First ever sex festival to be held in South Korea is cancelled after Japanese porn stars due to attend feared they would be KILLED due to public outcry

A sex festival billed as the 'first and largest' in South Korea has been cancelled after a public outcry saw venues pull out and performers quit, fearing they might be attacked or even stabbed if they attended.

Thousands of fans were expected to flock to see their favourite Japanese porn stars at last weekend's 'KXF The Fashion' event, but it was called off just 24 hours before it was due to begin.

South Korea is known for having a conservative approach to adult entertainment, with strip shows and public nudity illegal, as well as the sale and distribution of hardcore pornography.

Local authorities slammed the proposed event as 'morally harmful', with organisers forced to search for new venues as they struggled to get permission, losing tens of thousands in revenue as they had to cancel tickets.

Meanwhile, a Korean women's group protested against the festival, arguing that rather than 'a celebration of sex' it would encourage the exploitation and objectification of women. 

When organisers finally secured a location, the actresses' agent said they could no longer partake. Pictured: Promo pics from a 2023 event

Thousands of fans were expected to flock to see their favourite Japanese porn stars at last weekend's 'KXF The Fashion' event

When organisers finally secured a location, the actresses' agent said they could no longer partake, fearing that they might be attacked as backlash to the show 'reached fever pitch'.

Organiser Lee Hee Tae vented his disappointment that events had taken 'such an unthinkable turn', and said that he had received death threats.

'I have been treated like a criminal without doing anything illegal', he told the BBC, adding that it would have been within the confines of the law and that no sexual acts were to be performed at the event.

He said his aim was to bring an adult entertainment culture to South Korea as there is in other countries, challenging what he described as outdated attitudes. 

However, Mr Lee's company Play Joker has received backlash for a series of provocative stunts it has carried out.

Members of Suwon's Women's Hotline protested against the event last month, calling it 'exploitative'

Shocking video last year showed a young woman being paraded through the streets of Seoul wearing nothing but a cardboard box, with passersby invited to put their hands in and touch her breasts. 

Campaigners have argued that contrary to claims of equality, the festival is targeted at men with its marketing, which shows scantily-clad young women.

In a country where sexism and gender violence is rife, they described the event's cancellation as a 'triumph'.

'Whatever the organisers say, this was not a celebration of sex, but the exploitation and objectification of women, and the sex industry encourages violence against women,' said Go Eun-cha, the director of the Suwon's Women's Hotline, which protested against the event last month.

Campaigners have argued that contrary to claims of equality, the festival is targeted at men with its marketing, which shows scantily-clad young women

When the event was set to go ahead in their town of Suwon, the group protested with signs saying that the sex industry encourages violence against women.

The mayor condemned the event for taking place near a primary school and threatened to pull the venue's licence, prompting it to pull out of hosting.

Mr Lee found a new location, but his proposed event was again criticised by local authorities, with the venue cancelling again. 

He then found a boat docked in Seoul whose promoter said he could hold the event, but the leaseholder threatened to pull the plug if it went ahead.

An event was put on in 2023 by organiser Play Joker, which was not as widely marketed

After cutting numbers substantially from the original 5,000 attendees he had planned for, Mr Lee settled for an underground bar with a capacity of 400.

The Gangnam bar kept the event a secret and said it would hold it, despite the council writing letters to hundreds of restaurants in an effort to prevent it from doing so. But the actresses' decided to withdraw, citing safety concerns.

Nevertheless, the company has vowed to hold the event in June, with Seoul's mayor reportedly saying that the city has 'no intention of getting involved in the future'.