성매매
Korean edit
Etymology edit
Sino-Korean word from 性賣買 (“prostitution”)
Pronunciation edit
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈsʰɘ(ː)ŋmɛmɛ] ~ [ˈsʰɘ(ː)ŋme̞me̞]
- Phonetic hangul: [성(ː)매매/성(ː)메메]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | seongmaemae |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | seongmaemae |
| McCune–Reischauer? | sŏngmaemae |
| Yale Romanization? | sēngmaymay |
Noun edit
성매매 • (seongmaemae) (hanja 性賣買)
Usage notes edit
Similar to the U.S., where the terms 'prostitution' and 'sex trafficking' are used as if they were interchangeable, the Korean term 'seongmaemae' is, more often than not, used to describe exploitative situations in the sex industry, rather than consensual adult sex work.