Two Seoul maid cafes booked over illegal live shows

Two maid cafes in Mapo-gu, Seoul, were booked for staging illegal live performances in which young female workers sang and danced to song requests, Seoul’s Mapo Police Station said Friday.

Each performance lasted 30 minutes to an hour and reportedly cost between 15,000 won and 20,000 won ($11-$15).

These performances violate the Food Sanitation Act, which prohibits employees at general restaurants from providing entertainment services such as singing and dancing. Most of the 29 maid cafes currently operating in Mapo-gu are registered as general restaurants.

The cases resulted from a police crackdown on maid cafes in the district from Aug. 12 through Monday. Mapo Police Station said it inspected 19 establishments considered at high risk of regulatory violations.

Officers investigated suspected violations such as allowing underage employees to engage in sexually suggestive conversations, consume alcohol with customers, or entertain them through singing and dancing. They also examined activities outside the cafes, including taking and charging for sticker photos with customers at instant photo booths.

"We will continue to work with the district office to have cafes revise menus that offer potentially illegal services, including live shows, while conducting regular inspections of irregular business activities," a police official said.

Maid cafes first emerged in Korea in the early 2000s but failed to gain a foothold, amid limited interest in Japanese subculture and criticism that they objectified women.

They began reappearing around 2023, first around Hongdae in Mapo-gu, Seoul, before spreading to other parts of the country, including Seomyeon in Busan. A surge in travel to Japan, along with growing exposure to maid cafes through social media platforms, helped bring the culture to a wider Korean audience, officials said.