South Korea’s toilet spycam problem is huge says TikToker Jazmyn Jennings

Korea's huge spycamera problem is little discussed, with women fearing public toilets may be recorded. Photo / Sung Jin Cho, Unsplash

An Australian woman has documented a disturbing cultural trend she uncovered on a recent trip to South Korea, where women fear that every public bathroom they visit may contain hidden cameras.

TikToker Jazmyn Jennings said it was a “huge” problem but rarely discussed in the south Asian country.

“If you go into any female bathroom you will find every single crevice plugged up with toilet papers,” she said.

Women were in the habit of checking all public spaces for recording devices due to the prevalence of the disturbing trend.

“We’re talking Airbnbs, hotel rooms … basically anywhere that is a private area you run the risk of being exposed.”

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Previously tourists have found hidden cameras disguised as alarm clocks, fire extinguishers or even hidden in light fittings.

Jennings says she bought a device to scan rooms for recording devices, just so she could get some peace of mind while travelling.

Pornography is illegal in the country of South Korea however it has long been battling a plague of cameras and surreptitious recording devices left in public spaces to harass women.

The phenomenon called “molka” refers to spy cameras left to film people, mostly women, in private places such as hotel rooms.

In 2019 the country was rocked by the scandal of high-profile celebrities being charged for the crime. This included K-pop star Jung Joon-young who admitted he had secretly filmed himself having sex with women and sharing the footage without their knowledge or consent.

In the space of five years South Korean police have had over 30,000 reports of illicit recording devices found in public places, according to a report by Time magazine.

In 2017  Seoul’s Metropolitan Police established a special branch dedicated to checking hotels and public toilets for hidden cameras.

In 2019 Korean police uncovered an enormous, organised ‘spycam ring’, operating hundreds of tiny cameras hidden in power sockets and TV screens were found in hotels across 10 different cities, and used to secretly film guests.

Around 1600 people had fallen victim to the syndicate that was secretly filming guests in their rooms at the South Korean hotels before they were discovered by police.