Digital Feminism and the Politics of Surveillance in South Korea

🔹 Executive Summary

South Korea, one of the most digitally connected societies in the world, faces a crisis of gendered surveillance. Hidden-camera pornography (molka) has proliferated, with tens of thousands of cases reported annually and countless more unreported. These crimes exploit the digital sphere, exposing women to persistent violations of privacy, dignity, and safety.

At the same time, digital platforms have become sites of resistance. Through hashtags such as #MeToo, #WithYou, and #StopMolka, South Korean feminists have transformed private fear into collective mobilization. The largest women-led protests in South Korean history (2018) illustrate how digital feminism reframes visibility — from a site of vulnerability to one of defiance.

This brief examines the intersections of digital technology, feminist activism, and state responses. It outlines systemic policy gaps and provides recommendations for governments, platforms, and civil society actors to address the crisis.

🔹 Context & Background

• Digital Hyperconnectivity: With one of the world’s fastest internet infrastructures, South Korea has near-universal smartphone penetration. But hyperconnectivity has enabled not only innovation but also new forms of patriarchal surveillance.

• Molka Epidemic: Hidden cameras in bathrooms, schools, subways, hotels. Images uploaded to commercial porn sites, often monetized. Victims frequently unaware until images resurface online.

• Scale: In 2017 alone, over 6,000 molka cases were reported to police. Convictions remain rare (<10% result in imprisonment).

• Cultural Impact: Women report living in constant fear, avoiding public restrooms, and distrusting digital intimacy.

🔹 Voices from the Field

🔹 Policy Gaps

1. Weak Legal Enforcement

   • Laws criminalize molka but remain inconsistently applied.

   • Sentences often light (fines or suspended sentences), perpetuating impunity.

2. Platform Accountability

   • Tech companies slow to remove content.

   • Algorithms prioritize engagement over safety.

   • Burden of proof falls on victims.

3. Victim Support Systems

   • Limited counseling and legal aid.

   • Few shelters or hotlines tailored to digital violence.

   • Survivors often retraumatized during legal processes.

4. Cultural Stigma

   • Victim-blaming common: women accused of “carelessness.”

   • Public discourse frames molka as “mischief” rather than violence.

🔹 Comparative Perspective

• France/Germany: Online harassment tied to intersectional discrimination (racism, Islamophobia).

• Latin America: Hashtag activism (e.g., Ni Una Menos) demonstrates street mobilization enhanced by digital solidarity.

• Vietnam: Digital feminism constrained by censorship, but thrives through art and coded language.

• South Africa: Protest rhythms amplified online, linking gender-based violence to broader anti-racist struggle.

South Korea’s case reveals a global paradox: digital tools are both weapon and shield.

🔹 Recommendations

For Government & Judiciary

• Strengthen sentencing guidelines: ensure prison terms for severe offenses.

• Establish specialized cyber units within police with gender-sensitive training.

• Fund survivor-centered legal and psychological services.

• Pass legislation requiring tech platform responsibility for rapid takedown.

For Tech Platforms

• Adopt a 48-hour removal rule for non-consensual content.

• Create survivor-centered reporting tools (anonymous, multilingual, trauma-informed).

• Employ more women in moderation and policy roles.

• Collaborate with feminist NGOs to design safety protocols.

For Civil Society & International NGOs

• Build cross-border coalitions against digital violence.

• Share survivor testimonies globally to destigmatize speaking out.

• Provide funding for grassroots feminist digital literacy programs.

🔹 Implementation Pathways

Short-Term (1–2 years):

• Judicial training programs.

• Pilot survivor hotlines.

• NGO-platform partnerships for content takedown.

Medium-Term (3–5 years):

• Establish national database of digital violence cases.

• Public awareness campaigns to combat victim-blaming.

• Regional dialogues (Asia-Pacific) on feminist digital safety.

Long-Term (5+ years):

• Institutionalize feminist digital ethics in law and tech design.

• Embed digital safety in education curricula.

• Normalize feminist participation in policy-making around AI and surveillance.

🔹 Conclusion

South Korea’s digital feminism demonstrates how women can reclaim tools of surveillance as platforms of solidarity. But the struggle cannot rest on activism alone. States, corporations, and global actors must recognize digital violence as a human rights crisis.

For global feminism, the lesson is clear: technology is not neutral. It reproduces patriarchal power unless deliberately reimagined. Policy must therefore be not only punitive but transformative — ensuring that visibility empowers rather than endangers, and that digital futures are feminist futures.