最近，韩国出现了一支“主妇狗仔队”，她们跟拍的对象不是富豪名流，而是各行各业的违法者；而她们跟拍的目的则是将违法证据举报到相关部门获取现金奖励。

In a picture taken on September 19, 2011 a women holds a button type spy camera at Mismiz, a paparazzi school, in Seoul.
At first glance, middle-aged¹ Seoul housewife Jennifer Chung hardly looks like a bounty² hunter（奖金猎人） tracking down lawbreakers.

But every morning, after sending her two sons and husband off to school and work, she sets out in search of local scofflaws（违法者） -- such as cram³ school（补习学校） teachers, restaurateurs or beauty salon⁴ owners.

"Some of them charge parents more than state-set tuition limits, don't disclose on the menu the origin of food they serve, or give skincare treatments which only doctors are allowed to perform," Chung, 54, told AFP.

"These are all against the law...I need evidence to report them to the authorities," she said, sporting a high-definition camcorder（便携摄像机） hidden in her purse with the lens peeking⁵ through a tiny hole.

On a typical undercover mission, Chung poses as a regular customer, videotapes conversations or scenes at offending establishments and sends the videos to authorities.

Each time she collects cash rewards from various departments which add up to more than two million won ($1,700) a month.

Chung is far from alone.

Many South Koreans, especially middle-aged women, have joined a growing number of "paparazzi" snoopers. They cash in by videotaping minor⁶ lawbreaking by fellow citizens, instead of the lives of the rich and famous.

With the government continually expanding such rewards, schools for snoopers are thriving. They teach pupils how to stalk（追踪，潜进） their prey⁷ and get them on film, and even how to play the innocent to dodge⁸（躲避） suspicion.

"This has become a pretty lucrative⁹ industry now...some people are doing this as a full-time¹⁰ job," Moon Seung-Ok, founder¹¹ of Mismiz, a paparazzi school in Seoul, told AFP.

The number of students spikes¹² during economic slowdowns when housewives seek ways to supplement family incomes, he said.

The most common targets in the education-obsessed nation are cram school owners who overcharge parents or run late-night classes, breaking state rules aimed at curbing¹³ spending on private education and pressure on kids.

"It's most popular because cram schools are everywhere, and housewives can easily act like ordinary parents asking for quotes for tuition," said Moon.

The education ministry¹⁴ said it had paid 3.4 billion won ($2.9 million) in rewards since the system was adopted in July 2009, with one person alone raking in nearly 300 million won by making more than 920 reports.

Critics say snoopers are squeezing mom-and-pop businesses trying to survive in tough times.

Cho Young-Hwan, spokesman for South Korea's cram school association, called them "merciless predators¹⁵" who forced many small cram schools to shut down.

Many schools are pressured to run late-night classes because parents demand that their kids study until late despite the government ban, he said.

"These professional bounty hunters are turning a place of children's education into a playground for their profiteering," Cho told AFP.

Oh Chang-Soo, a law professor at Jeju National University, called the situation worrying.

He told AFP the rewards had become "a cash cow for bounty hunters" and did not encourage a healthy civic¹⁶ spirit or genuine sense of justice.

"These paparazzi...set up a trap and eagerly wait until someone violates a rule. A practice like this will only fan mistrust among members of society," Oh said.