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
• JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU
• PEACHY KEENAN: EVERYONE IS GAY, N YOU BLAME THEM?
• THE PROBLEM WH BEG GAY SOUTH KOREA
• GAY AND TRANS SOLDIERS SAY THEY WERE ABED SOUTH KOREAN ARY

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

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. South Korea’s rerd labels are happy to let fans fantasize about idols beg gay.

JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU

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.

“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.

PEACHY KEENAN: EVERYONE IS GAY, N YOU BLAME THEM?

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. -based profsnal league to e out as gay.

THE PROBLEM WH BEG GAY SOUTH KOREA

Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St.

GAY AND TRANS SOLDIERS SAY THEY WERE ABED SOUTH KOREAN ARY

In Team Ameri, the 2004 puppet edy om the creators of South Park, there’s a scene that satiriz the prevalence of gay-themed stage plays of that era (Angels Ameri, Rent, etc. The gay or lbian populatn has creased by 26% and the percentage of stunts intifyg as bisexual has creased by 232%. Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a woman.He said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love.