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\nWhen entrepreneur Lee Hee-tae told his parents he was going into the porn business, he urged them not to worry about social disapproval in conservative South Korea and to think about the money instead.
The financial case, he said, was clear: built-in domestic demand plus a growing global fascination with South Korea, thanks to booming K-pop and K-drama exports.
However, due to deeply conservative social mores, South Korea\u2019s adult industry is a minnow compared to neighboring Japan.
It produces around 2,000 adult movies a year, compared with what Lee\u2019s research indicates is 2,000 a day made by Tokyo\u2019s $36.5-billion-dollar behemoth.
That, Lee said, is not only a lost opportunity but a personal tragedy for many South Koreans who are unable to properly discuss sex, desire, and sexuality because of its \u201ctaboo\u201d nature.
\u201cI\u2019d like South Korea to be more open about sex,\u201d said Lee, whose adult content company Play Joker recently moved from making movies towards hosting live events.<\/p>\n