A woman in Seoul looks for a "side relationship" to a marriage that has lost its spark. Both are using the Ashley Madison cheating website, which is making a lucrative, controversial splash in South Korea in the wake of a landmark ruling earlier this year that decriminalizes adultery.
So great is the interest here that company executives expect it to be a top-three market globally for them in five years, after the United States and Canada. Executives say a large number of women are signing up, taking advantage of increasing access to disposable cash and the freedom to do what men have always done. Not all is equal, however: The consequences of getting caught remain much greater for women here than they are for men.
Here's a look at how the cheating website's debut shows hints of both change and persistent sexism in this traditionally conservative country. Ashley Madison, which operates in 46 countries and has 36 million members, launched here in April , and within the first two weeks more than 50, people had signed up. Then South Korea shut down the website, citing a six-decade-old anti-adultery law. It was not a shocking move for a country that bars people from viewing pornography or reading rival North Korea's propaganda-filled media, but Ashley Madison sued.
Then, in February, a court separately struck down the anti-adultery law. The ban was lifted, and Ashley Madison again took off. Ashley Madison is seen as the first company in South Korea to aggressively promote itself as a dating website for married people, though other online dating websites and chatting services have long been used as channels for affairs or prostitution.
Among the surprises, the company says, is that more women than men under the age of 45, its most lucrative group, have signed up. Women have a greater economic level and independence than they had previously, so they're able to access the thing they've always wanted but could never do before.
