Decriminalisation of homosexuality in India will always be an important milestone in LGBTQI history but what’s even more important is acceptance of homosexuality in our society. The onus is on us, content creators to do this in a way that reaches out to a larger audience.
I plan to normalise this conversation by creating content which is easy to understand by people who don’t identify as queer. As I have said in the video, this conversation has to now move to being a conversation one have more freely and widely. Once that begins, Love will be love in true sense.
This video is not just about me, it’s about all of us. Anyone who can relate to that anger, that pain, that helplessness which came along with that archaic law that made us criminals, the crime being love.
Text:
Sardiyon ki baarish
aur garmiyon ki dhoop tha woh,
Mere sach ko jhootha karde ,
Waise wala jhooth tha woh,
Aadhar pe likha galat naam tha woh,
90`s ki Filmon mein jo villain karta,
Waisa ganda kaam tha woh,
Kaafi Unfair tha,
Bina sar pair tha,
Par Innocent ko criminal bana de,
Aisa usmein dare tha.
Thankfully ab woh nahin raha,
Lekin uska bhoot, woh aaj bhi aas paas hai,
Raj Rahul se ya Tina Anjali se kare pyaar,
To janta aaj bhi naraaz hai.
News channel se ab is pyaar ko saas bahu tak laana hai,
Love is Love kehna kaafi simple hai,
Lekin abhi is baat ko, bohot door tak jaana hai…
QA Blog Series: Building Blocks 1 – Building a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community in the UK.
Posted on 18/02/2019 Written by Laks Mann for the QA Blog Series “Building Blocks – Building a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community in the UK curated by QA Co-founder J. Daniel Luther.
The founding of Gaysians and the motivation behind forming this collective.
I’d been out as a gay desi guy for several years and had volunteered with various BAME/POC LGBTIQ+ community initiatives. However, I always felt a slight disconnect with the South Asian queer scene and community. I just hadn’t met many folx who felt comfortable fully embracing their desi queer identities.
That all changed in 2013, when I went along to a workshop as part of the Alchemy Festival at the Southbank Centre. It was organised by Bobby Tiwana entitled ‘Beneath The Surface‘. It told theatrical stories inspired by British Asian lesbian, gay and bisexual lives so as to increase visibility and move away from stereotypical cultural portrayals, which all too often were mostly limited to stereotypes. For the first time I felt like I’d connected with a like minded soul on multiple levels. Bobby and I went on to become good friends and kept in touch with various projects, constantly bouncing around new ideas and concepts for future events.
Closing Night Panel. Credit: Laks Mann, Bagri Foundation LIFF
In 2014, Bobby Tiwana returned to the Alchemy Festival with a panel discussion called ‘The Love That Knows Much Shame – can you be both LGBT and South Asian in Britain today?’ By now, the discussions between Bobby and I had begun to revolve around creating a movement, pushing for greater visibility, marching in pride parades, and celebrating our desi queer identities more boldly. Later that year, Bobby registered a marching group for the Pride in London parade called ‘Proud Asian LGBTQ & Allies’ which I fully mobilised behind.
Marching group in Pride in London, 2015. Credits: Bobby Tiwana
Then in 2015 and again at the Alchemy Festival, Bobby Tiwana took it up a notch with a cafe style interactive event entitled ‘Making Progress or Losing Ground: LGBT Asia‘ which took the discussions further and wider. Soon after I co-signed the second outing of the marching group ‘Proud Asian LGBTQ & Allies’ in the Pride in London parade. After that summer I decided that my own personal project would be bigger, bolder and something that had not been done in the UK before. I was going to create Gaysians, a platform to mainstream South Asian LGBT+ visibility.
So later in 2015, I met with some of the then Board Directors of Pride in London and discussed my plans – to form a collective of artists, activists, charities, and organisations, united under a new concept called Gaysians.
I vowed this new platform would be ready for launch at Pride in London 2017. I then spent the next 2 years contacting desi queer community groups and individuals, following up leads, arranging meetings and phonecalls, and reaching out to as many people as I could in my spare time building on the framework and consolidating the network I had pulled together.
Of particular note, I was always determined to launch Gaysians at Pride in 2017. On a personal level, it marked the 70th anniversary of India’s partition and independence which also resulted in the colonial penal code including the oppressive S377 (now decriminalised) continuing into the newly formed democracy. 2017 was also the same year when the UK would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England & Wales. This juxtaposition of anniversaries galvanised something within me, a British born gay guy of Indian heritage who enjoyed legal protections and social freedoms in the country of my birth, yet who would be a deemed a criminal if in my motherland, all because of laws inherited by my birth country!
