“It is helpful to examine the views on homosexual activities in past Korean societies and how these changed with the introduction of Western scientific and religious discourses. While there is little doubt that there were same-sex sexual relations in premodern Korea, these were not labeled as “homosexual”; there simply was no such category to place people. In the West, the discourse on homosexuality was not formulated until the late nineteenth century, when a transformation occurred. Michel Foucault (1990, 43) put it this way: “The sodomite had been a temporary aberration; the homosexual was now a species.” With this change, homosexuality became something to be “cured” and was viewed as a tremendous “sin” against nature (Foucault 1990, 101). As I will demonstrate, the discourses on homosexuality in Korea have followed a strikingly similar course. While records concerning same-sex relations are fragmentary at best in premodern Korea, there is sufficient evidence to permit a conclusion that these relationships were accepted or at least understood as a part of life and, while not necessarily embraced as desirable or proper, did not require treatment or punishment. For example, lesbian relations between palace women must have been extremely common, as the practice of “pairing up” as a couple even had a special euphemism (taesik) in the Chosôn period (1392–1910) (Kim Yong-suk 1987, 73). One characteristic of the institution of the namsadang —male troupes of itinerate entertainers—is the homosexual relations between younger members, who dressed as girls, and elder members; the namsadang is also known to have supplied male prostitutes to the areas it traveled through (Shim 1994, 5:408 – 411). Furthermore, homosexual practices seem to have been quite common at Buddhist temples, even until recent times. Gregory N. Evon (2001, 14 –15) has written that while there was heated discussion about celibacy and Buddhist monks in the colonial period (1910 –1945), this was only in regard to heterosexual sex—“homosexuality simply elicits no comment.” This is not to state, however, that homosexuality was encouraged or celebrated by official Chosôn society; rather, at times it was used to criticize political opponents (Pratt et al. 1999, 167). Those who were too inclined toward same-sex relations were seen as, at the very least, being out of touch with their prescribed social role. One such example is that of Grand Prince Chean (1466 –1525), the son of King Yejong (reigned 1468 –1469), who is recorded to have had distaste for women. While the prince faced no official censure, the following commentary reveals how many would have looked upon him: “In general, the desire between men and women is something that is present from birth and such human desire cannot be blocked. [Prince Chean] held throughout his whole life that women were dirty, and he always avoided them. If [such actions] are not idiotic, what is?” (Ô 1971, 489, 758). Despite a more-or-less tolerant attitude by those around him—the prince never was censured for his behavior—his actions made him the subject of humor and contempt. The above description also demonstrates that such a condition was something understood as inherent in one’s sexual nature and not something that could be altered or treated. Perhaps contributing to the propensity to “look the other way” in the case of same-sex sexual relations in Chosôn was the Confucian view of sexual matters as being a part of the private sphere. Episodes concerning sex were not a part of the public discourse, and Confucian ethics highly discouraged bringing matters concerning sexual practices into the open (Pettid 2001, 61–86). […] Further obscuring premodern discourse on homosexuality is that engagement in a homosexual or lesbian relationship was not an identity-defining matter. In premodern Korea there was simply not a homosexual identity or label with which to “mark” an individual as different or abnormal. Sexual activities in general were considered matters of a private space. In Chosôn Korea, there were no words, such as tongsông aeja, to label those with alternative sexual identities. This would have to wait until the introduction of Western science and religion in the late nineteenth century. The late nineteenth century in Chosôn was a tumultuous time. The political foundations of the dynasty had been thoroughly shaken, Western missionaries were preaching of a new god and code by which to live, and Western scientific discourses entered the land and caused many to rethink ideas that had long been held as indisputable. Along with the introduction of Western religions and science came the influence of values such as the right for love-based marriages and self-realization. The advent of Western science and Christianity was to have the greatest impact in creating negative stereotypes of gays in modern Korea. The writings of some early missionaries to Korea demonstrate a strong contempt for what they understood as immoral behaviors. The missionary George Herber Jones writes of the Buddhist monks: “They debauched the people, and their abominations beggar description. The monasteries became pleasure houses, and the nunneries little better than brothels” ( Jones 1907, 61). While perhaps not an outright condemnation of same-sex relations, the contempt of Westerners for things “not Christian” is highly visible in their writings. […] Following much the same pattern as in the West, scientific and Christian discourses changed the manner in which human sexuality was understood in Korea. Further compounding this hostile environment toward gays were the still-important remnants of Confucianism in Korea that stressed the need to continue the family lineage through male heirs, thereby fulfilling the inherent debt that all owe to their ancestors for being created. The result of the influx of Western thought and religion thus helped shape the present-day view of gays in South Korea. The scientific analysis and categorization of homosexuals as an aberration from the norm, a sickness to be examined and treated, became accepted. And Christians, as Tamsin Spargo writes in her insightful examination of Foucault and queer theory, “developed universal moral codes and interdictions increasingly centered on the truth of sex,” which allowed homosexuality to be viewed as “intrinsically evil” (1999, 25). Korean Christian discourse on homosexuality is no different from that in the West. Contemporary society, then, can be characterized by a clear inability to separate sexual preference from gender. That is, any actions beyond what is prescribed as normal (i.e., heterosexual sex) are not only immoral but also unnatural and unhealthy. These Western scientific and religious understandings of homosexuality combined in Korea with the neo-Confucian ethic of filial piety to form today’s hostile environment for gays in South Korea. Still yet another component that has added to the troubles for gays is the perceived breakdown of “traditional” family values by some Koreans. Various elements in the process of modernization, such as urbanization, have led to the disappearance of the extended family household that figured prominently in late Chosôn Korea. While economics and individual desires have certainly contributed to this situation, the recent prominence of gays has also added fuel to the perception of a loss of long-standing traditions, regardless of whether either the tradition of the extended family or its breakdown is accurate. The fact that gays are on a more visible stage than in the past has led to views that their increased numerical growth is either an outgrowth of the breakdown of the family or a contributing cause.”
— Michael J. Pettid, “Cyberspace and a Space for Gays in South Korea” in Sitings: Critical Approaches to Korean Geography
