An incident that has been labeled as “the new nth room” has recently gone viral in South Korea. According to various sources including victims, a set of Telegram rooms with a total of more than 212,000 participants have been exposed. It was revealed that in order to gain access to these rooms, one must submit a set of photos of any girl or woman around themselves, such as classmates, siblings, or friends, and provide the girl’s personal details. Given South Korea’s current population, this means that one in 120 men may be a participant in these rooms.
Some of these rooms revolve around “humiliating” one’s family members by taking photos or videos of oneself inappropriately touching one’s sister or mother. An account called Queenarchive1 on X was one of the first few to expose the matter. They posted screenshots of such telegram rooms. In the screenshot, a perpetrator posted a video of themselves lifting their younger sister’s skirt and touching them inappropriately when they were sleeping. Their account has since been suspended, reportedly through many of the perpetrators reporting their tweets and accounts.
A “humiliation room” on Telegram with 1932 people in it. The room has various categories such as “cousin room,” “mom room,” “acquaintance room,” “older sister room,” and “younger sister room.” Let’s look into what kind of photos are in these rooms. I have censored underwear and any skin showing, but I have left the clothes and blankets shown so that you can tell if you happen to be the victim. If it seems like it is you, please prove it and I will link you up with the person who gave the tip-off.
— Queenarchive1
Not only have these “humiliation rooms” been exposed, but rooms containing AI deepfake pornography have also been revealed. Netizens have gone to war against these rooms, exposing a list of schools where perpetrators and victims have arisen. The extensive list includes middle and high schools, a testament to the young age of these cyber criminals. Top schools such as the famed SKY universities, Yonsei, Seoul National, and Korea Universities are also not spared.
Netizens have also taken to revealing perpetrators’ identities online. Some, like the one listed below, are as young as middle schoolers.
텔레그램 딥페이크
사당중 등 서초구 가해자 신상 pic.twitter.com/J1tljGDOOG— 우땨땨 (@uheheutiatia) August 25, 2024
The contents of these rooms were shocking. Perpetrators posted videos and photos of their ex-girlfriends and younger siblings, allowing the other perpetrators in the room to comment on them.
- “Spreading my younger sister’s content.”
- “That’s the most [redacted.]”
- “This is a video my ex-girlfriend sent me. How is it?”
- “Her body.”
- “The nuna at my school is f*cking pretty.”
- “Makes me want to go to school.”
- “I want to see some panties. Why is everyone wearing safety shorts?”
- “I have many pictures of the nunas at my school.”
The list of involved schools involved in the rooms is growing by the minute. As more and more perpetrators are getting exposed for their participation in the virtual crime, the issue is also spreading in foreign media, making it near impossible for one to ignore. Stay tuned for more updates on the issue.
