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11 Nov 2011

Homophobic attacks reported in Seoul

At least five gay men have reported being attacked by several men  although it's too early to know if it's the same attackers involved  last week in the South Korean capital city of Seoul.

According to asiancorrespondent.com that translated a news report in Korean, at least five gay men are known to have been attacked by a pair of men or a group of three men on separate occasions in late October and early November.

A man wrote about the attack that occurred on Nov 4 in the Jongro district of Seoul on what was described as nation's largest homosexual community website: "I was brutally beaten because of homophobia. It happened because I was out with my (homosexual) partner and we were acting like lovers."

"I was walking with my partner in an alley in Jongro when suddenly three men came over and called us gays and fags and hit us… I have bruises over my entire face from the beating." 

Another man and his partner were attacked in Jongro5-ga at approximately 1.20am on Oct 29 when three men came from across the street to assault them. Another gay man in his 20s was attacked by two men the same night.

The report noted that an increasing number of warnings of homophic attacks in Jongro – a busy shopping district and known meeting place for gays – have appeared on Twitter recently.

Only one incident has been reported to police and the Jongro Police is said to be investigating security camera recordings.

The report quoted a police officer as saying that "on the weekend there are often incidents of harassment and assaults of homosexuals across the country, but most avoid the investigation to avoid ther homosexuality becoming known... Those have not come out are much less likely to make a report to police."

Korea (South)

Reader's Comments

1. 2011-11-11 20:35  
My friends beaten by that son of a bitches, and I heard other Korean gay people beaten too.
It was very suddenly happened, they couldn't anything.
Because Asian country is very conservative, so they don't wanna alert their sexuality.
Korean queer rights NGO 'Chingusai' will support gay hate crime victims.
2. 2011-11-11 20:48  
sad
3. 2011-11-11 21:43  
좀묘하네.. 종로거리에서 그런일이 자주 일어나든가?? 종로에 넘치는게 게이 바인데. 흠
글데 솔직히 아직 보수적인 한국에서
완전 public에서 그렇게 행동한것도 조금..
근데 좀의외네.. 나도 모든사람들한테 아웃하긴햇는데.
저런 비슷한일도 겪어보지 못해서 나는 좀 먼이야기 같은 기분이넹..
4. 2011-11-11 21:45  
그리고.. 게이만 노리고 하는 그런것도 아닌것같고
걍 길가다가 보고나서 시비걸다가 싸움 난것같은뎅..
5. 2011-11-11 22:25  
Keun1 // 진짜 게이들 노리고 그러는거 맞습니다. 숨어있다가 갑자기 튀어나와서 때리면서 조롱하는 표현하고 그런다고하네요.
6. 2011-11-11 22:26  
헐 그런건가요??
근데 같이 한국 사는 게이이면서 이런일은 전혀 겪어보지 못햇더니
먼나라 이야기같네요
7. 2011-11-11 22:27  
근데 전부 동일범들인가요??
8. 2011-11-11 23:34  
Organise and defend yourselves.
9. 2011-11-12 00:41  
I have only had one homophobic experience in Korea...but I think because I am foreign that I am able to escape the homophobia quite well. Either way people should look out for themselves! It can be dangerous everywhere.
10. 2011-11-12 00:50  
stay strong to all fellow friends in Seoul! luckily in Kuala Lumpur didn't have any homophobic case yet to be report! just stay away from dark n small alley...planning for my 2nd trip to Seoul next spring...
Comment #11 was deleted by an administrator on 2011-11-12 09:13
12. 2011-11-12 02:19  
Jongno has been a safe haven for me and many so far so the report is shocking cause it happened in the middle of 'gay ghetto' where are more than 100 gay business establishments and it turned out to be confrontational for Korea where is one of safest in the world by crime rates as far as I know. Korea has growing Christianity and is apparently not the gay friendliest country but I'm wondering if the incident is necessarily 'hate crime' though I'm very sorry for the victims and will support them. Be aware anywhere you are in late night.

Btw what does exactly 'acting like lovers' mean? cuddling? making out?
Comment edited on 2011-11-12 02:26:46
13. 2011-11-12 02:42  
Sorry to hear this news about wonderful Korea. But this type of attack happens all over the world. Be brave Korean friends!
14. 2011-11-12 03:48  
well, as a korean, I never have heard of it before.

also in the best community wep site for gay in korea.

