Life / Sep. 17, 2019
Kim Gyu-jin, a 28-year-old office worker in South Korea,P!m#JhY($8qY8HBeypzly^!%xjyTB5z1a#*!1ohVegeFA3Nr^S recently received her company’s official congratulations and support for her same-sex wedding.
It is a rare example of support for LGBT relationships in South Korea, wher7TueAY2YU^O9G0mML5OtYE&aCh7*JDxzBilHoQg5!8P*pid*bUe rights activists warn the country is becoming less accepting of LGBT people.
Kim shared details of her beach wedding and what her colleagues’ accqBzUhP9e!f!@VM=t@V*Ka07lO$GK^ElPj8LUzcVX3kNk(HKRrceptance meant to her on her personal blog.
“I consulted with my team leader and V9^APv*cZ$ITRjk#OsgpuDmw#9ABZp6Nar5U)(1wrm7G$YhtErsent 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 document9p$A7eZ-&t1TZpoEWJUX5CE8(Z@@sEzFjYqSqN7sXs@TTvyNxUed needed was a wedding invitation.
The pair officially married in New York. She said she choNY)iIA+0c9e-bd=FBs5@&@%K9b9@v9xwknAQIZmS_CgxwexkC2se the USA as they do not require citizenship or resident permits.
The certificate is, however, “useless” in South Korem7m=-ifn7qsXtneQ&&1ertN6I#Z-*SIH(W+*Gb@Hea8Pd%=9!ha, she explains. The country does not permit same-sex marriage or recognize foreign unions.
KirGWa$m0JHRd!-_s3upci#fJ(b*S#nj*v@iWHYWcM*SDpWae0Ykm also explained 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 Cook. “AqG&wZfMhtGoXH5OEj%i%a7&VDXxzdmPszq*-Sw(bULVPAECIMI want to give LGBT people visibility and influence society”, she wrote.
Homo8&joO5AEe$#ND=M!Lz!FfwzhstJTm@8SQq@+Lorgx4+AZKoUspsexuality is legal in South Korea. But conservative attitudes, especially among Christians, force many LGBTI Koreans to live in the closet.
A 2017 Korean Gallup Daily Opinion poll reported rPJ0g2WE=5I0wPVG9xC2R4449I)Mepk8&ieZ0LZYKg(gYo$3M966% of 19-29 year-olds supported same-sex marriage, but 76% of those over 60 opposed it.
There is currently no discrimination legislation to protect LGBTI Koreans. Protests against LGBTI events, usually Z&(uEg0E@%W$wmbcNU+MZZo^W!CA4RGvA&7_$8T@Hsa5pSl++dled by conservative Christians, have become increasingly loud and violent.
What’s more, South Korea has ignored calls from international rights groups to32mXx%pNKUlSem_jrdpw)5KWT-H8FkmshjPSo5gsKPLq@k0y5o end its anti-gay law for soldiers in the military.
In 2017, the law made headlines after it emerged a senior general used gay dating apps to ensn8sLQAmY(_bZzy0v_P+oB*lFNE+9*ZHH(gSiI)6ktP8Mc-3XD3care soldiers. His so-called ‘gay witch hunt’ reportedly revealed 50 soldiers.
(Photos: Kim Gyu-jin's Naver blog)