Gaysians at Pride in London, 2017. Credit: Yanika Chauhan
The work of Gaysians in the the queer British Asian community.
A lot of people in the queer British Asian community had some links with others, but to me it was largely a word of mouth thing. The community never fully transcended beyond regions and the visibility of desi queers just wasn’t cutting through to the stagnant narratives taking place within our wider South Asian communities.
Around the same time, I had sensed that desi queers were starting to become more confident, vocal and visible with some really great work being done by many pioneers. Though to me it still felt that some of these efforts were niche, underground and simply weren’t getting the recognition from the wider LGBT+ community that they deserved.
Gaysians was to be the platform that connected all these islands together. Not only in physical settings such as pride parades and social events, but also online and across various social media platforms. That sense of building a community was key, the sum of the parts being greater than each separate island.
I wanted as many people as possible to connect with each other so that collectively we could visibly demonstrate how united, important, and influential the queer British Asian community were becoming. It was all about creating a movement.
My journey though this process.
I was lucky to meet so many amazing and talented people on this journey – some of whom I asked to come on board and become part of the core team as I knew they had skills which the movement needed.
I’ve also grown so much over the past few years, and have truly learned loads while being made aware of so many other people’s inspiring stories along the way. Through these discussions and more, I’ve come to learn and acknowledge the privileges that I have, being male, gay, cisgendered, and having an open and accommodating family who have been accepting towards my sexuality.
There have also been so many personal highlights on my journey with Gaysians:
deciding to launch a woman’s platform for our first event in 2018 which we branded ‘Desi Lesbians – where are you?‘, which got picked up by WOW Festival
being a panelist at Too Desi Too Queer events discussing mental health and well-being
forging a partnership with BFI Flare for ‘Brown Is The Warmest Colour’ screenings
being a flag bearer for the giant rainbow flag at Pride in London 2018 and subsequently being invited to speak on the main stage in Trafalgar Square to thousands of people
speaking as a panelist about S377 and desi queer narratives at a charity launch attended by 150 influential business and community leaders from London’s South Asian community
conducting 3 live radio interviews with BBC Asian Network regional shows from within the grounds of UK Black Pride 2018
appearing as a speaker at Stonewall’s BAME Showcase 2018 event, which coincided with the day when the Indian Supreme Court decriminalised S377 of the Indian Penal Code
to numerous other radio phone-ins, interviews and appearances.
Laks Mann addressing the crowd at Pride in London, 2018. Credit: Sasha McCarthy
Imagining the future of Asian queer communities in the UK.
I truly do believe that there has been a ground shift over the past few years and that narratives are starting to cut through with Gaysians playing a central role in mobilising those efforts. Whilst some within our community are expecting there to be earthquakes of change, my personal belief is that the movement has firmly taken hold, it’s not about any one individual, organisation or particular group, and that younger generations will be bolder, braver and more vocal in their visibility. I think the combined power of Asian queers in the UK still has some way to go.
I think we will also see more narratives from underrepresented Asian queer voices such as bisexuals, trans and non-binary individuals, much like in the wider global movement of queer narratives.
One area that I’m intrigued about is whether we will see more UK desi queer individuals coming out later in life, perhaps those who had previously entered into heterosexual marriages, had children and maybe even grandchildren.
‘Queer’ Asia’s influence/motivation.
I’m inspired by the name alone — ‘Queer’ Asia —I love it!
Getting a tour of QA’s first ever art exhibition at the Paul Webley Wing in SOAS during QA2018. Credit: ‘Queer’ Asia. Artwork: Jay Cabalu, Curator: Rhea Tuli (featured)
I discovered QA in the Pride in London Festival 2016 programme and was fascinated by the concept. I simply had to know more so attended the inaugural conference and was blown away by the sheer breadth of speakers, countries and queer topics being discussed. A few weeks later I reached out to QA for an after work chat over chai, where I was keen to learn more about their work, and to see if I could bring them on board into the Gaysians partner network I was building. It was such a refreshing conversation and I was truly inspired by their commitment. I knew that QA were going to make big waves and I was so pleased to gain QA’s support for my parade application when I registered Gaysians as a marching group for Pride in London 2017. On the day itself, having QA volunqueers in the marching group was extra special and like everyone else, they had a blast.
