Queer young South Koreans getting on the march

Posted on : 2012-06-02 12:11 KST Modified on : 2012-06-02 12:11 KST
Young members of sexual minorities taking cautious steps towards recognition from a sexually conservative society

By Heo Jae-hyun, staff reporter

Kim Su-jin, 16, went into a pizza restaurant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi province on Tuesday wearing her school uniform. After taking a quick look around to see if there was anyone she knew in the place, she sat down next to Ji Hyeon-a, 17, who had been waiting for her. As soon as she sat down, the two joined hands. They were meeting again two weeks after a date at a piano recital at Seoul Arts Center. [The two girls’ names have been changed for this article.]

The two students are a young lesbian couple and have been together for almost 100 days (an important milestone in South Korean relationships). Su-jin took the shrimp off her pizza and put it on her partners’, because she knows Hyeon-a likes shrimp. They messed around, laughing as they splashed chili sauce on each other's hands. When Hyeon-a put her hand on Su-jin's shoulder, Su-jin leaned her head against Hyeon-a. When Hyeon-a asked Su-jin if she really liked her, Su-jin replied that she wanted to marry her. 
  


The two met in an on-line forum for queer young people. Their relationship started when Su-jin, who was about to start high school, posted a message saying she didn't know how she should deal with high school life, and Hyeon-a gave her a friendly answer.

“Hyeon-a teaches me anything [I need to know] really kindly,” said Su-jin with a big smile on her face. Hyeon-a is studying with a view to getting into Seoul National University. 
  


School is a dangerous environment for sexual minorities. One day, two male teachers at Hyeon-a's school turned up wearing the same clothes by coincidence. When some of their students asked them if they were dressing as a couple, they told them not to “say dirty things.” Only Hyeon-a stopped laughing when that comment was made. It hurts her that teachers disparage sexual minorities at school without a second thought. She has never seen a teacher trying to stop students when they make harsh jokes about famous gay people like Hong Seok-cheon or Harisu.

Such scenes appeared alien to Hyeon-a, who spent her middle school years in the United States. “In the US, I told the school counselor I liked one of my female school friends. She congratulated me sincerely, smiling and telling me to bring my friend with me. That couldn't happen in Korea. I don't even know where the school counselor is.” 
  


A visit to the on-line forum for sexual minorities shows many postings by students who have been “outed.” This means they have been exposed against their wills as homosexuals. One member wrote, “My teacher told our class, 'Be careful because X is gay'.” Hyeon-a says she has seen five students at the forum that dropped out of school after being outed. This is why the two are careful when going on dates. They only choose places where they will not bump into friends from school. 
  


When asked if she isn't too young to determine her sexual identity, Hyeon-a retorts, “I'm not 100% sure if I'm a lesbian. I might like a man one day. But I don't know why you're talking as if homosexual love among young people is wrong. Heterosexual and homosexual love should be equally respected, shouldn't they?” 
  


Hyeon-a realized in her third year of middle school that she was homosexual, while Su-jin realized in her fourth year of elementary school. As they grow older, they are becoming surer of it.

Clause 6 of Article 2 of Seoul's student human rights ordinance stipulates, “Students have the right to be free from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.” The two plan to take part in a march as part of Korea Queer Culture Festival, on June 2 near Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul, with around 100 other members of sexual minorities. They hope to appeal to the public for recognition of the rights of young sexual minorities.

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