Meet Holland, The Openly Gay Korean Idol Makg Wav In South Korea |

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
• THE ARE THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR KOREAN IDOLS AMONGST GAY KOREAN MEN
• GAY FILM KOREA
• FIRST OPENLY GAY K-POP IDOL HOLLAND REVEALS HE HAS A BOYIEND THAT HE WANTS TO MARRY
• MEET HOLLAND, THE OPENLY GAY KOREAN IDOL MAKG WAV IN SOUTH KOREA
• ARE THERE REALLY A LOT OF GAY IDOLS? CRAYON POP’S WAY & BLANC7’S SHWOO REVEAL THEIR EXPERIENCE
• 5 STYLISH KOREAN ACTORS AND THE CONTROVERSIAL GAY CHARACTERS THEY PLAYED ON K-DRAMAS

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. Maman Maman, who origally buted 2007 unr the stage name Magoply, is K-Pop first openly gay idol.

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

Holland Holland is well-known as the media’s first openly gay K-Pop idol.

Though his gay Korean iends told him would be better to stay the closet, he chose to e out as a way to be his te self. Origatg 1960s Japan, where  was known as “yaoi, ” BL typilly picts two men a homoerotic relatnship.

Some LGBTQ activists have acced BL stori of fetishizg and appropriatg gay culture. Wily regnized as South Korea’s first openly gay K-pop artist, the sger and actor Go Tae-seob, who the stage name Holland, starred a BL drama last year and believ that the growg visibily of BL books, TV seri and movi is a posive step.

THE ARE THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR KOREAN IDOLS AMONGST GAY KOREAN MEN

Bdette, who also intifi as gay and is a longstandg BL fan, said the genre will shake up nservative views on genr and sexualy South Korea. “Whether you are a heterosexual woman tryg to ject your sexual tonomy to the world, or you are a gay man who wants to see posive reprentatns of male-male romance, BL n be ed, ” he said.

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.

GAY FILM KOREA

“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.

FIRST OPENLY GAY K-POP IDOL HOLLAND REVEALS HE HAS A BOYIEND THAT HE WANTS TO MARRY

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.

MEET HOLLAND, THE OPENLY GAY KOREAN IDOL MAKG WAV IN SOUTH KOREA

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. Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Andrew Ahn’s father once told him that there were “no gay people Korea.

ARE THERE REALLY A LOT OF GAY IDOLS? CRAYON POP’S WAY & BLANC7’S SHWOO REVEAL THEIR EXPERIENCE

In a culturally nservative muny, where gog to church and buildg a fay were heavily emphasized, Ahn felt his gay inty kept him “om beg able to participate Korean culture. ” Then, he started equentg GAMeBoi, a weekly Asian Amerin gay party at Wt Hollywood’s Rage Nightclub. He learned to embrace beg both Korean and gay, so much so that he directed “Fire Island, ” a groundbreakg queer Asian Amerin rom- released last year.

Beg Asian Amerin and LGBTQ+ n feel lonely, wh stutns such as ethnic church often disavowg non-heterosexual relatnships while tradnal LGBTQ+ spac such as gay bars n be unwelg to people of lor.

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

“Fdg plac like GAMeBoi, where beg queer and Asian do -exist … It’s not like a 1, 000-year-old Korean cultural rual, but I uld create a new rual, ” said Ahn, a recent Friday, hundreds packed QT Nightlife’s monthly K-Pop Night at Micky’s, a Wt Hollywood gay club a block or so east om the old GAMeBoi posed for selfi a pk Barbie box wh dis balls hangg overhead. ” (Michael Owen Baker / For The Tim) Even historilly gay neighborhoods like Wt Hollywood or San Francis’s Castro district, Asian Amerins have long been ignored or fetishized, seen as feme and weak.