K-pop: Why 's hard for stars to be gay South Korea | CNN

Contents:

• GAY SEOUL
• 8 UNFORTABLE TTHS ABOUT BEG GAY SOUTH KOREA
• IN THE MP WORLD OF K-POP, ’S HARD FOR STARS TO BE GAY
• GAY SOUTH KOREA

GAY SEOUL

Origatg 1960s Japan, where  was known as “yaoi, ” BL typilly picts two men a homoerotic relatnship. Some LGBTQ activists have acced BL stori of fetishizg and appropriatg gay culture.

Wily regnized as South Korea’s first openly gay K-pop artist, the sger and actor Go Tae-seob, who the stage name Holland, starred a BL drama last year and believ that the growg visibily of BL books, TV seri and movi is a posive step. Bdette, who also intifi as gay and is a longstandg BL fan, said the genre will shake up nservative views on genr and sexualy South Korea.

8 UNFORTABLE TTHS ABOUT BEG GAY SOUTH KOREA

“Whether you are a heterosexual woman tryg to ject your sexual tonomy to the world, or you are a gay man who wants to see posive reprentatns of male-male romance, BL n be ed, ” he said. Itaewon, the cy's nightlife district, radiat as an LGBTQ+ hub, hostg a selectn of gay bars, clubs, and muny spac. ” One petn sent to the Mistry of Jtice prophied, whout any evince, that “homosexuals will try to sce everyone” if the bill were to bee law.

” In May, a top adviser to Print Yoon said “homosexualy n be treated, ” like a smokg hab (he later rigned). Prottant Pastor Yonah Lee, a stnch supporter of Yoon’s polici, is often lled this untry’s facto “ex-gay” spokperson.

” Pastor Yonah Lee, center, leads an "ex-gay" march LifePastor Lee acknowledged that discrimatn agast LGBTQ dividuals is “wrong, ” but he argued that the Bible “nmns homosexualy” and baselsly claimed that an anti-discrimatn law that explicly protects LGBTQ people would “force church to close.

IN THE MP WORLD OF K-POP, ’S HARD FOR STARS TO BE GAY

Gay actor Kim Ji-who and trans actrs Jang Chae-won both died the same week 2008. Both of their aths have been wily blamed on the homophobic bullyg they received profsnally. What is like to be gay South Korea?

Homophobia is still rife South Korea, where very few mastream mic stars have e out as gay. There, homosexual sex is not banned, but is illegal the ary, where almost all men mt plete a stt of pulsory nscriptn. “It’s kd of sad, ” said Jungm Kwon, an amic who wrote a book lled “Straight Korean Female Fans and Their Gay Fantasi.

“On the one hand looks like the dtry is very open md to shippg culture, ” she told CNN, referrg to the culture among fans of imagg relatnships between their favore stars – cludg gay relatnships. Acrdg to Kwon, fans were spired by “yaoi” – a kd of Japane manga that featur gay relatnships between male upl – and began makg up stori about their favore stars. Even now, K-pop labels sometim cultivate idols’ homoerotic appeal the hop that mak them more popular fanfictn, where Kwon timat 80% of stori volve gay story l.

GAY SOUTH KOREA

South Korea’s rerd labels are happy to let fans fantasize about idols beg gay. But they don’t want gay idols be open about their sexualy. But when me time to but, the label was agast him butg as a gay idol.