hankyoreh

in front of Deoksu Palaca in central Seoul

The start of the 16th Annual Korea Queer Festival this month drew sizable protests from Christian organizations to Seoul Plaza. While Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights more broadly have become commonplace in western democracies, to date no East Asian country has legalized same sex marriage, with most lagging behind their Western counterparts on other LGBT rights as well. Many in Korea and elsewhere claim this is due to cultural influences in the region, yet identifying the specific factors remains elusive. Confucian cultural norms, by prioritizing consensus over individual rights, would appear to conflict with LGBT legislation, but clearly such factors would not apply uniformly to the region. Nor does Buddhism and Taoism contain comparable doctrinal opposition to homosexuality as Christianity. Furthermore, many Christian-majority countries have legal protections for the LGBT community if not same-sex marriage. For example, Ireland by public referendum in May passed constitutional reforms allowing same-sex marriage.

Similarly elusive is an explanation for the variation of support for LGBT issues among Korea’s Asian neighbors. China’s Ministry of Heath removed homosexuality as a mental illness in 2001, with marginal expansion of rights thereafter. Vietnam does not recognize same-sex marriages, but abolished fines for those engaged in a civil marriage service. In contrast, Thailand, already viewed as an LGBT holiday destination as it does not criminalize homosexuality, appeared poised to pass same-sex marriage legislation before last year‘s coup. Similarly, Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), supports amending Taiwanese law to allow for same-sex marriage, while local discrimination laws in Taipei already provide some legal protections. In addition, while Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has shown no interest in legalizing same-sex marriage, Tokyo’s Shibuya ward this year passed a local ordinance granting same-sex partnership certificates. Although public opinion polls on LGBT issues remain rare in East Asia, evidence suggests a growing support for LGBT rights including marriage.

Korea may lag behind some of their neighbors in terms of support for LGBT issues. However, we should avoid attributing this solely to cultural differences with Western counterparts and begin to consider how additional factors including electoral rules, generational differences, and the existing legal framework helps or hinders LGBT rights promotion.

By Timothy S. Rich, Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department at Western Kentucky University

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