Korea Worried About Surge in Mobile Porn

SEOUL — Koreans are consuming more Internet porn thanks to the country’s burgeoning use of smartphones and tablets.

So much so that the increase in mobile porn —  particularly since the release of the Apple iPhone in 2009 — has the Korean Communications Commission (KCC) worried according to a report in The Korea Times.

Although the KCC provided no hard data, the agency said it’s confident that it can provide enough statistics for a detailed analysis that proves the overall consumption of sex on the Internet has increased since people began carrying “liquid crystal display (LCD) screens in their pockets.”

The country’s three major mobile providers, SK telecom, KT and LG Uplus reportedly had 15 million smartphone users as of July after reaching the 10 million mark only four months earlier.

Korea’s KCC is so worried about the  “immense” surge in porn consumption that it convinced SK Telecom to shut down its Hot Zone adults-only service from its online applications market.

Park, a 33 year-old worker in Seoul said he has been accessing porn since receiving his first mobile phone. "I think therapists would evaluate me as a porn addict. It’s hard for me to go to sleep without watching some sex videos on my phones at night. My wife has no idea about my `porn escapades’ and things have gotten really uneasy."

A KCC official said it appears as though many Koreans are carrying a smartphone or mobile Internet device all the time and they clearly aren’t checking e-mail or browsing the web.

"Of the top mobile websites accessed through mobile handsets last month, dozens of them were sexually explicit. With advanced technologies and more bandwidth, an increasing number of smartphone users are accessing porn sites, which brings forth the problem of addiction and also heavy data usage that could disturb the traffic of mobile-phone operators.

"It’s hard to control lewd content on mobile Internet platforms you will never be able to filter or encode all of them and the problem is that under-aged users are being exposed to these sex-related materials," the official said.

The KCC eventually wants all of the three carriers to install porn-filtering software in future devices, but the companies are resisting.

"The core of the problem is that the porn sites are usually based outside of the country and the KCC has no control over them,” said an SK Telecom official.

And critics maintain that porn just generates too much traffic to ever be completely handcuffed by the carriers.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Federal Judge Grants Partial Halt of Florida AV Law

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, has granted a preliminary injunction against HB 3, the state's age verification law, as a lawsuit filed by two online trade associations challenging the law makes its way through the courts.

Aylo Releases Statement on Suspending Access to Pornhub in France

Technology and media company Aylo, which operates adult sites including Pornhub, YouPorn, and Redtube, has released a public statement regarding its decision to block access to its sites in France.

Pornhub Blocks Access in France in Response to SREN Law

Pornhub parent company Aylo has opted to block access to its sites in France rather than comply with age verification requirements under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

Pineapple Support to Host Wellness Sessions at Bucharest Summit

Pineapple Support is hosting free group and one-on-one therapy sessions at Bucharest Summit, June 3-5.

ASACP Highlights Study on Parental Controls

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is highlighting the results of a study on the underutilization of parental controls.

Sydney Screams Launches New Site Through Grooby's Blue.xxx

Sydney Screams has launched her new membership site, SydneyScreams.xxx, through Grooby's website management company Blue.xxx.

Mistress Mystii Is LoyalFans' 'Featured Creator' for June

LoyalFans has named Mistress Mystii as its Featured Creator for June.

Canadian Senator Revives Push for National AV Law

Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne, whose previous multiple attempts to legislate national age verification requirements all failed, has introduced a new bill that would impose fines of up to $500,000 on adult sites that do not implement age verification for Canadian viewers.

FSC Submits Statement to House Committee in Support of FIRM Act

Free Speech Coalition has announced that it submitted a statement to the House Financial Services Committee in support of the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act.The announcement follows:

Plaiir Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Plaiir has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Show More