North Korea's only openly gay fector: ''s a weird life' | North Korea | The Guardian

Contents:

• NORTH KOREA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR: ''S A WEIRD LIFE'
• NORTH KOREA, HONG KONG, GAY PRI: YOUR MONDAY BRIEFG
• SNL: KIM JONG UN LIFTS NORTH KOREA’S GAY MARRIAGE BAN
• NORTH KOREA SLAMS U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT BEE WAS LED BY GAY MAN
• ‘SNL’: KIM JONG-UN ENDORS GAY MARRIAGE COLD OPEN (VIO)
• CONSERVATIVE RAD HOST, REVEREND SUGGT GAY MARRIAGE AND KIM JONG UN THREATS LKED
• KIM JONG-UN COM OUT IN SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE: 'I'M NOT A MONSTER'

NORTH KOREA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR: ''S A WEIRD LIFE'

By North Korean standards Jang Yeong-j had a normal start life: he joed the ary at 19, pleted 10 years of natnal service and married soon trapped his untry, which he has lled “one huge prison whout bars”, problems wh his marriage led him to fect to South was only when he crossed the borr and spent time a more open society did bee clear to him that he was homosexual, somethg he had never prevly had a name for.

The 55-year-old is now the only openly gay North Korean fector livg the South.

NORTH KOREA, HONG KONG, GAY PRI: YOUR MONDAY BRIEFG

“I didn’t know until after I arrived here that I was a gay, or even what homosexualy was. ”Speakg to the European Alliance for Human Rights North Korea, Jang explas that although he is ee of the DPRK regime, life as an openly gay fector remas a explas that men and women are often segregated for long perds of time North Korea.

Photograph: ChaFotoPrs/ChaFotoPrs via Getty ImagWhat did you know about homosexualy growg up North Korea? I nsired my homosexualy as a pathologil ndn.. But [] is a tragedy to live whout knowg that you are ’s life like for gay people North Korea?

As there is no ncept of homosexualy, there is no awarens of the issue. This isn’t to say that all the men are gay, but rather, they are tied by a special raship.

SNL: KIM JONG UN LIFTS NORTH KOREA’S GAY MARRIAGE BAN

Michael Kirby, thor of a UN report to human rights the DPRK, is an openly gay man. After the publitn of his report, the Korean Central News Agency published an article that ntaed many homophobic slurs aimed at him. Do you feel prsured to speak as a gay rights activist?

• The New York Tim began publishg announcements of same-sex unns September 2002, long before gay marriage was legally regnized the Uned Stat. SNL: Kim Jong Un Lifts North Koreas Gay Marriage BanNBCTurns out the U. North Korean lear "Kim Jong Un" announced on "Saturday Night Live" that he's liftg the gay marriage ban his untry -- bee his (executed) nephew was gay.

Mostly bee of the experienc of a nephew that happens to be gay. "The nephew was executed, Kim said, "but not bee he was gay" -- rather, was bee of the weekly book group he had been hostg at his sisted he has "no personal stake" the issue whatsoever, bee he's "as heterosexual as a person n be.

NORTH KOREA SLAMS U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT BEE WAS LED BY GAY MAN

A North Korean state news agency has lashed out at the Uned Natns' recent report to human rights the Herm Kgdom – by g homophobic sults agast the man who led the vtigatn. "It then clud two paragraphs that took aim at Kirby, an openly gay man, personally:As for Kirby who took the lead okg the "report", he is a disgtg old lecher wh a 40-odd-year-long reer of homosexualy. He is now over seventy, but he is still anx to get married to his homosexual practice n never be found the DPRK boastg of the sound mentaly and good morals, and homosexualy has bee a target of public cricism even Wtern untri, too.

In fact, is ridiculo for such gay to sponsor alg wh others' human rights full article n be found on the KCNA Web se.

"However, the e of homophobic sults seems exceptnal, even for North Korea: A quick search of KCNA appears to show that this is the first time the agency has ed the word "homosexual" sce the agency went onle. Officially, homosexualy don't exist North Korea, and there appear to be no laws on the books banng .

‘SNL’: KIM JONG-UN ENDORS GAY MARRIAGE COLD OPEN (VIO)

In an article for NK News published last year, Oliver Hotham wrote that many North Koreans have ltle knowledge of homosexualy, and is often viewed as a foreign Korean propaganda is well-known for s flowery language, and sults agast foreign crics occur wh relative equency. In Saturday Night Live‘s ld open, the lear (played by Bobby Moynihan) revealed his views on same-sex marriage have been “evolvg, ” and that he was liftg the natn’s ban on gay marriage.

His views changed bee of a gay nephew, he said durg an addrs airg on C-SPAN. “I still had to have him executed, but not bee he was gay, ” Jong-un said. Jong-un went on to say his approval of gay marriage had nothg to do wh his own sexualy.

CONSERVATIVE RAD HOST, REVEREND SUGGT GAY MARRIAGE AND KIM JONG UN THREATS LKED

A nservative rad host and the print of the Southern Baptist Conventn suggted recently that support of same-sex marriage and gay rights uld be lked to North Korea's most recent threats agast the Uned Stat.

KIM JONG-UN COM OUT IN SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE: 'I'M NOT A MONSTER'

Uld be nnected to the most recent bate on same-sex marriage and the Boy Suts' possible cln of gay members, acrdg to Right Wg Watch. I would not be surprised that at the time when we are batg same-sex marriage, at a time when we are batg whether or not we should have gays leadg the Boy Sut movement, I don’t thk ’s jt a cince that we have a mad man Asia who is sayg some of the thgs that he’s June, Luter was elected the first Ain-Amerin print of the Southern Baptist Conventn, the natn’s largt Prottant group, the Washgton Post reported.