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

Contents:

• IN THE MP WORLD OF K-POP, ’S HARD FOR STARS TO BE GAY
• 5 STYLISH KOREAN ACTORS AND THE CONTROVERSIAL GAY CHARACTERS THEY PLAYED ON K-DRAMAS
• THE ARE THE 20 MALE K-POP CELEBRI MOST LOVED BY GAY KOREAN MEN IN ... - LATT TWEET BY KOREABOO
• GAY KOREAN CELEBRI – K-POP SGER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY 20 YEARS

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

Holland is not the first known LGBT K-pop idol, but you n say that this new generatn of K-pop, he's one of the first idols who admted that he's gay. He ially me out as gay 2015, and upon g Korea, his iends told him to keep his sexualy secret - but he's proud of his inty, makg him the first Korean artist who is openly gay.

However, durg an terview, she nfsed she is gay, g her to be kicked out om her agency. “Merry Queer” -host Hong Seok-cheon—one of the most proment openly gay celebri South Korea—spoke to TIME along wh the shows' producer Lim Chang-hyuck and “His Man” st member Lee Jeong-ho on what the shows mean for queer reprentatn. 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.

5 STYLISH KOREAN ACTORS AND THE CONTROVERSIAL GAY CHARACTERS THEY PLAYED ON K-DRAMAS

“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.

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.

THE ARE THE 20 MALE K-POP CELEBRI MOST LOVED BY GAY KOREAN MEN IN ... - LATT TWEET BY KOREABOO

“It’s a shame that’s the lim they n go when to showg homosexual teractn – n only be portrayed as funny.

After Hong me out publicly as gay 2000, he was fired om his hostg job and lost other work – and thor Kwon believ that harsh rponse has disuraged others om followg su.

GAY KOREAN CELEBRI – K-POP SGER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY 20 YEARS

Holland thks thgs are changg: more artists appear to be ditg that they are alli of the gay muny. In the absence of nfirmatn, mentators have ed small, clive clu to speculate on their stance, for example, the time the band’s lear RM tweeted Macklemore’s song “Same Love, ” which promot equal rights for gay people.