There has been a resurgence of discriminatory acts against South Korean LGBTQ+ individuals following a COVID-19 outbreak in May.
Itaewon, the district where the outbreak occurred, comes to life at night. Heather Lim.
South Korea has been globally recognized for its disease control and prevention protocol, revealing an impressively low number of COVID-19 cases. American journalists lauded this quick response as a prime example of liberal democracy’s success. South Korea’s new reputation as a world power was further cemented by its efficient system for COVID-19 prevention.
Although South Korea’s curve has been flattened, a particular outbreak ignited political and social retaliation against one of the country’s most marginalized groups.
In May, South Korea’s surveillance system for tracing the coronavirus showed that an outbreak occurred at a nightclub frequented by members of the LGBTQ+ community in Seoul’s Itaewon district. Over 100 cases were linked to this particular outbreak, in which an infected 29-year-old man visited various gay nightclubs in one night. The tracking system used by the South Korean government quickly notified possible carriers of COVID-19 from that evening. Up to 6,000 individuals were followed and notified through the use of cell tower signals, rather than through voluntarily shared information. This particular method of tracking, along with an ample number of testing sites, helped the country to stop the spread of the virus.
The LGBTQ+ community in South Korea soon faced a resurgence in discriminatory acts, from being profiled to losing jobs. Jong Geol Lee, a Korean gay rights activist, told CBS News in May that there had been an influx of calls to his support group from members of the LGBTQ+ community in fear of losing their jobs. Lee Youngwu, a gay man in his 30s, expressed his anguish to The Guardian, saying, “I felt so trapped and hunted down. If I get tested, my company will most likely find out I’m gay. I’ll lose my job and face a public humiliation. I feel as if my whole life is about to collapse. I have never l felt suicidal before and never thought I would, but I am feeling suicidal now.”
South Korean news outlets exacerbated the wave of homophobia plaguing the country. Kukmin Ilbo, a newspaper closely aligned with Korean Protestant churches, released the names of the clubs visited by the 29-year-old man. The Washington Post shared that “gay club” and “gay coronavirus” were South Korea’s top search items following the outbreak, filling the internet with hate speech and derogatory slurs toward gay individuals.
Although non-heterosexual relationships aren’t outlawed in South Korea, they are often stigmatized by hospitals and the government. Many hospitals have even refused to treat patients with AIDS. The many cases of violence against gay troops in the South Korean military have been often brushed aside and dismissed, leaving the victims unprotected and traumatized.
Since May, the negative attention on the LGBTQ+ community has decreased somewhat. However, members of the group remain quiet about their identities in fear of being alienated from society.
To combat rising levels of discrimination, LGBTQ+ rights group Chingusai has been offering support to gay men through telephone counseling. The Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Center has also been fighting for the rights of Korean LGBTQ+ individuals.
Heather Lim
recently earned her B.A. in Literature in English from University of California, San Diego. She was editor of the Arts and Culture section of The Triton, a student-run newspaper. She plans on working in art criticism, which combines her love of visual art with her passion for journalism.