Korean woman's love story ends in acceptance

Kim Gyu-jin, a 28-year-old office worker in South Korea, recently received her company’s official couaMAwEi)TwtgfvJHJjsz*)gievD9Wq+KfWg!3cVYeP6FX6$kJHngratulations and support for her same-sex wedding.

It is a rare example of support for LGBT rela*!qClml1GhiBwYpNPv&-ji=+PV*wJAaTVyMVG7gnM2pJmV6Um_tionships in South Korea, where rights activists warn the country is becoming less accepting of LGBT people.

Kim shared details of her beachuG(uwF#sjIB$z3ahTMQ*uPUmzA=SbYIevBCqxsR1L!_o+=Itn_ wedding and what her colleagues’ acceptance meant to her on her personal blog.

“I consulted with my te[email protected]+a%hE%_DhlAqpYgMeFv7VqOB^qzKHzC!vfyp5(5q2%[email protected]am leader and sent an e-mail to the HR team”, she explained. “I was nervous.”

But, the reply she received was “happy marriage”. She said the only official docum&xIqUP_ex9A!g++Xv%[email protected]#y(C+Qented needed was a wedding invitation.

The pair officially married in New York. She saDmPao60&3fzLg%x8kC&&4hFsHVyX^Q^$)y)[email protected]_rzq$Xf*Oulid she chose the USA as they do not require citizenship or resident permits.

The certificate is, however, “useless” in South Korea,L(mL$KMBqK56g^TvPpziERgg1iuFpUrMMpZK9euIK3Vsy(-E)9 she explains. The country does not permit same-sex marriage or recognize foreign unions.

Kim also explaine23w6J$M2-sCucT*%ERHeSp=*Q)[email protected])0=jEXcyK(r$5IZld how moved she was other people’s acceptance. 

She has been out at work for the last two years and dreams of being an LGBT CEO like Apple’s Tim CZ%nl*=Y6e=VmEy_qIZxM$Ysgna$8Z+pL)[email protected]^#[email protected]ook. “I want to give LGBT people visibility and influence society”, she wrote.

Homosexuality is legal in South Korea. But conservative attitudes, especiaI3eIAT4P0+mEB$0e3Nta8D)fccz$yN([email protected]([email protected]lly among Christians, force many LGBTI Koreans to live in the closet.

A 2017 Korean Gallup Daily Opinion poll reported 66% of 19-29 year-olds supported same-sex &W4&*@5uTWLtF#[email protected]marriage, but 76% of those over 60 opposed it.

There is currently no discrimination legislation to protect LGBTI Koreans. Protests against LGBTI events, usually led by conservative Christians, have become incrh_2yHoJ2=GIl!q$q%^uDvec)0IQ-!RfK*-%_%ps3485*NrUO$Heasingly loud and violent.

What’s more, South Korea has ignored calls from international rights groups to end iZmf*XOfHh^ys=hG4A+mMUCfa*%DTUPA+B-_YkJL-zt1Tnekog8ts anti-gay law for soldiers in the military.

In 2017, t7Nh6jz4#eZtjP2EEg)s2IiCSmFTp&Du44JX71(5jsh=F$(@ajohe law made headlines after it emerged a senior general used gay dating apps to ensnare soldiers. His so-called ‘gay witch hunt’ reportedly revealed 50 soldiers.

(Photos: Kim Gyu-jin's Naver blog)