By Ines Min
Contributing Writer

Michael was 11 years old when he first saw pornographic photos. His experiences with hardcore material, which is illegal in South Korea, followed not long afterward.

The 23-year-old senior at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, who wanted to be referred to by his English name, said he watched it with his friends.

"It wasn't really shocking," he said. "Even though it's illegal, it's really easy to access (hardcore) pornography," adding that he's fairly certain that all guys in Korea have seen some.

The recent lawsuit launched against South Korean pornography viewers by U.S. and Japanese production companies has exposed an underlying issue with pornography in the nation. Hardcore, or explicit, adult content is illegal in the country, which prohibits close-ups of sexual organs and other details below the waist. But these bans have done little to dissuade people from viewing the material.

Prosecutors recently switched their lawsuit from anti-porn violations to illegal downloading. One prosecution source says that without the change, it would be like letting the cat out of the bag.

"It could make for an embarrassing case for all," he said.

Five of the top 100 most popular Web sites here have hardcore pornographic content, according to the Internet statistical base Alexa.com. Ironically, there are also five pornographic sites in the top 100 Web sites in America - a country where hardcore pornography is a legal and legitimate business industry.

Four of the five Korean and U.S. Web sites were the same - indicating that the government's elaborate endeavors to ban foreign-based adult sites are easily side-stepped.

Pornography is taboo in both the legal and cultural public world, but the topic is acceptable within the privacy of one's own home, said Chung-Ang University sociology professor Lee Na-young.

"But it is never a taboo within the culture between men," Lee added. "Prohibitions, of course, have the tendency to stir up curiosity and reactions."

The thriving culture of Internet pirating helped expand the sharing attitudes even more. The ubiquity of file-sharing sites and live-streaming has fueled apathy among netizens.

"It's like throwing cigarette butts on the street," said a 21-year-old female who wished to remain anonymous. "(Illegal downloading) is not a big deal so people just do it."

A male in his 30s, who wished to remain anonymous, said that although softcore pornography is mostly accessible from legal outfits such as cable television or video rental shops, most of his friends use online outlets to watch adult content.

"I think those who watch softcore pornography are those who are not computer savvy or (too) lazy to turn on the computer," he said.

Seoul National University sociology professor Bae Eun-kyung said that even in Korea, the culture of sharing pornography can be traced back to the days before the Internet.

"Before, in the 1980s and 1990s, people would share their porn, often in the form of magazines or pictures," said Bae, explaining that one person would buy an adult magazine and then pass it along to their friends.

Even though pornography may be prevalent in society, Lee doesn't feel the nation is ready to release all control on the matter and legalize pornography.

"Porn is not simply sexually explicit representation," she said. "There is gender and racial discrimination, caste discrimination and repression complex structures involved in this industry."

Even Michael, who spoke candidly about his past experiences, blushed quickly when asked about his current practices with pornography.

"Well, I don't watch it now, but I know my friends do."

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