I continue to be motivated by QA and have attended all 3 conferences, both film festivals, numerous satellite events, and art exhibitions. I’ve watched the QA collective grow stronger and seen their unique star(s) shine bigger and brighter, such a talented and committed team. I’ve also really enjoyed collaborating with QA on events, including the Gaysians partnerships for the ‘Queer’ Asia Film Festival 2018, alongside Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, and both Too Desi Too Queer events.
I can truly say I’ve made many new friends and connections along the way and I will continue to support QA where I can.
Written by Ismail Shogo for the QA Blog series “Resistance and Subversion” curated by QA 2018 committee member Ismail Shogo.
By observing queer movements in three distinct parts of Asia – Singapore, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon – this blog series has sought to unveil principle trends in the study of comparative LGBTQ+ resistance in Asia. Against the grain of dominant Western narratives of queer resistance that often manifest as bold pride parades, queer movements in Asia remain diverse and placed within specific settings, often entailing a product of unique national forces that seek to preserve or disrupt heteronormative structures of power.
Creating Resistance, Shaping Subversion
In Lebanon, where civil society has retained a certain degree of breathing space, non-governmental organisations, including several pro-LGBTQ+ associations, have pervaded the social space. This has culminated in the orchestration of the Arab world’s first pride parade in Beirut. Against pressures from Muslim conservatives however, queer civil movements in Lebanon have sought to re-map LGBTQ+ agendas by conflating them with other political currents such as refugee rights as well as Israel’s marginalisation of Palestine. Unlike Lebanon however, Kazakhstan struggles still to generate a concerted LGBTQ+ resistance that extends beyond leisurely assemblies – a problem Shaikezhanov has attributed to strong taboos of sex as well as transphobia and internalised homophobia that has fractured the Kazakh LGBTQ+ community.
Conversely, in Singapore, against uncompromising laws as well as hostile backlash from religious conservatives, LGBTQ+ resistance has been pushed to take on less confrontational means. This has entailed a certain degree of creativity of manoeuvre in the reclamation of public space and visibility. As Thng foregrounds, activism in Singapore has thus manifested through various ‘non-confrontational’ means, including art festivals, poetry slams, as well as ostensibly innocuous placards.
Looking Beyond Borders
The dynamic between resistance and counter-resistance, however, cannot be delineated along national frontiers alone. As Shaikezhanov highlights, conservative factions from within the Kazakh leadership have appropriated anti-queer rhetoric from Russia to champion the preservation of Kazakhstan’s own heteronormative status quo. Elsewhere however, in an astonishing jujitsu of power, pro-LGBT groups have learnt to leverage on transnational currents to amplify the ambit of their cause. In one case, Lebanese non-governmental organisation HELEM has become a potent force in shaping LGBTQ+ opinion and policy in other parts of the Middle East, extending to as far as Tunisia. In addition, the group has also established contacts across the Arab world – including war-torn Syria – in a concerted effort to maintain accountability on LGBTQ+ trends where local networks otherwise cannot. This leads us to realise therefore the influence of transnational (and transcontinental) currents that cannot be ignored when deciphering how queer discourse and resistance in Asia manifests.
Conclusion
In all three case studies, queer social movements converge to highlight one vital point – human ingenuity. Whether through non-confrontation (Singapore), leisurely assemblies (Kazakhstan), or re-mapping of objectives (Lebanon), resistance movements have been borne out of creative imagination in creating fitting strategies – each tailored to various national contexts – to subvert heteronormative status quos. At the nexus of these movements therefore a potent force is unveiled, the power of ideas, that thus cannot be underestimated in shaping LGBTQ+ resistance in the region.
Ismail Shogo reads Political Science at the National University of Singapore, and was a former research assistant at the Middle East Institute in Singapore. His interests are in authoritarian resilience, political violence and gender in the Middle East and Africa. He tweets at @ismailshogo.
LGBTQ activist holding a sign to protest against the anti-LGBTQ law in Korean military Photo by Kim Min Soo & Korea Queer Culture Festival
Written by Heezy Yang, South Korean LGBTQ artist and activist
Even though South Korea has become a culturally very influential Asian country (in such a short period of time with the rise of K-pop and its entertainment industry in general, as well as its economic growth), non-native South Koreans outside South Korea are often only able to access limited bits of the country’s culture due to the language barrier and South Korea’s unfamiliarity with foreigners. South Korea’s LGBTQ culture is especially something that is hardly exposed to people all around the world. As an English-speaking South Korean who’s been fairly active in South Korea’s LGBTQ scene and movement, I get asked a lot of questions by foreign academics and I receive interview requests from media. Something that I can assure you is that South Korea does have a rapidly-growing and unique LGBTQ culture and that behind it there are many hard-working LGBTQ activists. Through this article, I would like to share my knowledge and experiences regarding LGBTQ activism in South Korea. This article will be presented through specific categories which will aim to deepen the reader’s understanding regarding this topic.
