Several years ago, a sex video featuring a top South Korean actress was posted on the internet without her consent. It attracted millions of viewers, but the humiliated woman had to retire from the movie business, and fled to the US. These days, however, South Korean actresses and celebrities seem to be in a race to take off their clothes in front of the cameras, posing nude for both money and fame.
In fact, a lot of the women, far from being embarrassed or ashamed, seem almost proud of what they are doing. In a strongly Confucian country, where old rules say that boys and girls should not even sit together after the age of seven, the change is quite shocking.
But the practice shows no sign of stopping. First, it was actresses and TV celebrities, particularly veteran entertainers just past their prime. And, for some, posing naked did, indeed, revive their flagging careers.
Then, other groups of women jumped on the bandwagon. Three female racing drivers recently peeled off, as did three professional cheerleaders.
More recently, even ordinary people have got in on the act. One woman was charged by police after she posted her nude photos on the internet, claiming to have graduated from the prestigious Seoul National University. Her education background made her site popular, but it turned out that she had never attended the school.
Three so-called 'porn jockeys', who appeared naked on adult internet broadcasting sites, were given suspended sentences for showing actual sexual intercourse. They recently held a joint press conference to publicly apologise. But then they shocked the journalists by posing topless to advertise their adult internet channel.