South Korea

**Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender** (**LGBT**) people in **South Korea** face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT individuals. While male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in South Korea, marriage or other forms of legal partnership are not available to same-sex couples. South Korean national law does not provide any anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Homosexuality remains quite taboo in South Korean society. Homosexuality is not specifically mentioned in either the South Korean Constitution or in the Civil Penal Code, although article 2 of the *National Human Rights Commission Of Korea Act* includes sexual orientation as one of the protected classes. Transgender or non-binary people are excluded from military service.

Transgender people are allowed to undergo gender affirming care in South Korea after the age of 20, and can change their gender identity on official documents. Harisu is South Korea's first transgender entertainer, and in 2002 became the second person in South Korea to legally change sex.

Gay and lesbian Koreans still face difficulties at home and work, and many prefer not to reveal their sexual orientation to family, friends or co-workers out of fear of discrimination and being ostracised.

## History

Although there is very little mention of homosexuality in Korean literature or traditional historical accounts, several members of the nobility and Buddhist monks have been known to either profess their attraction to members of the same sex or else be actively involved with them.

During the Silla Dynasty, several noble men and women are known to have engaged in homosexual activity and express their love for a person of the same sex. Among these is King Hyegong. In addition, the *hwarang* (Hangul: 화랑; Hanja: 花郞), also known as the Flowering Knights or the Flowering Boys, were an elite group of male Silla warriors, famous for their homoeroticism and femininity. The *Samguk yusa*, a collection of Korean legends, folktales and historical accounts, contains verses that reveal the homosexual nature of the *hwarang*.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, King Mokjong (980–1009) and King Gongmin (1325–1374) are both on record as having kept several *wonchung* ("male lovers") in their courts as "little-brother attendants" (*chajewhi*) who served as sexual partners. After the death of his wife, King Gongmin even went so far as to create a ministry whose sole purpose was to seek out and recruit young men from all over the country to serve in his court. Others including King Chungseon had long-term relationships with men. Those who were in same-sex relationships were referred to as *yongyang jichong*, whose translation has been subject to argument, but is generally viewed as meaning the "dragon and the sun".

In the Joseon Era, several noblemen and noblewomen are known to have had same-sex sexual relations, including Royal Noble Consort Sun-bin Bong who was the second consort of Munjong of Joseon and King Sejong's daughter-in-law who was banished after it was discovered that she was sleeping with one of her maids. During this period, there were travelling theater groups known as *namsadang* which included underaged males called *midong* ("beautiful boys"). The troupes provided "various types of entertainment, including band music, song, masked dance, circus, and puppet plays," sometimes with graphic representations of same-sex intercourse. The *namsandang* were further separated in two groups; the "butch" members (숫동모, *sutdongmo*) and the "queens" (여동모, *yeodongmo*, or 암동모, *amdongmo*).

The spread of Neo-Confucianism in South Korea shaped the moral system, the way of life, and social relations of Korean society. Neo-Confucianism emphasizes strict obedience to the social order and the family unit, which referred to a husband and wife. Homosexuality and same-sex relationships were viewed as disturbing this system and thus were perceived as "deviant" or "immoral". Since the 1910s, Neo-Confucianism has lost a lot of influence, though still today Confucian ideas and practices significantly define South Korean culture and society.

Homosexuality was officially declassified as "harmful and obscene" in 2003.

In August 2017, the Supreme Court ordered the government to allow "Beyond the Rainbow" (Korean: 비온뒤무지개재단), an LGBT rights foundation, to register as a charity with the Ministry of Justice. Without official registration, the foundation was unable to receive tax-deductible donations and operate in full compliance with the law. In 2014, the South Korean Government voted in favor of a symbolic United Nations resolution aimed at combating discrimination against LGBT people.

## Transgender Rights

Transgender and gender diverse South Koreans face discriminatory challenges not experienced by other LGBT South Koreans.

The Supreme Court of Korea has ruled that in order for a person to be eligible for gender affirming care they must be over 20 years of age, single, and without children. In the case of male-to-female gender reassignment operations, the person must prove issues related to draft resolved by either serving or being exempted.

The seventh digit of the country's national identification number, known as the National Pension Number, corresponds to one's sex assigned at birth,  amounting to what some LGBTQ activists call "forced outing" in job interviews. In June 2006, however, the Supreme Court ruled that transgender individuals who had undergone successful sex reassignment surgery have the right to declare their new sex in all legal documents. This includes the right to request a correction of their gender-on-file in all public and government records such as the census registry. In March 2013, the Seoul Western District Court ruled that five female-to-male transgender individuals can be registered as male without undergoing sex reassignment surgery. On 16 February 2017, the Cheongju District Court ruled that a male-to-female transgender individual could be registered as a female without undergoing surgery.

In March 2021, Byun Hui-su - South Korea's first transgender soldier, who was forcibly discharged after undergoing gender affirming care - died by suicide. The Defense Ministry classified her loss of male genitals as a mental or physical handicap, and a military panel ruled in early 2020 that she would be compulsorily discharged.

Some reports indicate that the country's transgender population is estimated to be around 1,000–1,200 people.