On the other hand, no one helped them ? or just kept beaten?

oO fraknly speaking, I heard that st8 guy hit gay who sucked and touched

his dick in the public facility in korea . but without the reason, its first thing

Ive ever heard.
15. 2011-11-12 07:37  
yes it's very sad, it can happen everywhere in the world, even in melbourne here
16. 2011-11-12 08:51  
They attack their women so why not gay men.
17. 2011-11-12 10:00  
well, it happens everywhere but just got shocked coz jongno is my favorite place to hang out in seoul n i go there 2nght,too..lol.. we just needa be careful by ourselves from crazy ppl. ah, now i remember one thing. that is... i was drinking with my friends in jongno5 ga several yrs ago n we saw a guy sucking another guy's dick on the street. wow... it was unbelievable, we were interested in though.. :p
Comment edited on 2011-11-12 10:02:56
18. 2011-11-12 10:04  
no.. way.. Seoul is still my favorite city though :P
Comment #19 was deleted by an administrator on 2011-11-12 12:48
20. 2011-11-12 14:27  
my korean friend semi-joked about this before: homosexuality does not exist in korea.
21. 2011-11-12 15:20  
Hopefully this is untrue and hope could know some good korean there on this coming trip to seoul..
22. 2011-11-12 18:18  
Korea used to be a very conservative country, as i heard the family ties can be severed if their sons are gays. The country has slowly opened up and be more tolerance of gay movements and activities. However with such attacks, many would move back to their closets. I believe these assult cases were the acts of some homohobic idiots whom still couldnt get their minds adjusted. The general public is getting more open minded and willing to accept gays. Hope these cases would be a hinder and the culprits should be heavily punished by the local laws.
23. 2011-11-12 19:37  
i dont like that.. it's weird because when i was there i was more in safety than another city....
24. 2011-11-13 00:48  
=(

Thanks for posting this.
25. 2011-11-13 01:39  
@bobochan88, what do you mean by "they attack their women so why not gay men"? This happens anywhere in the world including San Francisco, presumably the most liberal city in the US. Seoul is one of the safest cities in the world whether you want to believe it or not.
26. 2011-11-13 03:56  
I agree with Footnote comment here. No need to attack each other. Non gays attack us enough. I find Korean people to be kind, loving, talented and geniuses in many ways. Tough! Determined! Can do!

I feel like singing "We Are the World" but I hate that song! :)
27. 2011-11-13 05:56  
Well, as a person of white skin (waygookin) who has lived in South Korea for five years and dated South Korean men...I have to tell you that this is a hate crime among themselves (KvK). Jongro is a very nice area, but if you do not speak Korean, you are an outcast. This area is reserved for Korean gay men and the occasional waygookin.

Jongro is a wonderful hidden place for those who want to get out of the Itaiawan bullshit.

I wish that this hatefulness will stop.
28. 2011-11-13 11:21  
I knew South Korea had some homophobic cases but I never realized the extent of it. I still hope to visit it someday.
29. 2011-11-13 18:09  
FIGHT BACK! especially in 1 on 1-2 or 2 on 2-3 situation. You need to be on top of them otherwise they will kick your ass. I had 2 similar experiences about 10 years ago, i fought and won. First one i ended only with minor injury, 2nd time I was totally fine.Those scums are weak inside, show your strength and be fearless!
30. 2011-11-13 18:53  
So, the police in the Jong-ro street precinct seem to know perfectly well why they tend to avoid reporting incidents and yet, they don't give a little extra support to those victims in a vulnerable position?

It's a perfect example of b.s and 'self defense' is the best answer for gays in Korea for the time being. I laughed hysterically at some comments on a korean gay-related website saying that 'they were too flamboyant'. :P It's Jong-ro FFS!
31. 2011-11-14 09:03  
korea is stil oldfashioned country so people are afraid to be out
well it could have been easier if people just be out to others like i am
well but it might be hard on to others
32. 2011-11-14 16:36  
They play baseball in Korea, don't they? maybe bands of gay people should go out on Saturday nights pretending they were looking for a baseball pick up game. Hopefully, they stumble upon the attackers. It is OK to kill in this case. My ex BF went home in Kansas after some guys called him a fag in a park. He went home, got a baseball bat and returned looking for the guys.

They don't play any baseball in China, but supposedly, they have a very high sales rate for aluminum bats. I've always wanted to hit someone in the head with a bat, so if they are looking to hurt us fags, might as well be them. That doesn't make me a bad guy, does it?

