The toilet is located in Changgyeonggung Palace in central Seoul, which attracts more than a million visitors annually.
It features ceiling-mounted thermal sensors that can detect hidden cameras in real time, as well as monitors designed to identify attempts to film over partition walls, creating what officials called a highly secure monitoring set-up, JoongAng Daily reported on Tuesday.
We plan to create a safer environment for visitors by gradually expanding the installation
To deter illegal recording, warning stickers have been placed inside and outside the restroom.
“We plan to create a safer environment for visitors by gradually expanding the installation of these permanent illegal filming detection systems to other public restrooms within the palace,” Kim Eung-rye, head of the Changgyeonggung Palace Office, told JoongAng Daily.
The installation highlights South Korea’s ongoing struggle with illegal filming, a pervasive issue fuelled by the widespread availability of small, easily concealed cameras known as molka .
Images captured by these hidden cameras – often placed in public restrooms, changing rooms, and hotels – primarily target women and are frequently uploaded to websites where men pay to access them.