South Korean woman in Cambodia forced to be adult livestreamer after going there for 'interpreter job'

In April 2024, Kim Min Ha (not her real name) flew to Cambodia in hopes of becoming a Japanese interpreter.

Kim, who is in her 30s, had accepted a job offer for the position. It appeared legitimate — when she arrived at the airport, she was even greeted by a fellow Korean national, a minor actor and model who lived as an expatriate in Cambodia.

The job would be easy, the expat promised her with a smile.

But over the next month, Kim would be held captive in an apartment, forced to livestream to online audiences whilst naked, and assaulted whenever she didn't meet "performance goals".

The expat, it was later found, had sold her to a local criminal organisation for 5 million won (S$4,535).

The job scam

After arriving in Phnom Penh, Kim travelled four hours to an apartment in Sihanoukville, Dong-A Ilbo reported.

As soon as she texted her family, telling them that she'd arrived safely, three men barged into her room and ordered her to hand over her phone.

When she resisted, they twisted her arms and seized her phone and passport.

That same evening, Kim was forced to begin her new job as an adult livestreaming slave.

In front of a camera, she was made to strip naked and beg viewers for donations.

The next day, a performance report was put up on the wall. If Kim failed to meet her "targets", she would be subjected to verbal and physical abuse.

This continued for a month. Screams of "please save me" were regularly heard from the next room, the Korean newspaper reported.

Subsequent rescue

Fortunately, Kim was rescued a month later, after her family initiated a search for her.

They enlisted the help of a Korean expatriate who had lived in the area for 20 years. Based on a photo that Kim had sent her family when she first arrived, the expat managed to track down the missing woman's location.

With the assistance of the Cambodian police, they raided the building and successfully rescued Kim.

Building still potentially being used

Dong-A Ilbo reported that as of Oct. 19, 2025, the building where Kim was held captive appeared to still be in use.

Security guards were seen patrolling the entrance. The local driver who accompanied the reporters advised them not to get out of the car, saying that the building "seems like it's still being used as a criminal network by Chinese syndicates".

In August, a Korean student was found dead in Cambodia after allegedly having been lured there by a criminal ring, and then tortured to death.

The case triggered an outcry in Korea, prompting the government to send a delegation to Cambodia to address scam centre kidnappings of its nationals.

A group of 59 South Koreans was subsequently detained in Cambodia for alleged scam involvement and repatriated in handcuff, BBC reported. Three Chinese nationals were also indicted on charges of killing the student.

On Oct. 22, the South Korean government revealed that up to 2,000 nationals are believed to be involved in Cambodia criminal organisations, and mostly as suspects rather than victims.

Related stories

Top image from Canva and Dong-A Ilbo