In January of 2019, the Burning Sun Scandal became one of the greatest issues in South Korea, drawing attention to the illegal actions conducted by these popular, attractive young K-Pop idols. It all began when one customer submitted a petition to the Blue House, requesting for an investigation of the club “Burning Sun.” Soon, this club was surrounded by rumors about committing crimes including, but not limited to, sexual assault, prostitution, police corruption, and drug distribution. This conflict grew to a larger scale as further investigation disclosed that not only Seungri, a former member of the boy-band Big Bang, but also other male K-pop idols were involved. Text messages showed these men joking about raping unconscious, young women. Thankfully, all celebrities and men who took a part in this sexual exploitation were put behind the bars. However, this was only the beginning.

In March of 2019, South Korea’s police revealed more shocking news that made women tremble in fear. Some men had hidden spy-cameras into “TV boxes, hair dryer holders, and wall sockets” to record women using the restroom or changing clothes (CNN). These spy-cameras, also known as “molka,” isn’t new to Koreans at all. There were already 6,500 spy-camera reports filed in 2017, and 5,400 people arrested since then. Yet, “less than 2 percent were jailed” (Vox). In hopes of banning spy-cameras, several men and women have participated in protests with posters that read “My life is not your porn.” I had wished that 2019 would be the end of such brutal, inhumane actions against women, because I didn’t want to live in a country where sexual crime was a norm. On the other hand, a few weeks ago, the Nth Room Telegram case drowned my hopes. 

March of 2020. Social media and news outlets are covered with stories about 260,000 men associated with the sexual exploitation of 74 victims, 16 of whom are minors. This is how the story goes: as women and girls scroll through Twitter, they spot a post that appears to be recruiting people who would be willing to work as a part-time fitting model. For a teenager or a woman in an unstable economic status, this offer seems very tempting at first glance. In other occasions, this man with the nickname ‘갓갓’ would send a link to certain women, claiming their photos and videos were released on a porn website. Through multiple ways, he hacks and collects the personal information (name, phone number, address, etc.) from these women. After successfully retrieving this information, he further takes advantage of his position to threaten these girls, forcing them to join a chatting room called “Telegram.” 

Here, he calls these victims his “slaves.” This man then pressures these girls into sending him videos of harming themselves through sexual activities. Believe or not, these consisted of eating feces, cutting out the nipples, writing “slave” with a knife on their skin, being raped by others, having sexual intercourse with your own brother, putting a pair of scissors inside the vagina, and many more. The customers, or other members, would receive a preview of these videos, and if they desired to see more, they would have to pay a higher price to enter the next room. While this was happening, some of the victims were not aware of the fact that this footage was shared among thousands of viewers. Even worse, due to the fact that personal information was distributed, some of these women become victims of rape as well. 

Other than these Nth Rooms, another perpetrator with the nickname ‘박사’ (professor) entered the Telegram app. Similar to the Nth Room system, he divides the rooms into three separate ones, receiving different payments for each room. This criminal, now unveiled to be 25 year-old Cho Joo-bin, utilized cryptocurrency (or virtual currency) to purposefully avoid leaving any traces of trade. Although many may be convinced that Cho was mentally ill, he was not special in any way. Earning a 4.0 gpa at his college, he was an ordinary student who even assisted people through service activities. As a reporter at his school, he wrote articles on how to prevent sexual violence and stay safe. 

The more we learn about him, the more monstrous he seems. Recently, another news report published the fact that Cho had attempted murder in the past. Specifically, a man who was arrested for recidivism sought revenge on the woman who sued him. He promised to reward Cho with 4 million won, if he could kill the woman’s child. Evidence demonstrated that the Cho had agreed with the deal and premeditated the murder. The punishments Cho will face are yet to be decided; however, South Korea’s laws are not harsh enough to penalize this man with the sentences he truly deserves. Under South Korean law, anyone who owns content that “sexually exploits minors can face up to one year in jail or up to 20 million won in fines” (The Korea Herald). A year in exchange for a young girl’s childhood and, practically, her life? This isn’t fair. 

As of now, we don’t know which statements are the facts, and which are not. Some argue that although 260,000 people were suspected as members of this chatroom, because one member can join several rooms, there are only 30,000 (without redundancy). Other articles assert that merely 7,000 people were in Telegram for the Nth Room content; the rest did not commit such heinous crimes, but uploaded a few photoshopped nude pictures. Regardless, the members of the Nth Rooms had to send pictures of their sisters, girlfriends, ex-girlfriends, or even mothers to stay in these group chats. The idea that innumerable men decided to abide by these orders, despite the fact that it creates haunting, traumatizing moments for their relatives, disappoints me. What has our generation become? 

Today, the original initiator and perpetrator ‘갓갓’ is still operating through other platforms. After this case blew up on the news, “South Korea Nth Room telegram videos” became a popular search term on PornHub. How desperate are we to risk and give up young girls to fulfill our sexual needs? Is that all that we can do? I don’t want to believe so. In fact, these rooms were investigated in November of 2019, but it took the government three full months to identify one of the criminals. They only took action after 2 million citizens signed a petition to arrest and publicize the members of this chatroom. Four news reports commentated on this case over the span of three months. We need to raise more awareness. Even so, I am not sure what we can change, but every individual’s attention can possibly help.