Reluctant Korean Lesbian Hero

Reluctant Korean Lesbian Hero Writing com

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         Kim Yeong-sook, the female leader of the Korean Democratic Party, the liberal-leaning opposition party, and one of the top female leaders in Korea, one day found herself at the center of a scandal that threatened to rock the Korean political establishment to its core.

         It started when the Korean Human Rights Commission filed a lawsuit challenging Korean marriage laws, demanding that same-sex marriage be recognized.

         That stance generated enormous pushback from the powerful conservative Korean evangelical community, which was anti-LBTQ. They began staging daily sit and prayers in front of the Supreme Court building

         LBTQ community members staged their Rainbow pride counter-protests.

         In a town hall, Chairman Kim was asked what she felt about the issue. She had long dreaded coming out in public as a lesbian, given the prevalence of rampant homophobia in Korea, especially among conservative older men, But her gender preferences were a not-so-open secret among the political class.

         She knew from her friends and lover that attitudes towards the LBTQ community had changed dramatically, especially among women and younger voters with close to 25 percent of young women and 15 percent of young men having had same-sex relations, and support for same-sex marriage was quite high among the younger set.

          Her lover, Park in-soon urged her to issue a statement in support of the LGTG community and publicly come out. Then a U-Tuber conservative political channel jumped the gun and outed her, announcing that they had proof that Chairman Kim was a secret lesbian.She realized that she had no choice any longer and held a press conference.

         She started by saying,

         “Regarding the YouTube accusations that I am a secret Lesbian, and I am living with my lesbian lover, I want to acknowledge that is true, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. So I call upon the Supreme Court to do the right thing and recognize same-sex marriages which are now legal in over 50 countries including the EU, Thailand, Taiwan, and of course the United States. To my friends in the Christian community, I call upon you to reflect on what Jesus would have done, and you know in your hearts that he would be in favor of same-sex marriage. Any questions?”

         As her friends had pointed out, the controversy quickly ended after she came out. The Supreme court announced their ruling and she and her lover were among the first to get legally married and had their ceremony in the Myeongdong Catholic Church, which was a long-time human rights supporter. The wedding was broadcasted on national TV and got international coverage as well.

         They even got a congratulatory call from President Biden, who invited them to visit the US for their honeymoon and drop by the White House. Which they did. While in the U.S. Lambda awarded her human rights champion award, and the Department of State awarded her their "Woman of Courage" award.


NEW PROMPT: Tomorrow, October 9, is both National Hero Day and International Lesbian Day. For your story or poem this time, combine the themes of these two observances.



Author note: This is based on current trends in South Korea, which is moving slowly towards acceptance of LGBTQ rights despite considerable pushback among the politically influential conservative Christian churches, most of whom are heavily influenced by U.S. evangelical churches. Christians make up about 40 percent of the population, Buddhists about 35 percent, and the rest are unaffiliated or belong to various fringe cult movements, such as the Moonies. Buddhists are more accepting of LGBTQ rights, but the new religious groups are not so much. About 40 percent support same-sex marriages according to the latest polls, which also found about five percent of Koreans identify as LGBTQ, and there is a fairly large gay club district called "Homo Hill" in Seoul's Itaewon Foreigner quarter.