Kpop plagued with homophobia?

[Warning: loooong read ahead. Get yourself cozied up with a warm cup of coffee before you begin :D]

Last month, singer Lee Jung and actor Joo Sang Wook were asked to discuss the  recent rumors regarding their sexual orientations, to which both responded with the following [quotes hyperlinked to sources]:

Lee Jung: 

That’s really insane. I’ve been following the rumors, but I found it quite flattering that people would actually talk about me.

Joo Sang Wook: 

One of the rumored stories picked up was that I admitted to being gay, however those claims are ridiculous and simply absurd.

So I’m not really sure what Lee Jung meant by “insane”, but it’s clear what Joo Sang Wook’s stance is on the matter. And I don’t like it. 

There is absolutely nothing “ridiculous” and “absurd” about being gay. But rather disappointingly, this is not the first time stars have reacted in disgust:

• 2AM’s Jokwon’s response to rumors about relations between him and U-Kiss’ Soohyun last year February: 

There are many misunderstandings that have come up regarding my close friendship with Soohyun. It’s ridiculous.

(in a separate interview) There were a lot of misunderstandings originating from a picture of Shin Soohyun and me. It’s unfair. If I were homosexual, I wouldn’t be on [MBC’s program] We Got Married. I love her [Ga-In] and that’s why I am doing the program.

• MBLAQ’s GO confessed last year March that he purposely avoided SUJU’s Hee Chul because he heard about rumors of him being gay (and having a particular attraction for guys with moustaches). Hee Chul cleared up the “misunderstanding” with the following remark:

I’m an idol, so this kind of rumor will not do. I really like girls! 

This disgusts me to no end. These stars are acting as if members of the LGBTPQIA* community are creatures from alien planets — beings whose lifestyles they can just openly joke around insensitively and disrespectfully. Excuse me, kpop, but these people you are talking about are human beings too. Kim Ji-Hoon was just as much as a human as you all are. And it is because of you and your hate he felt absolutely no choice but to leave this world. 

But unfortunately, this homophobic sentiment is not just a result of individual opinions, but that of the entire culture. If I am allowed to get quite personal, growing up in Asia and having a lot of South Korean friends, I was exposed to a number of homophobic mindsets. (This is not to say that every South Korean out there/I’ve met was homophobic — I know a lot who are very open-minded and tolerant. But then again, I am also not saying that homophobia is only found amongst South Koreans or other Pacific Asians. The point I am merely trying to prove is that homophobia exists quite a bit in South Korea, as it does in other places around the world.) I have been told comments that range from “gays and lesbians are weird” to things like “they’re different from us - they’re not normal”.

First of all, how is homosexuality “not normal”? It occurs in the rest of the animal kingdom. Studies show that approximately 1,500 animal species practice homosexuality — and in fact, one very well-known homosexual species is our closest relative — the dwarf chimpanzee. With that said, which species comes off as the “abnormal” one now?

 There are also traces of homosexuality in our human history as well, and surprisingly, including that of East Asia:

Homosexuality in China, known as the pleasures of the bitten peach, the cut sleeve, or the southern custom, has been recorded since approximately 600 BCE. These euphemistic terms were used to describe behaviors, not identities. The relationships were marked by differences in age and social position. However, the instances of same-sex affection and sexual interactions described in the classical novel “Dream of the Red Chamber” seem as familiar to observers in the present as do equivalent stories of romances between heterosexual people during the same period. [Going back to our high school Asian history lessons, remember that Korea and Japan have roots in Chinese culture]

Homosexuality in Japan, variously known as shudo or nanshoku has been documented for over one thousand years and was an integral part of Buddhist monastic life and the samurai tradition. This same-sex love culture gave rise to strong traditions of painting and literature documenting and celebrating such relationships.

(source: Wikipedia)

Homosexuality in South Korea: While the ancient Kingdom of Goryeo had no rich tradition of homoerotic literature like its nearby Northwest Asian neighbours, it did have a string of historical figures, like Buddhist monks, nobility and Korean monarchy, famed for their same-sex preferences. Like England’s Edward II, King Hyegong was killed by jealous nobles for his preferential treatment of his favourites to the detriment of his realm, although Kings Chungseon (1275-1325) and Gongmin (1325-1374) were both far more careful to attend to their administrative and political responsibilities, so they could also spend time with their wonchung (male lovers), known as chajewhi (“little brother attendants”…) 

(source: GayNZ)

Once more, who are the “unnatural” ones now - homosexuals, or homophobics?

Let’s now focus ourselves on the modern context of South Korea. In a nutshell, there seems to be a multitude of social and cultural contradictions.

First, some political trivia on South Korea’s anti-LGBTPQIA sentiment: 

• Though the country does not criminalize male homosexuality, it does not have anti-discrimination laws protecting the LGBTPQIA* community. (source)
• Military service discrimination is a problem as well (“Under Article 92 of the Military Penal Code, even consensual gay sex within the services is described as “sexual harrassment” or “reciprocal rape” and carries a one-year penal sentence”). Discriminatory censorship of LGBT publications is also a problem. (source)
• “In 1997 The banning of the first Seoul Queer Film and Video Festival brought to the attention of the world the extent of governmental homophobia in South Korea. The national censorship authorities banned the film “Happy Together” on the grounds that it was “not relevant to the emotional life of the Korean people.” The same authorities stated that they would not permit the Queer Film and Video Festival to import and screen film prints. The festival had to be cancelled with threats of fines and imprisonment being made. Official homophobia continues unabated and recently the government banned the country’s first lesbian and gay website, ExZone” (source) [the ban was later lifted].

