Test 2

Please select your preferred language.

請選擇你慣用的語言。

请选择你惯用的语言。

English
中文简体
台灣繁體
香港繁體

Login

Remember Me

New to Fridae?

Fridae Mobile

Advertisement
Highlights

More About Us

23 Nov 2015

South Korean university elects openly gay student president

Activists hope student victory is a sign of change in South Korea as LGBT rights become a more prominent issue in the country.

South Korea's top university, Seoul National University, has elected 23-year-old Kim Bo-mi as president of the student body. Kim identifies as a lesbian.

The results of the elections on Thursday make Kim the first student from a sexual minority to hold the post.

Kim won 86.8 percent of the vote, the Korea Herald reported Friday. More than 50 percent of the student body voted in the campus-wide election at Seoul National University, and 11 percent voted against Kim while others abstained.

The student, who is majoring in consumer and child studies at the university, ran an election campaign that centred on tolerance.

Earlier this month she publicly declared that she was a lesbian during her election campaign and expressed that she hoped SNU would become a more diverse and inclusive place.

Kim told South Korean outlet News 1 that "I thought that at least on campus students should be free to be as they are," she said. "I also thought coming out proudly would be a source of great strength and support for others."

"I hope that people love themselves for who they are and live with confidence in this world. So I am telling you here that I am a lesbian," Kim also said during the campaign.

The election had unusually high voter participation, reflecting students' interest after Kim came out during the campaign.

South Korea remains largely homophobic, and is ranked 69th among 123 nations in terms of tolerance for homosexuality.

A 2014 survey of some 2,000 Koreans aged 19 or older by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies think tank showed that only 23.7 percent of respondents had little or no objection to gays, according to the Korea Herald.

Reader's Comments

1. 2015-11-26 04:32  
She wears glasses and looks a little over weight also!!

I'm sure they only elected her for being gay. Sad times.

69th out of 123!!!! Burning them at the stake they are!!! Lol

23.7 little or no objection
75.3 really don't care
1.0 horrid gays


But really, more than half in their 20s are fine with gays..... So given time everything will be fine.

Fine
Expect for the 'activists'. The end is nigh :)

Please log in to use this feature.

Select News Edition

Featured Profiles

Now ALL members can view unlimited profiles!

Languages

View this page in a different language:

Like Us on Facebook

Partners

 ILGA Asia - Fridae partner for LGBT rights in Asia IGLHRC - Fridae Partner for LGBT rights in Asia

Advertisement