The modern South Korean LGBTQ rights movement arose in the 1990s, with several small organizations seeking to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
[1] The earliest such recorded example might be that of King Hyegong, the 36th ruler of the Silla Dynasty who was killed at the age of 22 by his noblemen who revolted in protest of his "femininity".
After the death of his wife, King Gongmin even went so far as to create a ministry whose sole purpose was to seek out and recruit young men from all over the country to serve in his court.
[5] The sexual prowess of the hwarang were recorded in the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, through pieces of Silla poetry such as Changipalang-ga (찬기파랑가), Mojugjilang-ga (모죽지랑가), and Ch'oyong-ga (처용가).
During the Joseon Era before the Japanese annexation there were travelling theater groups known as namsadang which included underaged males called midong (beautiful boys).
The troupes provided "various types of entertainment, including band music, song, masked dance, circus, and puppet plays," sometimes with graphic representations of same-sex intercourse.
[8] In the Anti-discrimination Act introduced in 2007 by The National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea, the section prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation has been withdrawn, following outrages from conservative Christian organisations.
[10] On October 27, 2024, at 3 PM, a "200 Million Strong Unified Worship and Prayer Meeting of the Korean Church" took place in the Gwanghwamun area of Seoul.
The event, organized by conservative Christian groups, aimed to gather 2 million believers to address concerns about recent legal rulings and advocate for the protection of biblical values, the church, future generations, and the nation.
[11] South Korean political parties tend to avoid formally addressing LGBTQ rights issues, as do most of the elected politicians.
[29] On its campaign bid for the 2004 parliamentary elections, the Democratic Labour Party promised the abolition of all inequalities against sexual minorities and won a record 10 seats in the Kukhoe National Assembly.
In a 2007 newspaper interview, the president-elect stated that homosexuality is "abnormal", and that he opposed legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
[34] In 1995, South Korea's gay and lesbian communities grew more quickly than it had in previous years due to the influx of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) on Korean internet servers.
From online communication, the members of the BBSs were able to organize meet-ups and spread educational information regarding the rise of HIV and AIDS, which were not always immediately accessible elsewhere.
Eventually, these online chat groups lead to the emergence of popular websites where gay men and lesbians could interact with others from around the world.
[40] The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016) also found striking success at the box office and like The King and the Clown, depicted homosexuality in a subtle way that conveyed queer sexual tension.
12.9% of those who expressed discrimination faced sexual violence Kirikiri is the first lesbian rights movement group in South Korea.
The homophobia presented in this paper at the Fall Annual Conference compelled Kirikiri to demand KAWS withdraw its claims.
In addition to experiencing exclusion from the KAWS, Kirikiri faced homophobic backlash from the Korean Foundation for Women (KFW).
Propelled by the backlash, the Korean Foundation for Women allocated the fund to a sexual minority group three years later in 2005.