While economic development triggered a human rights discussions on gender equality and other issues, sexual minorities were excluded, a fact underscored by an utter lack of statistics on LGBT people.
Stories shared by human rights activists show how homophobia can spin out of control.
One situation, included in a 2005 survey by the Human Rights Commission, involved a father who walled up his daughter into a room to prevent her from meeting other lesbians, forcing her mother to feed her through a small hole.
In a case documented by the Korean Sexual-Minority Culture and Rights Center, a college student let a male student rape her for a year after he threatened to out her as a lesbian.
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An area of particular concern has been the military, which defines homosexuality as a “sexual identity disorder” and punishes sexual acts between people of the same sex. Activists say that gays who seek help in adjusting to military culture do so at a risk of being outed.
Jeong Yol, 35, an activist of Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea, says his sexual identity was revealed in the military when another soldier read one of his personal letters. When rumors began to circulate, Jeong admitted he was gay; his commander sent him to a psychiatric hospital run by the army. “They conducted HIV testing without my consent and insulted me using hateful words. They literally kicked me,” he said.
Gay rights activism consolidated in the 1990s, waging community-building efforts and those to dispel myths about LGBT people in the media, which sensationalized stories about sexual promiscuity. Groups also fought laws that prohibited access to gay and lesbian websites.
Much of the activism today works toward securing equal rights in the military and employment sectors, including a push for the country to introduce comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.
This particular battle, however, has triggered a vehement response from the far-right, particularly the over-powered Protestant church, which recently killed the latest efforts to introduce an anti-discrimination law.
good article on the status and struggles of sexual minorities in korea