Korean Masseurs Fight for Rights

This is one of these only in Korea stories, from the LA Times:

The law giving only the legally blind the right to become registered masseurs was introduced under Japanese occupation in 1913 and reaffirmed by South Korea 50 years later, a way for the state to give the visually impaired a chance to earn a living in a culture prone to ostracizing the disabled.

But that aim has now collided with South Korea’s constitutional guarantees against discrimination. Masseurs who are not blind and want to offer sports therapy or give facial and foot massages have long complained that the law is biased.

And they have decided to fight.

“Why is our business illegal in Korea when in all other countries around the world it’s perfectly legal?” asks Lee Dong-yup, president of the Korea Meridians Assn., which lobbies for about 300,000 masseurs who are not legally licensed — although many are working anyway, openly and without being harassed by police or inspectors.

Basically what is going on here is that the non-blind masseurs want to legally practice because customers would rather prefer to get a massage from hot and young Korean girl among other benefits and not a 63 year old blind ajumma.