On the other hand,

• There is a recognized LGBTPQIA* community in the country, backed up by advocacy groups like Chingusai and Kirikiri (Seoul based counselling groups for gays and lesbians, respectively), Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights in South Korea, the Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Centre and Lesbian and Gay Alliance Against Discrimination in Korea. (source) 
• South Korea is also known for “having an active gay scene.” In Seoul, there are over “20 gay bars (including several karaoke and cabaret bars) several saunas and one night club.” (source)

You can kinda see how the situation in South Korea is rather obscure. Why is it that LGBTPQIA* rights have not yet found its way to the government’s political agenda?

Another aspect that needs further elaboration is something I touched upon earlier: the social sentiment and public opinion regarding homosexuality. I came across a rather interesting blog post written by Yawning Bread, a South Korean studying in Yale University. I highly encourage you to take the time and read it, for it may answer questions as well as raise others.

In summary of his points, South Korea as a nation has apparently gone through multiple phases of acceptance and rejection: in the beginning, though there was awareness that homosexuality existed among Koreans, the lifestyle itself was seen as a “bad influence” from the West. (Keep in mind that Japan and South Korea are known for their “cultural isolationist” policies — that is, limiting the amount of cultural influences from the West for the sake of preserving their own.) Later came a “mere sensationalization” of homosexuality when a bunch of student groups from some of the nation’s most prestigious university publicly declared their coming-out, and it later reached its peak when in 1999, “the gay students’ group at Seoul National University [became] the first officially recognized college-based gay group in Korea.”

Though he continuously expresses throughout the post his optimism regarding people’s eventual acceptance of homosexuality, he provides some really in-depth examples of why the lifestyle is still very much stigmatized: 

the misconceptions that homosexuality is only about sex, that it is something that you “fall into,” that it is only a “phase” which you’ll eventually outgrow are still prevalent. Quite a few silly “theories” of homosexuality are around, too. A lot of people still confuse it with transgenderedness; some people associate it with the recent sexual liberation taking place in Korea; some suggest that it reflects the breakdown of the traditional family; some even suggest that environmental pollution is to be blamed [huh] 

The following are two of the common ways Koreans justify their anti-gay attitudes: (1) that homosexuality is unnatural and (2) that it is against the Bible [South Korea is predominantly a Christian nation]. 

Korea is now beginning to come to grips with the fact that gays are their neighbors, children, and co-workers. This awareness may result in more formal forms of oppression in the future. At present, the burden comes more from Korea’s traditional values such as the beliefs that one has to carry on one’s family name and that one has to get married if one is to lead a wholesome life. (This is not to say that they are the sole bases of homophobia in Korea, of course.) When combined with some of the characteristics of Koreans, namely, the willingness to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others (esp. parents) and the capability to withstand extreme oppression, these beliefs tend to discourage gay people from coming forward and do something to make this world a better place.

He also attributes intolerance to the fact that homosexuality is virtually invisible to the average South Korean:

This invisibility has partly to do with the fact that Korea is such a touchy-feely society. That is, women can walk hand-in-hand (or arm-in-arm) in the streets without inviting any suspicion whatsoever. While men do not enjoy that much luxury, it is perfectly okay to walk with an arm over another’s shoulder; when you’re drunk, it is even okay to walk hand-in-hand. (But things are slowly changing. For example, two men walking hand-in-hand *could* be now considered as signifying homosexuality. Also, some schools have decided to go so far as to place a ban on overt, yet innocent display of intimacy between the members of same sex.) […] Verbal abuse is quite common in the cyberworld and, in the real world, other forms of threats such as blackmailing have become quite prominent.

Now, tying this back to kpop, it becomes increasingly clear as to where anti-homosexuality sentiments are rooted. Regardless, idols need to start becoming at the very least respectful of homosexuality, for two reasons:

1. In respect for other colleagues who are, in fact, LGBTPQIA*
2. For the sake of their fans who are, too,  LGBTPQIA*, both international and local. 

The more globalized kpop is becoming, the more aware it needs to be of the rest of the world. And let’s face it, how relevant is sexual orientation to one’s love for acting or music anyways? An ‘idol’ is no less of an ‘idol’ if she or he is gay or lesbian (as a matter of fact, in the context of kpop today, in my opinion, it actually makes him or her more of an ‘idol’). Same applies with fans. Seeing homophobia openly in an industry we all know, love, and look up to, gets unconsciously transferred over to our daily lives, and before we know it we as fandoms are homophobic. The powers of the media, guys… let’s not underestimate that. It’s the same with standards of beauty and body image. And idols, as “idols”, (as well as nuts and bolts of the entire industry) need to get this into their heads and start being more sensitive to the people they are being exposed to.

But fans themselves are to blame as well. The recent controversy surrounding the unwarranted use of BIGBANG’s Daesung’s and Seungri’s image in a gay Chinese website illustrates how bigoted fans are against homosexuality, showing their “their frustration towards the website for  its damaging image.” (In this case, we should also attribute some blame to the original My Daily article as well for the denigrating use of words…)

Ahh, all these things are just perpetuating one another, just…ugh. What should be done? Kpop should not be allowed to pride itself in becoming a global force if it chooses to alienate an important part of our human society. Solutions must come in forms that recognize cultural roots as well as the forces of the media. Having said that, things are definitely easier said than done.

But I refuse to leave on a negative note. We’ve seen the power of fandoms manifest itself in both amazing and ugly ways. We’re the ones with the advantage and capacity to do something, and one way we can start is by getting people talking about these issues, and how they’re not right. As a kpop fan, I’m confident enough to say that I’m positive about changes we can bring to the industry.

[Further discussion about this issue and post here]