasn’t the customs office’s or the state’s business what people did with sex dolls in private.
Additionally, the courts declared that sex doll use doesn’t “undermine human dignity.”
Due to the decisions, Korea Customs Service on December 26 announced that it had adopted a revised guideline for sex doll imports. South Koreans can now import an artificial foreign lover freely.
Additionally, the customs agency is slowly releasing confiscated sex dolls to businesses and individuals. However, it’s unlikely that all of them will find their intended owners, due to the high number of seized dolls.
But the customs agency hasn’t okayed all sex dolls. It still says that it will stop any dolls that resemble children or certain real people — just like the U.S., Australia, and the U.K.
Seems reasonable.
Naughtiness is Verboten
The sex doll seizures are only one part of South Korea’s struggle to uphold good morals in the country. And considering the Korean authorities’ attitudes toward pornography, we’re surprised the dolls are allowed at all.
South Korea doesn’t technically ban pornography, but it is effectively forbidden. Displaying, selling, and distributing porn is illegal in South Korea.
However, you can legally watch and possess pornography. So, it’s okay for you to watch some naughty entertainment — but good luck trying to get your hands on it.
Foreign online porn sites are blocked in South Korea. Search engines are also required to filter around 700 terms the Korean government deems to be of “adult” nature and therefore unacceptable.
But maybe you think this law is unjust and set up an unauthorized, South Korea-based porn site. Good on you but your site is likely to be shut down very quickly and you risk going to jail for up to a year.
Korean attitudes are slowly changing — as evidenced by the sex doll import change — but don’t expect the pace to pick up. In fact, roughly a quarter million people have called for an outright ban on the dolls.
Due to the judges’ decisions, though, it seems Koreans are free to order their dolls from abroad for the foreseeable future.
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