Anti-gay backlash feared in South Korea after coronavirus media reports

[GachiMuchi]

Anti-gay backlash feared in South Korea after coronavirus media reports

People fear being outed after media reports infected man visited gay clubs in capital

 

Fears of a homophobic backlash and the forced outing of gay people are growing in South Korea after a man infected with coronavirus was reported in the media to have attended clubs in Seoul’s gay district.

A 31-year-old man tested positive on Thursday and a further 14 of his contacts were on Friday confirmed to be infected with the virus.

South Korea has won widespread praise for its “track and trace” model of containing the pandemic, which has used rigorous testing and isolation to reduce new cases to a handful a day – mostly from people arriving into the country – but not without privacy concerns.

Members of the gay community said they fear efforts to out them after a major media outlet, Kookmin Ilbo, reported that the man had been in gay clubs in the capital’s Itaewon district. Some social media users then posted video footage from its bars and clubs, urging followers for donations “to help put a stop to these disgusting goings-on”.

Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea but discrimination remains rampant, with most Korean gay people choosing to keep their sexuality hidden from family members and colleagues.

“I don’t usually go to gay clubs and it’s been two years since I visited Itaewon [Seoul’s gay district],” Hong Yoo-jin, a 35-year-old IT worker told the Guardian. “But I read on gay community websites that Youtubers are joining gay apps to out gay men live. So myself and everyone I know have deleted our photos from all of our accounts.”

Health officials say they have a list of 1,500 people who visited the clubs last weekend and authorities are asking anyone who visited the premises to get tested.

A 37-year-old IT engineer using his regular pseudonym, Jang Ji-myung, said he had been at three of the clubs after months of staying away but feared for his job if he was tested.

“The company where I work is a regular Korean company, which means they are very anti-gay. I have taken part in conversations where my boss and colleagues said all gay men should be put to death in a gas chamber,” he said.

“If they find out that I was at a gay club, they would most likely tell me to leave under some other pretext or make my life there a living hell so I would have no choice but to leave.

“I’m extremely worried if I’m infected but I can’t come forward to get tested because I don’t want to lose my job. I don’t care that much about getting the virus as I’ll most likely be treated and get better eventually but I don’t know if I’ll be able to take the social and professional humiliation that would come with getting found out.”

Kwon Joon-wook, the deputy director of central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters, asked the media to keep to the guidelines when reporting about infected people and to protect their privacy, but did not refer to the Kookmin Ilbo report.

 

[FattChoy]

Well... It depends on who you believe.  Is the society as gay phobic as claimed by those they interviewed? Or it isn't.  Are there any evidences of what were proclaimed by the article? 

 

One thing is for sure...I would think it is an oversimplification to label communities all over South Korea, including the cities and the villages as conservatives which all think alike. 

 

Use your brains when you read such articles.

Edited May 11, 2020 by FattChoy