A fector tells what 's like to be gay North Korea | SBS News

Contents:

• NORTH KOREA’S ‘ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR’ FDS LOVE
• ‘I ULD NOT EVEN DREAM’: WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY NORTH KOREA
• GAY LIFE NORTH KOREA
• NORTH KOREA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR: ''S A WEIRD LIFE'
• GAY NORTH KOREA
• A FECTOR TELLS WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY NORTH KOREATHE FECTOR HAS TOLD CNN, "NORTH KOREA SOCIETY TREATS THE PEOPLE AS ABNORMAL".JANG YEONG-J HAS WRTEN AN TOBGRAPHIL NOVE ABOUT HIS LIFE NORTH KOREA, LLED 'A MARK OF RED HONOUR'. SOURCE: CNNJANG YEONG-J ONLY HEARD THE WORD "HOMOSEXUAL" FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN HE WAS 37 YEARS OLD, AND HE HAD NO NCEPT OF WHAT MEANT.THAT WAS NOT UNUAL HIS NATIVE NORTH KOREA - HOMOSEXUALY SIMPLY DIDN'T EXIST THERE, HE TOLD CNN.JANG WAS TRAPPED AN ARRANGED MARRIED, BUT NEVER LOVED HIS WIFE. HE LIVED WH FEELGS OF GUILT AND NFN. WHEN HE WENT TO A NROLOGIST TO TALK ABOUT HIS FEELGS AND NCERNS AND FD OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WH HIM, THE DOCTOR YELLED AT HIM AND HE RAN OM THE OFFICE.IT WAS ONLY WHEN HE WAS READG A MAGAZE A DOCTOR'S SURGERY 1998, AFTER HE FECTED TO SOUTH KOREA, THAT JANG SAW AN ARTICLE ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY. SUDNLY EVERYTHG BEME CLEAR TO HIM.JANG YEONG-J ONCE WENT TO SEE A NROLOGIST NORTH KOREA TO DISCS HIS FEELGS, BUT WAS YELLED AT. SOURCE: CNN"THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I KNEW WHAT HOMOSEXUALY WAS AND I WAS REALLY PLEASED," HE SAID THE CNN TERVIEW."I WAS 37 YEARS OLD BY THAT TIME AND THOUGHT I WOULD BE LIVG ALONE FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE AFTER LEAVG NORTH KOREA SCE I ULD NOT LIVE WH A WOMAN."HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE. HE RELLS A CHILDHOOD IEND HE ED TO SOMETIM HOLD HANDS WH OR SHARE A BED WH, WHO HE LATER REALISED HE HAD BEEN LOVE WH.THERE WERE OTHER MEN WHO HAD SIAR EXPERIENC TO JANG."WHEN I WAS THE ARY THERE WAS A SENR OFFICER WHO HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AS ME AFTER HE GOT MARRIED," JANG SAYS."THERE WAS ALSO A MAN MY HOMETOWN WHO NEVER GOT MARRIED AND LIVED ALONE ALL HIS LIFE."NORTH KOREA SOCIETY TREATS THE PEOPLE AS ABNORMAL."WATCH: THE FECTOR SCRIB HIS LIFE NORTH KOREAJANG SAYS HE ULD LIVE WH LIMED FOOD OR CLOTHG NORTH KOREA, BUT HE WAS MISERABLE WHOUT HAVG ANYTHG TO DREAM FOR.HE FECTED, CROSSG THE BORR TO CHA 1996, BUT WAS UNABLE TO GET TO SOUTH KOREA. A YEAR LATER HE RETURNED TO NORTH KOREA AND CROSSED THE ME-VERED ARISED ZONE, OR DMZ, TO SOUTH KOREA, WHERE HE NOW LIV.BEG THE ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR HAS MA SETTLG DIFFICULT. BUT HE HAS WRTEN AN TOBGRAPHIL NOVEL ABOUT HIS LIFE NORTH KOREA, TLED 'A MARK OF RED HONOUR' (AN ENGLISH TRANSLATN IS DUE TO BE PUBLISHED THIS YEAR), AND HE IS HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE."I AM VERY OPTIMISTIC, I ALWAYS HAVE HOPE THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, LOVG EACH OTHER, TRAVELLG AROUND THE WORLD SOMEDAY," HE SAID.READ MOREDAYS OF NORTH KOREA'S KIM ARE NUMBERED: FECTORSOUTH KOREA CRACKS DOWN ON GAY SOLDIERS AFTER SEX SNDALGAY MEN REUNT HORRORS OF ALLEGED PERSECUTN CHECHNYASHARE3 M READPUBLISHED 25 APRIL 2017 4:31PMUPDATED 25 APRIL 2017 4:42PMBY ALYSSA BRAHWAESHARE THIS WH FAY AND IENDSCOPY LKSHARETOPICS
• ARE THERE GAY PEOPLE NORTH KOREA?