Tens of thousands of people marching in a Seoul Pride parade Photo by Heezy Yang
Korea Queer Culture Festival (Seoul Pride)
Korea Queer Culture Festival (also known as Seoul Pride) is the most visible form of South Korea’s LGBTQ activism. The festival started back in 2000, with 50 participants. I attended the festival for the first time in 2011 and I remember seeing a couple of thousand people participating in the parade. This year, at the 18th festival, over 85,000 people gathered for the show and the parade. Because LGBTQ people are socially and politically still not accepted in South Korea, the festival faces many obstacles and interruptions by religious groups and the government (in a subtle but effective way) in the process of organising, every year. There are hundreds of stalls, performances and fun music to dance to at the festival, but according to people who have been to pride parades in western countries, the atmosphere is very different because the Korea Queer Culture Festival is not commercial at all (the festival financially completely depends on donation) and it still feels like a protest and a statement rather than just a festival. Over the last few years, I have seen more and more straight allies attending the event and also families bringing their kids to show them what acceptance and diversity are.
Note: The size is much smaller but Daegu (a city located in the south of South Korea) has been holding a Queer Culture Festival since 1999. Busan (Korea’s second largest city) and Jeju (an island province with a population of 600,000) are planning to have their first Queer Culture Festival later this year as well.
Politics
2017 has been a memorable year for LGBTQ people in South Korean politics. The presidential election was held in May and one of the five major presidential candidates, Sim Sang-jung, supported LGBTQ rights openly during her campaign. Also, for the first time, homosexuality was mentioned during a live television presidential debate. However, LGBTQ people were enraged and frustrated by what was said by then-most-popular candidate and current president Moon Jae-In. When Moon was asked whether he opposed homosexuality by conservative candidate Hong Jun-pyo, he replied “I oppose”. Moon was a liberal candidate and former human rights lawyer. Many see these kinds of anti-LGBTQ speeches of politicians as a result of powerful Christian influence in politics. Christianity is the most popular religion in South Korea and their powerful lobby has been stopping politicians from passing an anti-discrimination law. Sim Sang-jung’s support toward LGBTQ as a major presidential candidate was welcomed by the South Korean LGBTQ community and Moon Jae-In had to face a guerrilla protest by LGBTQ activists during his speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, after the television debate.
Lately, the only openly-gay South Korean celebrity Hong Seok-cheon has revealed his interest in running for head of Yongsan-gu district (which has a famous gay neighbourhood in it). He owns a number of restaurants in Yongsan-gu district. Some LGBTQ people support his ambition in hopes of having the very first openly-queer politician, however, many LGBTQ activists are not so supportive of him and there is a reason for that. Earlier this year Hong met former presidential candidate Ahn Hee-jung who originally supported LGBTQ rights publicly and the meeting was shown to the public on Facebook live. Hong said “It is a disadvantage for a politician (in Korea) to support us (LGBTQ people) openly. You are smart so I wonder why you would openly say that (you support sexual minorities) during an interview?……You can withdraw your statement if you think that’d be better for the election. We (Korea’s LGBTQ community) would understand even if you did” to Ahn and Ahn later really did withdraw his support for sexual minorities.
Over 300 protestors gathered up in front of Namdaemun police station and waved rainbow-coloured lanterns on the last day of the protest. Photo by Heezy Yang
Protests
Aside from the previously-mentioned protest against Moon Jae-in which took place during his presidential campaign, there have been many more memorable protests led by LGBTQ activists.
In December of 2014, the Seoul Metropolitan Government had scrapped plans to legislate a human rights charter after protests from homophobic groups. I remember hundreds of people gathered up at the lobby of Seoul City Hall and went on stay-in strike for five days, after the disappointing decision was made by the government. The decision was not overturned, however, the protestors have received an apology from the mayor Park Won-soon.
