Sunday, August 27, 2006

Gay or straight?

August 26th

The first time I set foot on a Korean street, I was actually quite confused. Girls holding hands, guys touching each other's butts, isn't this supposed to be a rather conservative society? My ex-boyfriend, who's been here before, said that it's just how Koreans are and there's nothing to be suspicious about.

Today I went with Mike in Sincheon to try to find the museum of erotic art (or something like that). We never found it but to be fair, the website he had consulted was from 2001. Instead, we wandered on the streets around Hongik Univeristy and witnessed quite a funny argument between lesbians.

As it turns out, this seems to be a hot spot for gays in Seoul. There was a park where all sorts of people were hanging out, includnig a homeless sleeping on a bench. The girls were loud and had incredible haircuts that didn't seem to fit Korean faces. Some of them seemed really drunk and three of them actually argued right in front of us. Guys stood there, apparently looking or waiting for something, someone. It was quite interesting.

Mike, who's been here much longer than I have, explained to me that it's both really easy and difficult to be gay in Korea. Apparently, homosexuality here is not accepted but tolerance is increasing. Nonetheless, Koreans are oriented towards having a family, having kids (a boy preferably), the woman being a good housewife and the man being... the man!

Korea's traditional values such as the beliefs that one has to carry on one's family name and that one has to get married if one is to lead a wholesome life definitely interfere with being gay. (This is not to say that they are the sole bases of homophobia in Korea, of course.) When combined with some of the characteristics of Koreans, namely, the willingness to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others (esp. parents) and the capability to withstand extreme oppression, these beliefs tend to discourage gay people from coming forward.

But I read that recently students at a University came out of the closet and actually set a gay rights committee or something like that. It was a pretty big step I think.

Still, Mike said that it can also be easy for a Korean to be gay without people knowing about it because it's such a "touchy-feely " society! Like I said, you see girls holding hands and it is perfectly okay for men to walk with an arm over another's shoulder; when you're drunk, it is even okay to walk hand-in-hand!