In a first, South Korean urt grants gay uple health benefs | CNN

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STORY: For gay uple So Sung- and Kim Yong-m, the ti might fally be turng a years-long fight for equal regnn South Korea for LGBTQ+ 32-year-old activists won a landmark Seoul urt lg last week, that will allow same-sex upl to claim equal spoal verage of the natnal health surance as heterosexual pair have been together sce they first met durg their natnal service a ago, but say their rights as a uple have been limed. “We are not regnized as fay by law South Korea, so we nnot receive registered mail or serve as regivers as a fay member at a hospal on each other’s behalf.”In South Korea, same-sex marriage is not legal and efforts to troduce an anti-discrimatn law face backlash om the Seoul High Court’s verdict has been hailed as a step towards marriage equaly by human rights uple had managed to secure natnal health surance verage for So as a pennt based on his partnership wh when lol media drew attentn to the uple's story, thori backtracked and revoked So's verage, claimg the approval had been an admistrative sparked a two-year legal battle, as So cid to sue the health service. They ially lost a lol admistrative urt, but prevailed when the Seoul High Court last week changed urse and affirmed his right to verage.“I see this lg not jt as a one-off w but as a sign that we are startg to w. That love has won.”“The lg as a rare step forward at a time when people have been feelg tired of not seeg much progrs for que a while. We are very happy and the LGBT muny seems to be a cheerful mood.”The uple says the untry has been slow makg stris for LGBTQ rights due to actn by policians. Anti-discrimatn bills have been proposed but lawmakers have failed to move forward wh legislatn spe public support and cricism.“It is a polician's job to make society a more equal and better place to live, not jt s back and wa for society to change.”South Korea's health service said a statement would nduct a legal review to ci whether to challenge the latt urt cisn before the Supreme Court.

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SOUTH KOREA’S GAY UPL FIGHT FOR REGNN, ONE LAW AT A TIME

For So Sung- and Kim Yong-m, who last week won a landmark Seoul urt lg on natnal health verage for gay upl, the ti may fally be turng their years-long stggle for equal regnn South Korea for LGBT partnerships. * gay couple korea *

” But neher of their same-sex unns is legally regnized South this socially nservative society where homosexualy remas a taboo, the upl are part of a vanguard nontg rampant discrimatn agast the LGBTQ muny. ”For a uple navigatg the narrow boundari of South Korean law, a recent judicial cisn — brought about by So and Kim — is a source of Seoul High Court Febary orred the Natnal Health Insurance Service to provi spoal verage to gay upl after So and Kim, both 32, sued the pair started llg each other “hband” after their weddg ceremony 2019, and Kim listed his “spoe” as his pennt on his health surance.

Homophobia remas rampant South Korea, the world’s 10th-largt enomy, bee of entrenched genr norms and social nservatism, experts say. Taiwan is the only place the regn wh marriage even this environment, South Korea’s vocifero evangelil Christian groups make the homophobia particularly loud. South Korean Print Yoon S Yeol, elected last year on an anti-femist platform, appoted Kim Seong-hoe, who had prevly lled homosexualy a “type of mental illns, ” to a top advisory role.

SOUTH KOREAN GAY UPLE SE URT W AS BREAKTHROUGH FOR EQUALY

LGBT Rights South Korea: homosexualy, gay marriage, gay adoptn, servg the ary, sexual orientatn discrimatn protectn, changg legal genr, donatg blood, age of nsent, and more. * gay couple korea *

Kim had also said that “homosexualy n be treated” — like a smokg didn’t rema long the job, but even when standg down, he mataed that he is “personally opposed to homosexualy.

SOUTH KOREAN URT GRANTS GAY UPLE HEALTH BENEFS LANDMARK LG

Livg gay South Korea is mostly hidn clubs and bars, pigeon-holed off to late dancg or drkg wh iends, far om bs. * gay couple korea *

Homophobic abe and stigmatizatn are still rampant across South Korea’s armed forc, which all able-bodied men mt serve a mimum of 18 months unr the nscriptn fact, So and Kim met durg their ary service.

“Love triumphs” even the most unlikely environment, Kim their openly gay life has not been easy, “ is a path we chose to live happily and tthfully, ” So trailblazg pair say they are empowered by support om members and alli of South Korea’s LGBTQ muny, cludg for legal, together wh their advot, hope that they n chip away at unfair systems to get greater rights and regnn for their relatnship and others. SEOUL, Feb 27 (Rters) - For So Sung- and Kim Yong-m, who last week won a landmark Seoul urt lg on natnal health verage for gay upl, the ti may fally be turng their years-long stggle for equal regnn South Korea for LGBT 32-year-old activists, together sce they first met durg their natnal service a ago, have regularly posted about their relatnship on social media and public foms, cludg a weddg ceremony 2019 that drew some 300 atten. "The two also managed to secure natnal health surance verage for So, who works wh a youth HIV support group, as a pennt based on his partnership wh Kim, an employee for an anisatn that advot for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer when lol media drew attentn to the pair's story and the Natnal Health Insurance Service's official acknowledgement that they were a uple, the thori backtracked and revoked So's verage, sayg the approval had been an admistrative began a two-year legal stggle as So sued the health service, ially losg a lol admistrative urt but prevailg when the Seoul High Court last week reversed urse and affirmed his right to verage.

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.

GAY SOUTH KOREA: 'SHE SAID I DON'T NEED A SON LIKE YOU'

An activist holds up a rabow-lored fan and a South Korean natnal flag as gay pri ftival participants face Christians opposed to homosexualy central Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2015. 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.

GAY SOUTH KOREAN UPLE LOSE EQUAL VERAGE LAWSU AGAST HEALTH SURER

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. “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.

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.

GAY LIFE SOUTH KOREA

But ultimately, experts believe a time when gay stars are accepted mastream K-pop uld still be some way off.

GAY S. KOREAN UPLE SE BREAKTHROUGH FOR EQUALY

He listened fearfully church as the pastor preached that homosexualy was a s and enuragg would brg disease. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Christian anti-LGBT protters are makg their prence felt at gay events like here SeoulHe proudly showed me his T-shirt wh a special rabow logo on , one that lls for an anti-discrimatn law.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY COUPLE KOREA

South Korean gay uple se urt w as breakthrough for equaly | Inquirer News.

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