Korea Queer Culture Festival parade was almost cancelled in 2015 because all the places in Seoul that festival organisers were considering booking for the parade were already booked by Christian groups, with the intention of stopping the parade from taking place. So the festival organisers, without choice, decided to move the parade to a later date, and to another place which was Seoul Plaza. According to the city rules, you can book a place for a gathering as early as one month before the gathering. However Namdaemun police station (Namdaemun police station has authority over part of the parade route near Seoul Plaza) changed the rules for booking the specific date the festival organisers were planning on booking. The police station, out of the blue, announced that they will accept the request of the first person or group that starts queuing up and waiting, 7 days before the booking opens, in front of the police station. Festival organisers went to the police station to be the first in the queue, right after the announcement was made but there were members of Christian groups waiting outside the station, being the first people in the queue. The sudden change of the rules of booking and Christian groups informed about it first have led people to think that the police is in favour of Christian groups. Enraged and frustrated after losing the possibility of booking the date, LGBTQ activists decided to still queue up behind the Christians and turn it into a protest and a statement. During the 7 days of queuing, at least hundreds of LGBTQ people and supporters came by to show their support. There were queers, straight allies, LGBTQ-supportive religious people, teenagers, older people, Koreans, and foreigners among the protestors. And they brought lots of food, water, blankets and other supplies for those who stayed in the queue continuously. On the last night of protest, over 300 protestors gathered up and waved rainbow-coloured lanterns. Eventually the Christian groups succeeded in booking the date, however, the festival organisers appealed to the court and the court decided in favour of the organisers and the parade took place successfully.
There are so many other meaningful protests and campaigns I have heard of or participated in. There were relatively small protests such as the protest against an anti-LGBTQ concert inside a Christian university, and there were bigger ones such as a series of protests against former president Park Geun-hye. LGBTQ activists and allies marched, holding rainbow flags in the rally of over a million Seoul citizens demanding then-president Park Geun-hye to resign in 2016 and 2017 to show people that sexual minorities are also an important part of the country that deserve equal rights.
LGBTQ activists and allies marched, holding rainbow flags and signs in the rally of over a million Seoul citizens demanding then-president Park Geun-hye to resign. Photo by Kim Min Soo
Organisations
While LGBTQ may not be visible enough nor have political power in South Korea, there are so many LGBTQ-related organisations in the country that it’s impossible to keep track of all of them. It seems, to me, a few new organisations are created every week. The problem is that, as far as I know, all of them completely depend on donation from individuals and fundraiser events because the country does not yet have an environment where corporations and groups that have market power can openly support the LGBTQ community and maintain the power at the same time. Below are brief introductions of some of the LGBTQ organisations I am familiar with.
Dding Dong, Haengsungin (Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea), Jogakbo, Chingusai are among the bigger and well-known organisations. Dding Dong is the first and only LGBTQ youth support centre in Korea that was established in 2014. It offers LGBTQ minors a safe place where they can be fed, educated, and given consultations they need and its activists and staff also run outreach programs regularly. Haengsungin started as ‘LGBT Association of Korean Universities’ in 1997 and changed its name to Haengsungin, which means solidarity of active sexual minorities, in 1998, and has been hosting and/or participating in numerous events and protests. It is hosting a fundraiser show to celebrate its 20th year on the 16th of September. Jogakbo is an organisation that is run by transgenders and for (mainly) transgenders. Its organisers and members have been raising their voices to make transgender issues visible for many years now and their main focus is on providing transgenders a safe space where they can share their experiences and learn how to build a sustainable lifestyle as a transgender. Chingusai (translated as friendship) is a Korean gay men’s human rights group and is one of the oldest LGBTQ rights organisations that was established in 1994.
Logo of LGBTQ Youth Support Centre Dding Dong
There are other organisations that are not the most well-known, biggest mainstream organisations in the scene but are just as important. Open Doors Metropolitan Community Church (formerly Korean Rainbow Christian Fellowship) is an affirming and inclusive church, and the majority of its members are LGBTQ. Its pastors have been foreigners since its foundation, and they offer services in both Korean and English with the help of bilingual church members. LGBTQIA And Allies In Korea is an organisation that started as a Facebook group for English-speaking LGBTQ and allies in Korea and for those who are interested in Korea’s LGBTQ issues. Its main goal is to connect Korea’s LGBTQ community with English-speaking LGBTQ supporters all over the world and bring international support and attention to South Korea.
Media
LGBTQ-related issues are hardly mentioned in mainstream Korean media and if they are, they are usually distorted. For many years, television and online news have been under-reporting the number of participants in the Korea Queer Culture Festival when they have reported news about the festival. Also, when a group of people, who happened to be gay, were arrested for using drugs, the media presented as if they used drugs because they are gay.
