South Korea's spy cam porn epidemic

I can remember the first time I heard about South Korea's spy cameras.

Just after arriving in Seoul, I was running to the public loo along the river Han while on a bike ride with a friend.

"Check it doesn't have a camera in it," she shouted. I turned around and laughed. But she wasn't kidding.

Many women have told me that the first thing they do when they go to a public toilet in South Korea is check for any peepholes or cameras. Just in case.

Because the country is in the grip of what's been described as a spy camera epidemic.

Hidden cameras capture women - and sometimes men - undressing, going to the toilet, or even in changing rooms in clothing stores, gyms and swimming pools. The videos are posted online on pop-up pornography sites.

Activists in Seoul now warn that unless more is done to prevent it, this type of crime is likely to spread to other countries and will prove difficult to stop.

More than 6,000 cases of so-called spy cam porn are reported to the police each year, and 80% of the victims are women.

It's feared that hundreds more don't come forward to tell their stories. Some are filmed by men they thought were their friends.

The BBC spoke to one woman we've called Kim. She was filmed under the table at a restaurant. He put a small camera up her skirt. She spotted him and grabbed his phone - only to find other footage of her on there, and being discussed by other men.

"When I first saw the chat room, I was so shocked, my mind went blank and I started crying," Kim said. She went to the police but reporting the incident made her feel even more vulnerable.

South Korea is among the most technologically advanced and digitally connected countries in the world. It leads the world in smart phone ownership - nearly 90% of adults have one and 93% have access to the internet.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45040968