South korea homosexual
While Korean society has certainly grow more accepting of differing sexual orientations over the last fifteen years, many elements of Korean society remain quite conservative, and open affirmations of homosexuality are rare. Nevertheless, gays and lesbians have equal rights and are protected by anti-discrimination law,[1] and two relatively high-profile asylum cases in recent years have resulted in gay men being granted asylum in Korea.
The first case involved an asylum seeker from Pakistan, a married attorney from Lahore with four children. He had been arrested and detained briefly in Pakistan, and had also been subjected to blackmail and intimidation by family members and people around him. His application for refugee status in Korea was rejected by the Ministry of Justice in June and the claimant then filed an appeal, which was heard by the Seoul Administrative Court.
The court found the claimant’s personal statement to be coherent and persuasive, and granted him asylum, concluding that if he were returned to Pakistan he would have a “high possibility of being persecuted by
Written by: Clara Delhaye
Translated by: Lou Szabo
At the end of February , the Seoul High Court handed down a landmark ruling on marriage for all. The court known that same-sex couples should enjoy the same health insurance rights as heterosexual couples. In this case, two men, having had a symbolic marriage, can boon from each other’s health insurance scheme. According to the court, if this is not the case it constitutes discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, the national health insurance fund is appealing to the Supreme Court, as it considers that it has not breached the doctrine of equality. How does the issue of marriage and same-sex relationships lay bare the growing allocate in South Korea?
The legal and political lack of interest regarding the issue of marriage for all in South Korea
In South Korea, same-gender relations are not criminalized, i.e., homosexuality is not punished. However, there is one exception: according to article of the Korean Military Code, “Any person who engages in anal intercourse (…) or any other indecent perform is liable t
South Korea's LGBTQ community confronts crushing headwinds in combat for equality
NBC News spoke with South Korean lawmakers, human rights organizations and dozens of LGBTQ South Koreans in three of the country’s largest cities: Seoul, Daegu and Busan. Most say a bill that would outlaw discrimination against all minority groups — including the LGBTQ community — is the critical first step toward legal equality.
In , former President Roh Moo-hyun’s administration helped draft South Korea’s first comprehensive nondiscrimination bill, but conservative groups fond the Congressional Missionary Coalition immediately objected to its inclusion of “sexual orientation.” One petition sent to the Ministry of Justice prophesied, without any evidence, that “homosexuals will strive to seduce everyone” if the bill were to become law.
Lawmakers have since proposed eight comprehensive nondiscrimination bills, but the country’s conservative president and legislators, as well as its powerful Christian lobbies, all but doom such bills in the Assembly, even though a majority of the public (57%) su
Adamczyk, Amy, and Yen-hsin Alice, Cheng. Explaining Attitudes About Homosexuality in Confucian and Non-Confucian Nations: Is There a Cultural Influence?. Social Science Research, vol. – DOI:
Arnold, Matthew David. Queer Korea: Identity, Tradition, and Activism. Master of Arts Dissertation. Duke University. %20Korea%20Final%?sequence=3
Berry, Chris, and Martin, Fran. Syncretism and Synchronicity: Queer’n’Asian Cyberspace in s Taiwan and Korea. In: Mobile Cultures: New Media in Queer Asia, ed. Chris Berry, 87– Durham: Duke University Press. DOI:
Bicker, Laura. Gay in South Korea: ‚She said I don’t need a son like you’. BBC. (Accessed 25 Jan. ).
Chen, Pei Jean. Problematizing love: the intimate event and same-sex love in colonial Korea. In: Lgbtq+ Korea, ed. Todd A. Henry, – Durham: Duke University Press. DOI:
Cho, John (Song Pae). The three faces of South Korea’s male homosexuality: pogal, iban, and neoliberal homosexual. In: Queer Korea, ed. Todd A. Henry, – Durham: Duke University Compress . DOI:
Chung, Edward Y.J. Korean Confucianism: Tradition and Modernity. Seoul: The Academy o