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

Contents:

• 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
• KPOP STARS THAT HAS BEEN RUMORED AS GAY [PART 2]
• HOMOSEXUALITY IN KOREA: KOREAN CELEBRI, GAY IDOLS AND MORE
• FIRST OPENLY GAY K-POP IDOL HOLLAND REVEALS HE HAS A BOYIEND THAT HE WANTS TO MARRY
• GAY KOREAN CELEBRI – K-POP SGER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY 20 YEARS
• THE KOREAN ACTORS ARE BREAKG DOWN BARRIERS FOR THE GAY COMMUNY IN KOREA

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

So seeg actors portray a gay character media is still volatile ground.

Their groundbreakg rol as gay characters stirred global nversatns onto the laps of avid K-drama fans. Korean Actors as Gay K-Drama Characters. Tae-sun later reveals to Oska that he is gay.

Former sger, performer, and actor, Lee Ho-dong or better known as Hoya was the first few actors who played a gay character across Korean televisn. Later on the seri, he harbors the secret that he is gay and is secretly love wh Yoo-jae.

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

At the end of the seri, Oh-je nfs to his bt iend that he is gay which be the highlight of the entire seri! The moment he nfs that he was gay was tly the plot-twist we didn’t expect for. gay characters kdrama.

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.

KPOP STARS THAT HAS BEEN RUMORED AS GAY [PART 2]

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.

HOMOSEXUALITY IN KOREA: KOREAN CELEBRI, GAY IDOLS AND MORE

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.

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. 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.

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

Getty ImagWhile is fely not the same as a formerly-closeted LGBTQ+ celeb publicly g out and livg/sharg their tth to the world, sometim 's the straights who have to do the talkg when to explag the sexuali and are a few stanc where famo men had to clarify that they are, fact, not gay. "He ntued:"My favore thg I saw was a guy on the Inter that said, 'Of urse he's gay. He's got a gay face, ' which I thought was kd of an odd thg to say anyway.

GAY KOREAN CELEBRI – K-POP SGER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY 20 YEARS

A 'gay face'? That's a very worryg thg, like they have sat at home and have got pictur of me next to other famo, gay [people] -- Elton John, I don't know -- jt parg across the years. The Emmy wner who played gay serial killer Andrew Cunanan The Assassatn of Gianni Versace: Amerin Crime Storyspoke about his sexualy a 2011 terview wh Out.

)"I thk 's more empowerg to everybody, cludg myself, if I'm articulate about intifyg myself as a straight male playg a gay character, " he said when asked about beg fortable playg gay characters. In his first gay prs terview wh The Advote 2012, the High School Mil and Hairspray heartthrob opened up about how although he don't intify as gay, he fds the love and support he gets om his big, gay fanbase to be "flatterg.

THE KOREAN ACTORS ARE BREAKG DOWN BARRIERS FOR THE GAY COMMUNY IN KOREA

After High School Mil and Hairspray, I've always felt embraced by the gay muny, and I feel credibly grateful and honored, " he said. "Also let me say if I was gay I wouldn't hi . Beg gay or straight isn't bad or good jt IS.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the se, and an terview the followg month wh the Rad Tim, he cleared up mors about his sexualy, tellg people he isn't gay. "One of the lads was at my London flat and I Instagrammed a picture of him and said, 'Look at this cutie, ' and a ln outlets reported I was g out as gay, " he said. "I'm not gay but two of my mat me out when I was 15 and was a joy to support them bee, as a group, we are all secure who we are.

After already addrsg the mors of him beg gay back 2016, he reerated his heterosexualy a November 2018 terview wh Rollg Stone and an April 2019 terview wh The Guardian. "I thought, 'You f*ckg guys are so lucky I'm not actually gay and terrified of g out, " Mens told Rollg Stone.