More than 80 reports of “molca”, the Korean word denoting the surreptitious filming of women’s bodies, came out of Seoul’s Hongik Univ. Station on Line 2, the subway station servicing the Hongik University neighborhood highly popular with foreign tourists and South Korean youth. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 80 reports of “molca”, the Korean word denoting the surreptitious filming of women’s bodies, came out of Seoul’s Hongik Univ. Station on Line 2, the subway station servicing the Hongik University neighborhood highly popular with foreign tourists and South Korean youth.
Among the undesirable “top ten” subway stops with most molca cases reported last year, Hongik Univ. Station ranked first with 83, followed by Express Bus Terminal Station (Lines 3, 7) with 51 and a tie between Gangnam Station (Line 2) and Seoul Station (Lines 1, 4) with 45 each, according to Seoul Metro.
Other stations down the list include Sindorim Station (Lines 1, 2), Sadang Station (Lines 2, 4) and Yeoksam Station (Line 2).
Hongik University Station has been the site of more molca reports than any other subway station for two years running. It ranked second with 105 cases in 2015, with Gangnam Station taking the top spot with 111 cases.
As a countermeasure, Seoul Metro is checking over 255 spots in the city’s subway network for illegal filming equipment with the aid of 255 inspectors from the city government. (Image: Yonhap)
Gangnam Station was the busiest subway stop in 2016 with daily departures and arrivals of around 100,000 each, followed by Hongik University Station with corresponding figures of approximately 80,000 a day.
Despite efforts by law enforcement agencies, Seoul Metro and other organizations to stamp out the illicit filming activity, complaints regarding molca have increased slightly in the recent past.
There were 643 cases across Seoul’s entire subway network last year, 56 more than in the year prior. However, these figures represent an improvement over the 870 cases reported in 2015.
Nearly half of the clandestine filming victims were on Line 2, the busiest subway line in Seoul.
As a countermeasure, Seoul Metro is checking over 255 spots in the city’s subway network for illegal filming equipment with the aid of 255 inspectors from the city government. These individuals are dispatched three times a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m..
Other safeguards include an anti-sex crime video that is played 40 times a day at subway stations and regular patrols conducted by police officers and subway security personnel.
S.B.W. (sbw266@koreabizwire.com)
