Sexual Minority Students in Korea Try Hard to Make Their Voices Heard

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – A transgender victim has filed for a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on October 22. Human rights advocacy groups representing the interest of sexual minorities held on the 23rd a press conference in front of the commission’s office and said, “Forcing a transgender military conscript to go through a physical surgery is serious infringement on the rights of a transgender person to make choice and seek happiness.”

According to the groups, the victim went through a medical check-up in 2012 for mandatory military service. At the time, he submitted doctor’s opinion on his sexual identity impairment and documents on a series of hormone therapies for exemption.

But the medical examiners of the Military Manpower Administration rejected his requested and said they would grant exemption if he underwent a surgery. In the end, he was exempted from military service after an orchiectomy, or surgical castration in which testicles are removed.

In universities, student bodies are trying to revise their rules to embrace those who are different in sexual orientation and
preference, allowing the minorities’ voices to be heard.(image: Korea Queer Culture Festival)

This is the current state of Korea’s perception toward sexual minorities, not recognizing their subjective sexual orientation and identity. Still, there are glimmers of hope. In universities, student bodies are trying to revise their rules to embrace those who are different in sexual orientation and preference, allowing the minorities’ voices to be heard.

For example, the Students’ Union of Korea University recently revised its rules by forbidding any form of discrimination against sexual minorities within the campus. In Hanyang University, the human rights committee for sexual minorities has been officially recognized as one of the committees within the Student Council.

According to Korea University’s Students’ Union on October 22, the union has passed a revised rule that added a provision on sexual orientation and sexual identity, which stipulates, “No student shall be discriminated based on gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, race, creed, religious faith, or disability.”

On September 30, Hanyang University’s Student Council finally recognized the human rights committee for sexual minorities as part of its sub-organizations. The committee had tried to be recognized for three years after launching an organization under the name “LGBT Human Rights Committee.”

The committee, approved with 121 affirmative votes out of 196 ballot-casting members, will be given a separate budget and space for its members. This is the third student committee for sexual minorities among universities in Seoul, after Ewha Woman’s University and Sogang University.

In addition to campaigns at individual university levels, committees and clubs for sexual minority students are getting together and creating an alliance across universities. In response to an announcement in January this year by the National Institute of the Korean Language that changed the definition of “love” focusing on heterosexual attraction, student groups in 18 universities across the country organized “QUV” (short for Queer University), forewarning a showdown with conservative sections of the society.

source koreabizwire

Comments

[uledy.livejournal.com]

the word choice and pronoun usage in this article is giving me a headache and is pretty offensive.

it seems they have a legal leg to stand on bc iirc an individual no longer has to undergo surgery in order to legally change their gender. I wonder if she had already legally changed her gender or was in the process of doing so when this whole ordeal started.

either way, i hope she finds relief, legally and emotionally cause this is incredibly sad.

[45s.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I heard a record skip sound in my brain as soon as I read up to the misgendering

[fukkthedumbshyt.livejournal.com]

I'm far from a pro on this but isn't being trans a gender identity because you can be a trans woman and still a lesbian, or trans man and gay, or trans pan etc.? Sorry in advance if any part of my question is offensive.

[uledy.livejournal.com]

Yea, you're right. This author is conflating notions of sexuality with gender identity. They're not the same at all. The whole wording of this article makes me question whether the author did any preliminary research at all...

[chihana11.livejournal.com]

Mte.

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

I don't think the author really knows what s/he's talking about. Using "he" for a transgender woman is terribly wrong, to begin with. And you're right, trans is a gender identity and it's a completely different thing than sexuality...

[prayz.livejournal.com]

the article goes through both subjects, sexual/gender identity and sexual orientation, but there's a link between the two - "This is the current state of Korea’s perception toward sexual minorities, not recognizing their subjective sexual orientation and identity" - so i assume she/he is def not saying trans and sexuality are the same thing.

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Maybe, but there are still many confusions and wrong word choices, which is why I'm hypothesizing that the author doesn't really knows much about transidentity, that's all :)

[prayz.livejournal.com]

at the bottom line, it doesn't matter if he/she knows about every detail of what they're talking about , as long as they spree the word.

[prayz.livejournal.com]

bc unfortunately, and no matter how mediasized this topics are, it will always be about minorities and that hurts

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Yes it is important to spread the word, but I can't help cringing when I see phrasing like that because of how many people are hurted by this. Journalism is a difficult job, so many people are going to believe whatever's told...

[prayz.livejournal.com]

yeah i feel the same and when i posted my first comment i was going to talk about that too, but then i just thought that bottom line, it's still a nice piece of information. bc i really thought lgbt protests were being suffocated by christian parties, at least that's what i've heard a couple of days ago, so it really surprised me to see there is something being done right.

[akillarian.livejournal.com]

This article seems to group Sexual Identity, and Sexual Preference together under the umbrella term Sexual Minority.

For the examples they use of changes, they prefer to everyone affected as Sexual Minority. The only time I noticed they mention sexual identity in the example of changes was in No student shall be discriminated based on gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, race, creed, religious faith, or disability.” Sexual Identity only appeared here probably due to the fact they translated the ruling and not paraphrase it.

[akillarian.livejournal.com]

Change can be so slow.

[miamaimi.livejournal.com]

National Institute of the Korean Language that changed the definition of “love” focusing on heterosexual attraction

???

[e-bone (from livejournal.com)]

I was thinking of emailing the writer re: some of the issues with the wording of this piece but think perhaps it should come from a Korean person... hopefully it's already been addressed...

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

While it's nice to see LGBTQ issues being spotlighted, this author should've done some additional research on sensitivity and the correct terms and pronouns to use. There were several times I cringed while reading through this. I am truly disgusted/horrified that the woman in the beginning of the article was forced to have surgery. Like, I can't even imagine. I hope she's okay.