Words and illustration by Seven Nguyen
History repeats itself. Two years after the ‘Nth room’ case, Korea has revealed another cyber sex crime, Deepfake Pornography.
For the past few weeks, Korean feminists have stood in solidarity with women all around the world to expose a digital sex crime that involved the distribution of hundreds of unlawful pornographic videos created by Artificial Intelligence via Telegram chat rooms. The criminals used deepfake technology to add images of their female acquaintances to sexually explicit content. The victims were coworkers, friends, classmates, and even family members. It was then discovered that the perpetrators were mainly young males and teenage boys, which is a distressing truth for me because this case is a clear example of how deeply ingrained misogyny is in Korean society and how new technology has become another misogyny weapon in this country.
In their story ‘Inside the deepfake porn crisis engulfing Korean schools’, the BBC did an excellent job of covering the complete picture of how these culprits structure their methods and channels. The exposure of ‘Seoul National University Nth room’ was a buzz topic, raising public concerns when there was an illegal sex channel existing in one of the most prestigious institutions in the nation. More Telegram groups were identified in the following month, affecting more than 500 colleges and universities across South Korea. The fact that many of the targets were minors makes it much worse. There was also a group with over 2,000 members specifically targeting younger pupils.
Despite legal prohibitions against the production and dissemination of non-consensual pornography, prosecution of offenders is frequently difficult because of the internet’s anonymity and quick spread of such material. Videos of the victims may always be available online, and those found guilty are often given light punishments, which perpetuates a culture of impunity that benefits South Korean men.
Korean feminists brought the issue to the world’s attention in an effort to compel the Korean judiciary to prosecute harsher punishment for sex offenders and provide victims with justice. On September 21st 2024, 6000 Korean women gathered in Hyehwa station, Seoul, protesting against the Deepfake porn, raising banners saying ‘A man who made it. A man who sells. A man who watches. Punish them all.’ ‘My daily life is not your porn’. ‘We are not born to be exploited.’ Footage of the protest has gained 1.5 million views on X, declaring Korean women’s attitude toward the nation’s legal system.
CAT, the pioneer Korean feminist account on X, received hundreds of account reports, death threats, and humiliation threads from Korean men as she worked to expose numerous misogynist Korean YouTubers and bring awareness of the issue abroad. With over a million subscribers, the Korean YouTube channel PPkka posted a video mocking victims of false crimes. The channel said that the issue was exaggerated and used to portray Korean men in a negative light. His channel is infamous for its anti-feminist content, as he uses false accusations to make videos accusing other female creators of being feminists and engages his audience in cyberbullying and harassment. Even if several of his victims have already committed suicide, he has never taken accountability for his doings.
In Korea, women who come out as feminists or who are seen as feminists face intense social criticism and are frequently attacked and harassed by Korean men. A male customer recently attacked a short-haired woman working at a convenience store for ‘appearing’ to be a feminist. The attacker claimed that he was entitled to do so since all feminists should be punished.
It makes me curious why so many Korean men despise women in general and feminism in particular. Is it part of the reason the society is so deeply patriarchal? Confucian ideas, which uphold strict gender norms and value male supremacy and female subservience due to women’s reproductive biology, have historically shaped Korean social constructs. While men’s job is to accumulate wealth, women are treated as mere objects of reproduction. The view has persisted, showing up everywhere from workplaces to cultural expectations of women’s behaviour.
Korean society ensures women’s obedience to the ‘ideal’ passive, supported roles by simultaneously injecting them with ungodly beauty standards through media, exploiting their perceived appearance insecurities for the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry. In addition, the idol industry—particularly that of female K-pop idols—is a tool for reinforcing domestically dominant ideologies that guarantee the Korean social constructs of consumer capitalism, ageism, lookism, and patriarchy, among other things. This cultural backdrop normalises the objectification of women and reinforces the idea that their existence is to satisfy men’s desires.
A small group of Korean women, tired of the oppressive society, began the ‘4B movement’, which promoted the idea that women should not engage in heterosexual marriage, sex, dating, or childbirth. ‘4B’ gained attention from Western media discourse last year, and the deepfake controversy is currently bringing it up again. One comment on Reddit briefly explained why South Korean men are increasingly becoming anti-feminist. User ‘fallingupwards4ever’ argued ‘… With mandatory military service for SK men, high competition among workers and high costs of living, the country is in economic decline. A lot of SK people simply don’t have time or the finances to marry and have children. It’s not hard to see how these socioeconomic trends have led to reactionary sentiments, such as the widespread anti-feminism among SK men. Capitalism in decline always leads to fascist movements, SK women are getting the brunt of it due to the country’s lack of sizeable minorities to blame for the situation.’
In a place where Korean feminists were fighting for justice, many male students went to the protest, taking photos/videos for mockery and posting them on anti-feminist websites, which contributed to the database for future attacks against feminists.
On the other hand, despite any sabotage, Korean women’s voices are heard. On September 23rd, the Korean Parliamentary of Gender Equality and Family Committee passed legislation toughening penalties for Deepfake sex offences against children and teenagers. Sex perpetrators against minors now face three to five or more years imprisonment, compared to the previous one to two-year sentences. They also ensured that the Korean Government would be participating in removing victim illegally filmed material from the internet. However, many people are concerned about the punishment severity since many of the underage victims might not even reach the legal age by the time of the perpetrator’s release. Rather than the previous one- to two-year terms, those who commit sexual offences against minors now face sentences of three to five years or more in jail. Additionally, they guaranteed that the Korean government would take part in the removal of victim-related illicit video content from the internet. Yet, many people are worried about the severity of the sentence since many of the juvenile victims might not even reach legal age by the time the offender is released. What would happen if they again become the target of revenge?
What can we do? We, foreigners, can participate in hashtag events on Twitter held by Korean Feminists and Women’s Rights Activists’ accounts, spreading awareness about digital sex crimes. Your engagements are essential. The case clearly showed the pressure on the Korean government to resolve the issue and modify the legal system. If at all possible, you can also participate in protests in other countries organised by Korean feminists living abroad. If you live in the U.S., an upcoming protest will be held in LA in front of the Consulate General Republic of Korea on September 28th.
X accounts you can follow for updates on the issue and upcoming events:
- User (cat) 페미니즘=여성인권운동 (@dvu84djp)
- User Woman of Leisure (@WomenLeisure)
- User Glover (@qoyuzas)