NORTH KOREA’S ‘ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR’ FDS LOVE

Image source, Oh HwanJang Yeong-j's remarkable story as North Korea's only openly gay fector was vered by the ternatnal media after he published his tobgraphy. Medil tts "There is no ncept of homosexualy North Korea, " he says.

Park Jeong-Won, a law profsor at Seoul's Kookm Universy, says that he is not aware of any explic North Korean law agast gay and lbian relatnships. But he adds that the state's laws agast extramaral relatns and breachg social mor would probably be -opted to prosecutg any gay sexual act.

‘I ULD NOT EVEN DREAM’: WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY NORTH KOREA

"When I asked them about homosexualy, they didn't tch on quickly so I had to expla to every sgle person, " Kim, profsor of North Korean Studi at Ewha Women's Universy, says. He turned the page to disver an article about gay men g out, wh a scene om an Amerin film showg two men kissg source, Chosun-ilboImage ptn, Jang's risky fectn route ma headl the SouthFally dawned on Jang that he, too, was gay. "The revelatn transformed Jang's life, and he beme a regular at Seoul's gay bars.

"I heard that there are many gay bars there. Gay North Korean fector speaks out. He was driven to leave the North by the difficulti of livg there as a gay man.

GAY LIFE NORTH KOREA

Jang did not hear the word “homosexual” for the first 37 years of his life, sayg he had no ncept of what meant, somethg not unual his native North Korea. Readg a magaze a doctor’s surgery 1998, not long after he arrived South Korea, Jang saw an article about homosexualy.

“That was the first time I knew what homosexualy was and I was really pleased, ” he says. He has few iends and beg the only out gay fector the South has ma settlg twice as hard.

Somethg About the Gay Suatn North Korea? A rear recently wrote: I’d like to know somethg about the gay suatn North Korea. GlobalGayz rponse:.

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

There is such fear and secrecy about many aspects of North Korea that is difficult to fd anythg reliable about everyday life there–and doubly so about homosexualy.

GAY NORTH KOREA

It is not discsed public and ’s a likely assumptn that almost all gay or lbian people are ndned or erced to marriage and they live that way whout ever unrstandg their nflicted feelgs. Even for someone wh a b of knowledge about human behavr the official view is that homosexualy is an aberratn that exists only a palist society.

I am sure there is homosexual activy some plac but the would be impossible for an outsir to fd.

Sce sexual sire and longg are felt people of all cultur I would also gus there are some very secret plac where anonymo homo sex happens, but probably very hidn and very quickly. A send reference is a blog summary about an ped NK man who had no ia how to unrstand his homosexual feelgs until he got to South Korea and was exposed to rmatn and the eedom to act on his feelgs.