Surveys indicate that healthcare professionals in South Korea tend to hold strongly negative opinions of transgender individuals. It has also been found that healthcare providers with higher knowledge of trans people and trans issues had more positive dispositions towards trans people, but that healthcare providers with negative views tended to involve themselves much more heavily with the collection of data regarding trans people.

## Media

South Korea's first gay-themed magazine, *Buddy*, launched in 1998, and several popular gay-themed commercials have also aired.

In 1998, the film review authorities lifted a ban on portraying homosexual conduct in films.

Paving the way for television was the 2005 South Korean film *The King and the Clown,* a gay-themed movie based on a court affair between a king and his male jester. The movie became the highest-grossing in Korean film history, surpassing both *Silmido* and *Taegukgi*. The Korean title for *The King and the Clown* is "왕의 남자" which translates as "*The King's Man*" with the implication that it refers to the man as being the King's lover. Other recent movies include the 2008 film *A Frozen Flower* (Korean: 쌍화점) and *No Regret* (Korean: 후회하지 않아) by celebrated director Leesong hee-il, which starred at the 2006 Busan International Film Festival.

Mainstream Korean television shows have begun to feature gay characters and themes. In 2010, the soap opera *Life Is Beautiful* (Korean: 인생은 아름다워) premiered on SBS broadcast TV, becoming the first prime-time drama to explore a gay male couple's relationship as their unwitting families set them up on dates with women. That same year, *Personal Taste* (Korean: 개인의 취향, also "Personal Preference") was broadcast on MBC and revolved around a straight man who pretends to be gay to become a woman's roommate. Before these was *Coming Out*, which debuted on cable channel tvN in late-night in 2008, in which a gay actor and straight actress counselled gays with publicly acknowledging their sexual orientation.

Openly LGBT entertainment figures include model and actress Harisu, a trans woman who makes frequent appearances on television. Actor Hong Seok-cheon, after coming out in 2000 and being fired from his job, has since returned to his acting career. He has appeared in several debate programs in support of gay rights.

Popular actor Kim Ji-hoo, who was openly gay, died of suicide by hanging on 8 October 2008. Police attributed his suicide to public prejudice against homosexuality.

"The Daughters of Bilitis", a KBS Drama Special about the lives of lesbian women, aired on 7 August 2011. Immediately after it aired, internet message boards lit up with outraged protesters who threatened to boycott the network. The production crew eventually shut down the online re-run service four days after the broadcast.

*XY She*, a KBS Joy cable talk show about male-to-female (MTF) transgender individuals, was virtually cancelled after its first episode due to public opposition. The network cited concern over attacks on MCs and other cast-members as the official reason for cancellation.

In 2013, movie director Kim Jho Kwang-soo and his partner Kim Seung-hwan became the first South Korean gay couple to publicly wed, although it was not a legally recognised marriage.

In 2016, a Christian broadcasting company was sanctioned by the Korea Communications Standards Commission for broadcasting an anti-LGBTI interview on a radio program, in which the interviewee claimed that, if an "anti-discrimination law for LGBTI people" is passed, "pedophilia, bestiality, etc. will be legalised" and that South Korea "will become stricken with unspeakable diseases such as AIDS".

In March 2016, the K-pop girl group Mercury debuted with member Choi Han-bit, a transgender model, actress, and now singer. In January 2018, singer Holland became the first openly gay K-pop idol in South Korea to debut, releasing his song "Neverland".

In 2017, the film *Method* was released. The film talks about a gay relationship between an actor and an idol. In 2020, the television series *Itaewon Class* began airing. The show prominently features a transgender supporting character played by actress Lee Joo-young, as well as cameo appearances by Hong Seok-cheon.

In May 2020, multiple media outlets linked a cluster of COVID-19 cases to a gay bar in Seoul.

In January 2022, the zombie-themed Netflix series *All Of Us Are Dead* was released. One of the central characters, named Park Mi-Jin, is shown to have a crush on her friend Jang Ha-ri, another female. While the relationship hasn't officially happened thus far, it's still very possible for it to be official.

## Censorship Issues

The Government of South Korea practiced censorship of gay content websites from 2001 to 2003, through its *Information and Communications Ethics Committee* (정보통신윤리위원회), an official organ of the Ministry of Information and Communication. That practice has since been ended.

The South Korean Government has been criticised for the lack of protection for LGBT people. As of 2020, South Korea has no national law preventing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which places it at the bottom of the list of OECD countries in regard to LGBT rights. In addition, South Korea's aggressive track and test method to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in several LGBT South Koreans being outed by either the press or by the public government records related to testing. A cluster of cases was linked to a gay bar in Seoul in May 2020, with all of those in attendance having their personal characteristics, and in some cases also their occupation, released to the public. In a country with no protections, the idea of being listed in public government records as LGBT is "insurmountable" and can lead to "long-term negative social effects". Several LGBT people who had visited the bar decided not to report their positive COVID status. Government officials announced anonymous testing procedures later that month. Several COVID clusters were also linked to notoriously homophobic Christian churches or organisations.

## South Korean Queer Masterlist

### Television

Gallery

1. ↑ https://apexart.org/QAdiscuss.php