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

Contents:

• SOUTH KOREA’S GAY UPL FIGHT FOR REGNN, ONE LAW AT A TIME
• SOUTH KOREAN GAY UPLE SE URT W AS BREAKTHROUGH FOR EQUALY
• SOUTH KOREAN URT GRANTS GAY UPLE HEALTH BENEFS LANDMARK LG
• IN THE MP WORLD OF K-POP, ’S HARD FOR STARS TO BE GAY
• GAY SOUTH KOREA: 'SHE SAID I DON'T NEED A SON LIKE YOU'
• GAY SOUTH KOREAN UPLE LOSE EQUAL VERAGE LAWSU AGAST HEALTH SURER
• GAY LIFE SOUTH KOREA
• GAY S. KOREAN UPLE SE BREAKTHROUGH FOR EQUALY

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

” 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.

SOUTH KOREAN GAY UPLE SE URT W AS BREAKTHROUGH FOR EQUALY

”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.

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. 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.

SOUTH KOREAN URT GRANTS GAY UPLE HEALTH BENEFS LANDMARK LG

“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.

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. 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.

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

“It’s kd of sad, ” said Jungm Kwon, an amic who wrote a book lled “Straight Korean Female Fans and Their Gay Fantasi.

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

“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.

GAY SOUTH KOREAN UPLE LOSE EQUAL VERAGE LAWSU AGAST HEALTH SURER

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 LIFE SOUTH KOREA

“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. But ultimately, experts believe a time when gay stars are accepted mastream K-pop uld still be some way off. He listened fearfully church as the pastor preached that homosexualy was a s and enuragg would brg disease.

GAY S. KOREAN UPLE SE BREAKTHROUGH FOR EQUALY

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. Homosexualy may not be illegal South Korea - sce 2003 is no longer classified as "harmful and obscene" - but discrimatn remas wispread.

Jt unr half of South Koreans don't want a gay iend, neighbour or lleague, acrdg to one natnwi survey by The Korea Social Integratn ptn, Why holidays n be tough for S Korea's LGBT munyThe proportn of gay and lbian teenagers who have been exposed to vlence is also high.