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What in the World

Deepfake porn crisis: How it’s affecting schools in South Korea

Mar 24, 2025
Hyojung Kim, a reporter from the BBC’s Korean Service, sheds light on the alarming deepfake porn crisis plaguing over 500 schools in South Korea. She discusses how teenage perpetrators, often young students, are trivializing serious emotional harm inflicted on victims. The conversation also highlights the complexities of legal accountability for minors and the efforts of the Ministry of Education to combat this issue. Jess Davies shares crucial tips for those affected, emphasizing the importance of collecting evidence and seeking support.
13:59

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The rise in deepfake porn incidents in South Korean schools, increasing from 156 to 1,202 cases, underscores significant emotional distress among victims, primarily female.
  • Many teenagers creating deepfakes underestimate their impact, often seeing their actions as harmless fun, highlighting a troubling lack of awareness and societal misogyny.

Deep dives

The Alarming Rise of Deepfake Incidents

Deepfake technology has become a significant concern in South Korea, particularly within schools, impacting a large number of students. Over 500 educational institutions have reported incidents involving the creation and distribution of fake pornographic images, often made by teenagers. The sharp increase in these occurrences is evidenced by the jump in reported cases from 156 in 2021 to 1,202 in 2024. Victims, primarily female, experience profound emotional distress as they find their images manipulated without consent, leading to serious mental health consequences.

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