South Korea: Cybersex criminals trapping girls in a digital prison

Find out about the insidious 'Nth room' crimes in one of Asia's most highly-wired countries.

Synopsis (headphones recommended): A special edition 6-part series by The Straits Times in Singapore, exploring recent real crimes that gripped, horrified and laid bare the issues that afflicted societies in Asia. Episodes drop every fourth Tuesday of the month from April 25, 2023.

Warning: This podcast is an audio documentary of a real crime case which may be troubling and upsetting to certain listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

Digital sex crimes have become so common in highly-wired South Korea, leading to several copycat versions of what have become known as the 'Nth room' crimes.

Why does this keep happening, and what are the underlying causes of these cases? Despite government efforts to crack down on these cases, they return again and again.

This is the side of South Korean society that the world may not know as well, away from the global appeal of its K-drama series and glamour of its K-pop music.

ST's South Korea correspondent Chang May Choon interviews and narrates this podcast.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:00 The year was 2019; blackmail and even making victims engrave their names or IDs on their bodies, using knives

5:15 Student journalist Park Ji-hyun and college friend aiming to "pull out the roots of evil", expose published in September 2019; hear the actual voice of the ringleader Cho Ju-bin

10:00 Activist Summer Cha (her voice in Korean is digitally altered to protect her identity) on why digital sex crimes are trending upwards

13:38 Lewd and disgusting reactions in male-only sites towards victims in the recent Itaewon crush incident

14:38 Big cities such as Seoul, Busan and Incheon have now set up their own digital sex crime centres to provide support for victims; Seoul centre director Lee Eun-jeong explains SOPs

17:22 New 'anti-Nth Room Bill' was passed in Korean parliament and went into effect in December 2021; why encrypted messaging app Telegram has slipped through the net

22:17 Park Ji-hyun now a young politician; more Nth room copycats still emerging

25:18 ST correspondent Chang May Choon wraps up, having lived and worked as a Singaporean woman in South Korea for the past eight years

Interviews & narration by: Chang May Choon (changmc@sph.com.sg)

Executive Producers: Ernest Luis (ernest@sph.com.sg) and Tan Tam Mei (tammei@sph.com.sg)

Podcast Producers: Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani

Voiceovers: Fa’izah Sani, Friday Farzanah, Joyce Teo, Jean Iau, Kim Jin-ha, Samuel Devaraj and Paxton Pang

Copy editor: Choo Li Meng

Follow ST's True Crimes Of Asia Podcast:

Channel: https://str.sg/i44T

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/i44q

Spotify: https://str.sg/i44c

SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read Chang May Choon's articles: https://str.sg/ioon

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

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