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   Korea is ranked in 34th place in the list of the world’s safest countries 2019 by the Global Finance magazine. This makes many foreigners interested in living and studying in Korea. However, due to recent news of spy-cam porn and female related issues, women may have to consider carefully before deciding to study or live in the country. The majority of the news was released about hidden cameras in public women’s toilets, motels, hotels, and clubs where those videos were sold to ‘porn sites' by property owners. Furthermore, the ‘Club Burning Sun' issue has become a hot conundrum from which hostile protests and discontent opinions by Korean people arose since it showed how women are victimized in their social lives. The Chonnam Tribune interviewed students with different backgrounds about their opinions on this scandal and how they would react to this problem.

What do you know about recent news related to sexual harassments?

▲ Lee Su-e (Korea, Junior, Dept. of French Language and Literature)

Lee Su-e (Korea, Junior, Dept. of French Language and Literature)
These days, the sexual crime is a hot potato. Mainly, the Burning Sun which is a club run by a K-pop star, they abused drugs and girls, took videos secretly, and shared those videos on a group chat. As it was revealed that celebrities in Korea who had a good public image shared the sexual videos taken secretly, this issue is getting much bigger and bigger.

▲ Bakhodir Komilov (Uzbekistan, Senior, Dept. of English Language and Literature)

Bakhodir Komilov (Uzbekistan, Senior, Dept. of English Language and Literature)
I heard much news about the ‘Me-too Movement' in the U.S. where many women started to speak out about sexual harassments, rapes, and sexual assaults. Many popular celebrities also encouraged victims to tweet under the hashtag #MeToo to raise awareness of this issue. Moreover, there was the same movement in Korea last year which became a very hot controversial issue and thousands of women took part in this protest.

 

▲ Hussein Aljawad (Iraq, Ph.D. Student, School of Dentistry)

Hussein Aljawad (Iraq, Ph.D. Student, School of Dentistry)
I spoke about this issue on the radio when I was working as a host and this issue is still getting bigger now. Also, when I heard about hidden cameras in toilets and motels, I was shocked and could not believe that there are actually ‘sick-minded' people who could really do this.

How is this a relevant issue in your country?
Su-e: It is a really serious problem now. Many women in Korea are routinely checking for hidden cameras or peepholes before using public toilets. As the crimes are now so sophisticated, they are sharing the ways to catch out hidden cameras. Even if the criminals are caught, the punishment is too light which made the rates of crime related to hidden cameras go up steeply in the last three years.

Bakhodir: To be honest, I have never heard of these conundrums in my country so far. But I think this problem is mostly faced by celebrities, who have a lot of fame.

Hussein: I heard that some sick-minded people hacked women's phones and tried to blackmail them in Iraq. However, happily, these women are speaking out and reporting it to the government instead of being afraid. Authorities are also helping them by implementing certain rules to punish the guilty people and to share these problems among SNS users where it is easier to raise awareness.

How do you think this issue must be tackled?
Su-e: If we do not solve and get rid of this crime in our society, gender equality cannot be promoted. So, we must get proper sexual education. Moreover, Korea needs to strengthen its laws to prevent sexual crimes with hidden cameras.

Bakhodir: In my opinion, sex education must be implemented from school times where children are taught about safety and sex-related problems. Also, I guess women should be more careful about their own life, privacy and try to protect their identity because they are more responsible for their own lives in this society.

Hussein: I think there is a huge gap between males and females, the gap of not knowing each other well. They start creating their own fantasy about the opposite gender. If this gap disappears, people would act neutrally to each other. Moreover, I hope major religions like Islam and Christianity have less influence on society in terms of widening the gap.

As a conclusion, although it is hard to put all the guilt on one gender's shoulders since both hands are used to make one clap, we can say that raising awareness among people is very crucial. Considering this issue, last year, thousands of women voluntarily searched for hidden cameras from public bathrooms and CNU has also made an investigation in toilets on campus to make sure of female students' safety at the university. Last but not least, the Chonnam Tribune hopes students have a safe and happy life on campus.

저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지