Subj : COVID 19 OUTBREAK IN SEOUL'S GAY DISTRICT STOKES ANTI-GAY BACKLASH
To : All
From : Major Queen
Date : Wed May 13 2020 03:05 pm
MAY 13, 2020 SOURCE EXPRESS
Homophobia is on the rise in South Korea thanks to COVID 19.
Backlash in South Korea against the country's gay community is prompting
fears LGBT people will stop being tested for COVID 19 out of fear of being
outed.
The backlash began after a number of cases were linked to Seoul's gay
district. The Guardian reports that out of the 35 new cases reported, 29 were
found to be linked to Itaewon, Seoul's gay district.
According to officials from the Korean Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (KCDC), the total number of cases linked to the gay district now
stands at 86.
The increased number of cases linked to the gay nightclubs has raised
concerns about a rise in homophobia in addition to a second wave of
infections.
While homosexuality is legal in South Korea, attitudes towards LGBT people in
the South Asian nation are known to be hostile.
The latest outbreak has led to a number of homophobic articles being
published in local media. Kookmin Ilbo, a local media outlet with links to an
evangelical church, first reported that businesses visited by an infected man
over the long weekend were gay clubs,
That then led a number of other outlets to follow suit, revealing not only
the identity of clients but also some of their ages and the names of their
workplaces.
The Guardian reports that when another infected man was found to have been to
a gay sauna in Gangnam, a slew of homophobic content in newspapers and online
followed and that gay men are reluctant to get tested for fear of being outed.
"It took me a whole week to get up the courage to get tested," Min Jaeyoung,
27, told the Guardian.
"I even got ready to look for another job. As it turned out, I was not
infected but I cried when I got that text not because I was happy not to be
infected but because I really hate being a gay man in this country."