A FECTOR TELLS WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY NORTH KOREATHE FECTOR HAS TOLD CNN, "NORTH KOREA SOCIETY TREATS THE PEOPLE AS ABNORMAL".JANG YEONG-J HAS WRTEN AN TOBGRAPHIL NOVE ABOUT HIS LIFE NORTH KOREA, LLED 'A MARK OF RED HONOUR'. SOURCE: CNNJANG YEONG-J ONLY HEARD THE WORD "HOMOSEXUAL" FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN HE WAS 37 YEARS OLD, AND HE HAD NO NCEPT OF WHAT MEANT.THAT WAS NOT UNUAL HIS NATIVE NORTH KOREA - HOMOSEXUALY SIMPLY DIDN'T EXIST THERE, HE TOLD CNN.JANG WAS TRAPPED AN ARRANGED MARRIED, BUT NEVER LOVED HIS WIFE. HE LIVED WH FEELGS OF GUILT AND NFN. WHEN HE WENT TO A NROLOGIST TO TALK ABOUT HIS FEELGS AND NCERNS AND FD OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WH HIM, THE DOCTOR YELLED AT HIM AND HE RAN OM THE OFFICE.IT WAS ONLY WHEN HE WAS READG A MAGAZE A DOCTOR'S SURGERY 1998, AFTER HE FECTED TO SOUTH KOREA, THAT JANG SAW AN ARTICLE ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY. SUDNLY EVERYTHG BEME CLEAR TO HIM.JANG YEONG-J ONCE WENT TO SEE A NROLOGIST NORTH KOREA TO DISCS HIS FEELGS, BUT WAS YELLED AT. SOURCE: CNN"THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I KNEW WHAT HOMOSEXUALY WAS AND I WAS REALLY PLEASED," HE SAID THE CNN TERVIEW."I WAS 37 YEARS OLD BY THAT TIME AND THOUGHT I WOULD BE LIVG ALONE FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE AFTER LEAVG NORTH KOREA SCE I ULD NOT LIVE WH A WOMAN."HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE. HE RELLS A CHILDHOOD IEND HE ED TO SOMETIM HOLD HANDS WH OR SHARE A BED WH, WHO HE LATER REALISED HE HAD BEEN LOVE WH.THERE WERE OTHER MEN WHO HAD SIAR EXPERIENC TO JANG."WHEN I WAS THE ARY THERE WAS A SENR OFFICER WHO HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AS ME AFTER HE GOT MARRIED," JANG SAYS."THERE WAS ALSO A MAN MY HOMETOWN WHO NEVER GOT MARRIED AND LIVED ALONE ALL HIS LIFE."NORTH KOREA SOCIETY TREATS THE PEOPLE AS ABNORMAL."WATCH: THE FECTOR SCRIB HIS LIFE NORTH KOREAJANG SAYS HE ULD LIVE WH LIMED FOOD OR CLOTHG NORTH KOREA, BUT HE WAS MISERABLE WHOUT HAVG ANYTHG TO DREAM FOR.HE FECTED, CROSSG THE BORR TO CHA 1996, BUT WAS UNABLE TO GET TO SOUTH KOREA. A YEAR LATER HE RETURNED TO NORTH KOREA AND CROSSED THE ME-VERED ARISED ZONE, OR DMZ, TO SOUTH KOREA, WHERE HE NOW LIV.BEG THE ONLY OPENLY GAY FECTOR HAS MA SETTLG DIFFICULT. BUT HE HAS WRTEN AN TOBGRAPHIL NOVEL ABOUT HIS LIFE NORTH KOREA, TLED 'A MARK OF RED HONOUR' (AN ENGLISH TRANSLATN IS DUE TO BE PUBLISHED THIS YEAR), AND HE IS HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE."I AM VERY OPTIMISTIC, I ALWAYS HAVE HOPE THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, LOVG EACH OTHER, TRAVELLG AROUND THE WORLD SOMEDAY," HE SAID.READ MOREDAYS OF NORTH KOREA'S KIM ARE NUMBERED: FECTORSOUTH KOREA CRACKS DOWN ON GAY SOLDIERS AFTER SEX SNDALGAY MEN REUNT HORRORS OF ALLEGED PERSECUTN CHECHNYASHARE3 M READPUBLISHED 25 APRIL 2017 4:31PMUPDATED 25 APRIL 2017 4:42PMBY ALYSSA BRAHWAESHARE THIS WH FAY AND IENDSCOPY LKSHARETOPICS

Lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) rights North Korea have never been the subject of any known polil movement or legislatn.

ARE THERE GAY PEOPLE NORTH KOREA?

North Korean society is nservative wh regard to sexual matters general, and media portrayals of homosexualy typilly associate wh palist nce.

While there do not appear to be any specific law agast homosexual relatnships or acts, the are viewed as filthy and beneath the digny of the Korean people. It is unclear what the age of nsent is, if any, for homosexual activy is. As a untry that has embraced science and ratnalism, the DPRK regniz that many dividuals are born wh homosexualy as a geic tra and treats them wh due rpect.