Saturday 28 March, 2009Condom sales and motel bookings have increased in Korea.

Condom sales and bookings at several of South Korea's pay-by-the-hour "love motels" surged in the aftermath of North Korea's nuclear test, according to statistics released in Seoul Thursday.

South Koreans are used to living in the shadow of war, and life has continued as normal across the country in the wake of the Oct. 9 explosion. But statistics on the number condoms sold in recent weeks suggest that despite their apparently blasé reaction to the North's nuclear bluster, many South Koreans may be seeking solace in sex.

A leading chain of convenience stores reported Thursday that their condom sales rose to an average of 1,930 a day in the week after Oct. 9, compared to 1,508 a day for the year to Sept. 30.

Sales of the prophylactics dropped slightly to 1,772 in the week of Oct. 16-21, but remained well above previous norms.

Another national chain said it sold $3,721 US worth of condoms a day during the week after the test — a 14.8 per cent rise over last month's sales figures, and a 12 per cent rise over the year to Sept. 30.

It was impossible to know whether the increase in sales was directly linked to a heightened sense of vulnerability or stress among South Koreans.