The tradition of South Korea in the matter of massages, it dictates that South Korean masseurs must be completely blind subjects. This has been the case since South Korea was invaded by the Japanese army in 1913. During that time it was established that only people without vision could exercise this profession. Then, in 1946, this law was abolished by the representatives of the postwar government of the United States installed in the Asian country. However, the visually impaired would once again take the exclusivity of the trade in 1963.
This law allows blind people legal autonomy and the assurance that they will have a stable and safe job.. On the other hand, there is the drama of "unauthorized" masseurs who have all their faculties in excellent condition. Many of these "clandestine masseurs" find it necessary to exercise the profession of masseuse in view of hunger and the need for them and their families. The fines for these masseurs, considered criminals, are very high, reaching exorbitant sums of at least $ 450 and a maximum of $ 4,500, in addition to risking spending up to 3 years of their life behind bars, just for exercising a job that it is not your responsibility under South Korean law.
The "legal" masseurs are not able to meet the demand for massages generated by the Asian country, despite this nothing has been done to modify the controversial law. The "illegals" are much more -in numbers- than their "legal" peers, reaching an approximate 120,000 subjects. Park, a masseur who has been working for 25 years relieving pain with his hands, says: “It breaks my heart when I think that what I am doing every day, what I consider my vocation, is a crime. We are not trying to steal jobs from the blind, we just want to share the market. We want to live as normal citizens, not as criminals. '
What is ironic and contradictory about the South Korean constitution is that it offers the choice of free work for its citizens and in turn stipulates that the State is obliged to defend and provide a better quality of life for its disabled. Obviously, an easy and wrong way was chosen, which could nevertheless have a solution. At the moment and since 2003, the law has generated many controversies and confrontations between the two groups of masseurs.
In 2006, a court admitted that the restriction of non-blind people to exercise this work was discriminatory. The protests did not wait. Many blind masseurs jumped off buildings and bridges in protest, resulting in the death of two of them. The two sides continue to this day, clamoring for a new law that satisfies those involved. We bet you didn't know this curious story about Korean masseurs. Now that you know, do you dare to give yourself a massage?