Lately, there have been relatively newer, rising, online-based media platforms that have been in favour of the LGBTQ community. Huff Post Korea has ‘Gay Voices’ category and it has been not only translating foreign LGBTQ-related articles to Korean but also writing about the issues specifically that Korea faces. I have been writing about Korea’s LGBTQ issues for Huff Post Korea since I was asked to become their blog writer last year as well. DotFace (also written as .Face) is a liberal, online-based media platform that creates and shares viral videos through social media. Currently, LGBTQ is one of their main focuses along with feminism.
Artwork created by Byun Chun for ISHAP’s safe sex campaigns
Entertainment & Art
Vita Mikju, Kuciia Diamant, More, Bori, and Anessa – these are names of people who have some fabulous things in common. First, they are South Korean drag queens, and second, they have been in the music videos of K-pop singers or bands. Definitely it is drag queens who are leading Korea’s LGBTQ entertainment scene. Most recently in K-pop, two drag queens and a transgender performer starred in mainstream K-pop legend Girls’ Generation’s music video for a song called All Night. Exposure of LGBTQ culture through mainstream K-pop videos and various (drag and other fun) shows hosted in many different regions in Korea has been cheering up and encouraging countless insecure, unconfident, or closeted queer people.
While there’s no doubt that drag queens are dedicated artists that bring fashion, love, and important messages to the stage and to the screen, of course there are different types of talented artists as well. Byun Chun is a gay comic artist who has been creating comics and art for over 10 years now. He has collaborated with ISHAP (Ivan Stop HIV/AIDS Project – ivan is a Korean slang for homosexual) and made comics and posters for their campaigns. He also publishes a new episode of gay comics, every week, on gay men’s online comic site Kkatoon. Kkatoon has 7 artists at the moment. In such a conservative society as South Korea, existence of a website like Kkatoon is very important. By reaching out to closeted and inexperienced people with easily accessible and fun cartoons, the artists let the readers experience LGBTQ experiences they never had.
I strongly believe that art has an important role to play in activism. As an art creator and performer myself, I have been using art to make rather political statements lately. ‘Unjustifiable’ is a performance art piece I have been performing in streets of Seoul since 2015. When I perform it, I sit in a box that says ‘I am gay’ on it with a bunch of stuffed animals in boxes next to me. This performance draws attention to the fact that there are a lot of homeless youth abandoned by their families because of their sexuality. This year, in South Korea, a South Korean soldier was sent to jail for having a consensual gay relation with another soldier and many other queer soldiers are still under investigation. (Same-sex sexual activity is not illegal in South Korea, with the exception of those serving in the military.) Shortly after I heard about the news, I created a poster with an image of soldiers shooting each other and two Korean soldiers kissing, to criticize the society where it is normal for soldiers to kill each other but it is not even legal to love each other.
Me holding a poster I designed, in front of Seoul City Hall Photo by Kim Min Soo & Korea Queer Culture Festival
In this article, I have talked about seven different categories in LGBTQ activism in South Korea based on my own knowledge. Finally, below is a short interview I had with a South Korean LGBTQ activist to also provide you insight from a different perspective.
Interview with Edhi Park
Edhi Park is a transgender, LGBTQ rights activist and entertainer. She previously worked as a member of Korean transgender rights organisation Jogakbo, LGBT youth support centre Dding Dong, and Open Doors Metropolitan Community Church. She participated in every major protest for LGBTQ rights for the last five years and she also hosted various LGBTQ events including Korea Queer Culture Festival.
Edhi Park hosting 2017 Korea Queer Culture Festival
Photo by Kim Min Soo & Korea Queer Culture Festival
Q.Where do you think South Korea is with LGBTQ activism?
A. We are in a time of transition at the moment. As the LGBTQ community in Korea started to raise its voice strongly and become more and more visible, anti-LGBTQ Christians also started to fight back harder and harder. These Christians have so much power in politics, and politicians – including presidents – are so scared that they tiptoe around them with LGBTQ issues. Besides, so many of the people who have the power (to make laws to protect LGBTQ people) are conservative older people who are not educated about LGBTQ people. Younger generations know how to use the internet and other new technologies to learn about new concepts and they are used to accepting them. The older generations with political power, however, are not like that.
Q. What do LGBTQ people in South Korea have to do to achieve equal rights?
A. What we need to do is not win every fight. What we really need to do is keep on being who we are and staying strong. Change takes time and that’s inevitable. Sometimes we may win and sometimes we may lose. Eventually the change will come and the world will be ready to accept us. We simply need to not give up and get through this tough time.
