The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Luxury brands continue hiking prices in Korea

  • 3

    INTERVIEW'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series

  • 5

    China flags consequences of Yoon's stronger coupling with US, Japan

  • 7

    Napoli's Kim Min-jae named Serie A's best defender, makes Team of the Season

  • 9

    Pyongyang as lived experience: existentialism and identity in North Korea

  • 11

    US, China trade blame as hopes for military dialogue fade

  • 13

    Defense chiefs of S. Korea, US, Japan to meet in Singapore amid NK threats

  • 15

    House lawmakers urge US to rally allies over China's Micron ban

  • 17

    LIFE'S OLLE TRAILS 1How hiking Jeju's 437km of trails changed my life

  • 19

    US, Japan, S. Korea aim to share NK missile warning data

  • 2

    BTS producer encourages anticipation for future messages from group

  • 4

    India train crash kills over 280, injures 900 in one of nation's worst rail disasters

  • 6

    From hip-hop idols to global superstars, BTS shatters records over decade

  • 8

    Wall Street leaps, nearly escapes its bear market after strong jobs report

  • 10

    'The Roundup: No Way Out' tops 3 mil. admissions

  • 12

    UN official calls out Security Council for inaction on N. Korea

  • 14

    Reasons to talk about North Korea

  • 16

    PHOTOSTrain collision in India

  • 18

    S. Korea, US agree on joint probe into NK 'space rocket' debris once salvaged: Seoul official

  • 20

    EU's top diplomat discusses Ukraine's ammunition needs with S. Korea

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • About the past
  • Korea: deConstructed
  • Parchment Made of Sheepskins
  • Workable Words
  • Dialogues with Adoptees
  • Imbricated Chaos
Mon, June 5, 2023 | 12:45
Reporting on Korean digital sex crimes: Western comparison
Posted : 2021-03-06 09:52
Updated : 2021-03-07 12:17
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Courtesy of Montse PB
Courtesy of Montse PB

By David A. Tizzard

Courtesy of Montse PB
Korea has achieved great fame and fortune for its recent exports: Movies, dramas, smartphones, sport stars, even its response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been given the "K" treatment and packaged for global audiences.

Because of its geographical circumstance, Korea has long been an export nation. Once merely the supplier of cheap t-shirts and shoes, it now fills living rooms, stadiums, and streets all around the world with its cutting-edge technology and brands.

Much of what Korea exports is hyperreal: Expertly packaged, hybrid, and dripping in middle class. This means it is accessible to as wide an audience as possible and thus ensures maximum reception and, ultimately, profits. But global end users of Korea's exports rarely have the country's problems brought to their attention, not least of all the nation's ever present and poorly addressed problem of sex crimes. But, following a recent news report from the UK, the world may now have a window into one of Korea's deeply ingrained problems.

A young South Korean man was this week found guilty of multiple offences of illegally and disgracefully secretly filming young women for his own sexual gratification and pleasure while studying as a university student in Manchester, England.

He pleaded guilty to 22 counts of voyeurism and four counts of attempted voyeurism. Rather than a prison sentence, the judge handed him a three-year community order, 220 hours of unpaid work, and a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

The far-reaching and deep-rooted nature of the hidden camera problem in South Korean society is so widely-reported and discussed that to trawl once more through the shocking statistics seems but an effort in futility. If recent history has taught us anything, it's that it will take art, movie, a book, or a drama to satisfactorily shift the public consciousness and narrative.

But let us instead consider the difference in the media responses abroad and domestically to this event. Now that another Korean phenomenon has found itself the center of international authorship, how is the narrative developed?

The Manchester Evening News which reported the story had nearly 1,200 words detailing the crimes that took place. It also featured three large photos of the young man which left you in no doubt as to who he was. Moreover, the article also featured his name, his age, and the international name he used while studying abroad.

This was not, however, an attempt at defamation or a character assassination: It was simply a newspaper reporting the facts as decided by a court of law.

Compare this then to how some Korean domestic news outlets reported the same story. Every piece that I saw blurred the face of the young man so that he was unrecognizable. Every piece that I saw used a fake name for the guilty man. None of the articles was more than 250 words long.

Now if we consider that hidden camera porn is a desperately serious societal problem in South Korea, how much responsibility does or should the media take for this? Or is it instead related to the country's defamation laws which say that even if one reports the facts, there is still a chance one could be sued for defamation?

It seems both should shoulder some responsibility. And thus unless the country addresses both of these issues, regardless of its cultural achievements, many of the young women who live here will still dream of leaving the country and moving abroad.

They will all have different reasons and motivations for doing so. But the danger in which they live, exacerbated by a society that fails to offer basic protection to its citizens and instead seeks to defend the reputations of those found guilty of crimes rather than the honor of the innocent victims, will be an ever-present factor.

The shame that society places on those needlessly exposed to such shocking behavior should not be underestimated either.

So, despite the horrible nature of this story, perhaps it is a good thing that this has happened abroad? Perhaps now the authorship of how to deal with such cases will be placed in more capable hands?

The way the British media has responded to the case has been clear: The fault lies with the offender and it is his name and image that shall be in the paper and the victims shall be protected.

South Korea needs not follow tired tropes of believing the west to be superior in everything it does: The country can and should chart its own course and achieve its own successes. But in this case, perhaps there is something to be learnt?


Dr. David A Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) has a Ph.D. in Korean Studies. He is a social/cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.


Emaildatizzard@swu.ac.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1[LIFE'S OLLE TRAILS 1] How hiking Jeju's 437km of trails changed my life LIFE'S OLLE TRAILS 1How hiking Jeju's 437km of trails changed my life
2S. Korea, Japan agree to prevent recurrence of maritime dispute S. Korea, Japan agree to prevent recurrence of maritime dispute
3Election watchdog under fire for refusing to accept inspection Election watchdog under fire for refusing to accept inspection
4Concerns rise over Samsung SDS' growing intra-group transactions Concerns rise over Samsung SDS' growing intra-group transactions
5Korea sees record-high number of flu patients for late spring Korea sees record-high number of flu patients for late spring
6Korea denies discussion with EU on sending ammunition to Ukraine Korea denies discussion with EU on sending ammunition to Ukraine
7Korean bio firms to seek new opportunities at int'l convention in Boston Korean bio firms to seek new opportunities at int'l convention in Boston
8K-food transforms global culinary industry K-food transforms global culinary industry
9Shipbuilding stocks rally over hope for 'super cycle' Shipbuilding stocks rally over hope for 'super cycle'
10Public welcomed to rediscover newly demilitarized land in Yongsan Children's Garden Public welcomed to rediscover newly demilitarized land in Yongsan Children's Garden
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition Baritone Kim Tae-han wins Queen Elisabeth Competition
2Busan Film Festival accepts director Huh Moon-yung's resignation Busan Film Festival accepts director Huh Moon-yung's resignation
3[INTERVIEW] 'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series INTERVIEW'One Day Off' star Lee Na-young, director on creating subtle, feel-good series
4'HyeMiLeeYeChaePa' producer Lee Tae-kyung hopeful of second season 'HyeMiLeeYeChaePa' producer Lee Tae-kyung hopeful of second season
5How artist Michael Rakowitz resurrects lost past of Iraq through food packaging How artist Michael Rakowitz resurrects lost past of Iraq through food packaging
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group