Beaks
33. 2011-11-14 19:28  
Even though Jong-ro and Itaewon are like the meccas for gays in Seoul, I know a lot more who refrain from going there and rather be at home or elsewhere with their boyfriends. They do not wish to be that high-profile, you see.

On a brighter note, I have a quite a few straight Korean friends who are fine with homosexuality. Hell, even their parents are fine with that too =)
34. 2011-11-14 22:44  
What's up with homophobic violence in Korea, which has evolved astonishingly over the past generation! I hope the authorities investigate this and put an end to all hate-violence.

I've never been to Seoul, but when I eventually go, I'll be ready for the attackers with pepper spray!
35. 2011-11-14 23:05  
yeah..in korea, it is very conservative, and christians are becoming majority. and as we all know, christians (specially protestants) hate homosexuality.

That is why the biggest gay community in korea is actually from married gay man (married to women!!!!). It is very hard to have a normal life without getting married (to a woman) in korea.

It is sad but true
36. 2011-11-15 08:42  
oh well, as far as the country perse is concerned, their dont believe on gays, which makes it stupid coz being gay is not an illness, it is something that they should be proud of, without gays fashion and entertainment industries will be boring, sometimes i dont understand where this rooted, maybe their people from higher ranks are discreet gays and will hate to see gay people who are happy and free thats why they are trying to stop the growing population of gays.. lol
37. 2011-11-16 06:56  
In answer to # 25's question directed to me. True it happens everywhere in the world including SF which you assume is the most liberal city in the world. But that is not the topic that was reported, Seoul is.I have lived,traveled and worked in Seoul for over 30 years and respect & kindness to Korean women from Korean men are few and far between.Not all but many.I have seen Korean men berate their wives in public and private for minor issues that would only need a polite discussion.I have attended business meetings in some of the largest Korean industries where the women work as hard as the men.Yet when lunch time comes the woman are asked to leave the meeting room and dine separately.I love Korea and it's people but when it comes to the status of a woman in Korea it harks back to the Silla Dynasty or even further back.
38. 2011-11-17 10:14  
My Fiance (same sex) and I just came back from a week in Seoul. It was my second trip to Korea, and our first together. He is Korean, and we live outside of Korea.

I was shocked at the amount of staring that occurred. I know of other 'inter-racial' couples this has happened to, but it was near constant, typically from middle+ aged people. A couple of times it was extremely bad; a/ at a palace we visited several men kept staring in a hostile manner as we walked past each other and then they stopped walking and still kept staring b/ at another palace this guy walks up to me, around me, looking at me up and down, (at this point I'm still and wondering what the hell ..). How much of this was an inter-racial thing vs a gay thing I don't know. Some cases were obvious, e.g. middle aged women we walked past (with the obligatory stare) when they said "are they gay?" to each other.

For heaven's sake, it was like something from what I perceive it could have been like being gay in a western culture 30 years ago! And while I'm on the topic of heaven, i do also blame these (what I refer to as) right-wing 'christian' churches that generally preach hatred towards most things gay.

Can't they do a bit of homework! Perhaps read what the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has said on the topic over the years or MCC Church http://www.mccmanchester.co.uk/bible_seven_texts.htm

39. 2011-11-17 10:36  
# 38 your comments are right on spot.I am American and my better half is Taiwanese.We were in Seoul for holiday and experienced the same treatment irregardless of where we went. Having lived in South Korea many years ago I don't believe it was an interracial issue as South Korea has always had a large % of Caucasians living,working and stationed there with the Armed Forces. Many Korean woman marry Caucasians as it is considered "status" for some bizarre reason and they are not looked down upon or commented on in the streets.I would agree with you as the right-wing Christian churches in South Korea are very powerful and do preach hatred towards the LGBT community.30 years ago............more like the Silla Dynasty as I said in my comment above.
40. 2011-11-18 00:26  
#38. 2011-11-17 10:14
#39. 2011-11-17 10:36

A complete coincidence or playing sock puppet?
I have a feeling he has an issue with Korea.
Get over the stare and the country.
41. 2011-11-18 07:13  
#40 not playing sock puppet at all. It is what happened and if you have a problem dealing & reading the truth then you should get over it. I made it very clear in my #37 comment that I love South Korea but not the way they treat their women and the LGBT community.
42. 2011-11-19 09:08  
#40. Please don't assume to know what I think about Korea.

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