Female-Run 'Nth Room' Exposed: 840,000 member community share nude photos of Foreign Men and leak personal information on American soldiers

South Korea's largest women-only community, 여성시대 (Women's Era), with a membership of 840,000 on Daum, is currently embroiled in controversy, and some media outlets are dubbing it as the 'Female Nth Room.'

The 'Nth Room case', which came to light in February 2019, involved the creation, trade, and distribution of illegal pornography through a Telegram chat room, where the victims were women, and the perpetrators were men. First reported by the YouTuber @PPKKa, now, a similar pattern of information exchange—this time with genders reversed—is now being reported within the Women's Era community.

Within this female-dominated community, members have been sharing detailed "reviews" of foreign men they've met on dating apps, confined solely to their private community space.

Among these exchanges were discussions involving minors. Members uploaded lewd photos of foreign men, making sexually harassment-type comments about their appearance and genitals, such as  "Who saw his OO?," "Are there any reviews about having s*x with a white man?" "Was his d*ck big?" "Any users who know the Pilot from Sungnam on the dating app?" "Doesn't matter if they're African, not that good at s*x. Their size is just okay," and so on.

One particular list shared within the community, titled 'U.S. Military Men Big Data Compilation,' contained three detailed pages of personal/private information about American soldiers. A member, seemingly spearheading the list creation, expressed, "I'll compile this list like an encyclopedia." Additionally, there were lists containing personal info of 'foreign men using dating apps' being circulated among community members.

Lawyer GB Kim Seung Hwan pointed out, "Their actions could potentially violate the Information and Communication Network Act in that they are defamatory. Moreover, if personal information is disclosed without consent, they may face punishment under the Stalking Punishment Act for continuous or repetitive actions."

Under current law, individuals who use an information and communication network to publicize facts with the intent of defaming someone's honor may face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million KRW (around 22,000 USD). If the defamation involves false facts, the penalties increase to up to seven years in prison, suspension of qualifications (such as professional licenses), or a fine of up to 50 million KRW (around 37,000 USD). Additionally, those found guilty of stalking crimes could receive a sentence of up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million KRW (around 22,000 USD).

Recently, this community has actively opposed events perceived as sexualizing women, such as the 'Adult Festival (2024 KXF The Fashion)', which invited Japanese AV actresses in Korea. They labeled KXF a 'prostitution expo' and supported petitions to cancel the event in scheduled locations. While they publicly criticize the sexualization of women, internally, they have been accused of portraying men as sexual objects, leading to questions about their double standards.

Community members opposed the KXF event, expressing reactions like, "This means don't do this event in Korea at all. Understand that," "It's disgusting they keep searching for other areas," "It's sickening," "Why are they so obsessed with it? Suspicious," "Dirty people," and so on. The KXF event was eventually canceled after facing strong opposition from local governments and women's groups.

The sexually harassing approach of female community members toward foreigners also carries the risk of racial discrimination. In this community, foreign men are mainly mentioned as objects of sexual desire and consumption, with their personalities being disregarded.

Professor Go Jung Woo of Sungkyunkwan University's Sociology Department commented, "There's a fixed idea that when we talk about the so-called 'Nth Room,' men are perpetrators and women are victims, but this case shows that women can also be perpetrators." He added, "Beyond discrimination and mockery of foreigners if individuals use sex to commit crimes such as leaking personal information and defamation, they should be subject to criticism and punishment." He further stated, "Whether they are men or women, they need to reflect on whether they are involved in such sexual crimes."