--- description: Local police say videos of approximately 1,600 hotel guests were secretly live-streamed to an unnamed subscription website. title: Spycams Have Been Found in Rooms at 30 Hotels in South Korea image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Korea](/tag/south-korea/) ## South Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Activities of Hundreds of Hotel Guests in South Korea Have Been Live-Streamed Over Hidden Cameras by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 21, 2019 6:41 AM CUT by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 21, 2019 6:41 AM CUT Just days after several K-pop pop stars made headlines for [filming women without their knowledge](http://time.com/5549962/seungri-k-pop-scandal/ "undefined"), police announced that videos of approximately [1,600 hotel guests](https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/asia/south-korea-hotel-spy-cam-intl/index.html "undefined") were secretly live-streamed to an unnamed subscription website in South Korea. Two men have been arrested and two more are being investigated in connection to hidden cameras found in 42 hotel rooms in 30 budget hotels across 10 South Korean cities, according to CNN. The cameras were concealed in television boxes, hairdryer mounts and wall sockets in various properties, which have not been named. “There was a similar case in the past where illegal cameras were (secretly installed) and were consistently and secretly watched, but this is the first time the police caught where videos were broadcast live on the internet,” police said, according to CNN. The news is the latest development in the “spy-cam” epidemic which has caused outrage in the country. More than 30,000 cases of [“surreptitious filming”](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/03/world/asia/korea-toilet-camera.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur "undefined") have been reported to the police since 2013, according to the New York _Times_. Secret cameras, mostly targeting women, have been found in public restrooms, on public transport, and in gyms among other places. **Read More:** [_What to Know About the K-Pop Superstar Facing Charges in a Prostitution Case_](http://time.com/5549962/seungri-k-pop-scandal/ "undefined") Even celebrities have been caught up in the scandal. Just last week, the Korean singer-songwriter [Jung Joon-young](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47550046 "undefined") reportedly admitted to filming himself having sex with multiple women and sharing the footage with other K-pop stars via text message. Last July, tens of thousands of protestors marched in Seoul to urge the authorities do more to protect women from being filmed without their knowledge. Some women carried signs that read [“my life is not your porn.”](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44751327 "undefined") In response, the government has hired thousands of workers to conduct daily checks in public bathrooms for [hidden cameras.](http://time.com/5385274/south-korea-spy-cam-porn-seoul/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5554773/south-korea-hotels-spycam/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5554773/south-korea-hotels-spycam/"},"headline":"The Activities of Hundreds of Hotel Guests in South Korea Have Been Live-Streamed Over Hidden Cameras","datePublished":"2019-03-21T06:41:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:05:00.787Z","description":"Police say hidden cameras were found in 42 hotel rooms in 30 hotels","url":"https://time.com/5554773/south-korea-hotels-spycam/","keywords":["South Korea","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-korea/","name":"South Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5554773/south-korea-hotels-spycam/","name":"The Activities of Hundreds of Hotel Guests in South Korea Have Been Live-Streamed Over Hidden Cameras"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"2 Korean Pop Stars Embroiled in Sex Scandals Questioned by Police","description":"After their surprise retirement announcements, two K-pop stars were facing police questioning Thursday over interlocking sex scandals that have fascinated South Korea.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/weBWuOgX/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-03-14T06:47:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/weBWuOgX.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5554773/south-korea-hotels-spycam/","duration":"PT1M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5554773/south-korea-hotels-spycam/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```