Reference
Glossary
48 terms that recur across the country and city pages, defined without euphemism. Includes statutory names, jurisdiction- specific vocabulary (soapland, room salon, one-woman brothel, yellow card), industry vocabulary (bar fine, KTV, fuzoku), and named organisations (DSC Clinic, Empower Foundation, SWASH, COSWAS).
Showing 5 terms starting with K.
KabukichoJapanJapanese
歌舞伎町, the entertainment district in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Highest-density of cabaret clubs, hostess clubs, host clubs, fashion-health establishments. Centre of the bottakuri scam pattern.
kissaten / kiss roomJapan, KoreaJapanese / Korean
Originally Japanese 喫茶店 (coffee shop). Korean 키스방 ('kiss room') is a separate category — a venue offering limited paid intimacy on the legal fiction that no 'intercourse' occurs.
KoganechoJapanJapanese
黄金町, Yokohama. From the 1950s housed an estimated 250 small unlicensed brothels under the Keikyū railway arches, mostly staffed by Thai, Filipino and Colombian workers. Closed by a coordinated 2005 Kanagawa Prefectural Police sweep; redeveloped as artist studios.
KTVKorea, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, IndonesiaEnglish (regional)
Karaoke television. Private-room karaoke with hostess service. Licensed entertainment in most jurisdictions; sexual services privately negotiated outside the licensing.
KUHP 2023 / 2026IndonesiaIndonesian / English
Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana, the revised Indonesian Criminal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023, in force January 2026). Article 411-413 criminalise extramarital sex generally, complaint-based, penalties up to one year. Affects tourists.
See also the FAQ, comparative legal table, scam catalogue, and nightlife districts.