
Following Lady Gaga’s allegedly evil concert last month that saw some South Korean groups praying for its cancellation, the public debate on her time in Korea continues. A televised debating show that had been covering the fact that many of Gaga’s concerts were ‘R’ rated invited a range of speakers to engage in a heated discussion, including the Reverend Jeong-Hoon Yoon who, already known for a high profile battle on Twitter with a liberal commentator Professor Jin (pictured right), came under fire from many Koreans for making some particularly strong remarks against homosexuality in Korea.
On the TV program ‘The debate to put on end to all’, Reverend Jeong-Hoon Yoon asks ‘Which is dirtier, mad-cow disease or homosexuality?’
Comments from Reverend Jeong-Hoon Yoon, Representative of Greencontents Movement, on homosexuality have sparked violent reaction from netizens.
Rev. Yoon appeared at the debate program on tvN channel (hosted by Ji-Yeon Baek) on the 2nd of May, to discuss the topic ‘Was it valid to declare that the Lady Gaga concert was harmful to adolescents?’ He commented that Lady Gaga’s lyrics that say ‘homosexuality was created by God’ show an overt support for homosexuality, which is against the Bible and derogatory of Christianity.
During the debate, he continued to hurl sharp insults towards homosexuals, saying that ‘homosexuality wasn’t created by God’ and asking ‘which is dirtier, mad-cow disease or homosexuality?’
He claimed that South Korea has been so far free from homosexuality, standing in stark antagonism with Professor Joong-Gwon Jin (Professor of Dong-yang Univ.), who was well known as a liberal commentator and another panel speaker that day.
Professor Jin retorted at the ‘homo-free’ argument, saying that the country used to be free from Christianity for 5,000 years. ‘The country was very clean then – does this offend you? This is what we call discrimination,’ he added. He also pointed out the conservative take on homosexuality by the Christian community in South Korea, commenting that only a part of the Korean Christian community sees homosexuality as anti-Bible, and that other countries even allow appointing homosexuals to clerical positions. ‘If the Bible says ‘stone homosexuals to death,’ will you really follow it? It is problematic to understand the Bible literally. If so, we would have to restrict viewing of the Old Testament from under-19s,’ he argued.
The problem evolved when some netizens started criticising Rev. Yoon on his Twitter account (@JunghoonYoon), regarding his comments ‘overboard’ after watching the debate.
A Twitter user (week****) mentioned him saying ‘it is inappropriate to view homosexuals as AIDS virus carriers; like someone said before, love is not for sex.’ To this, Rev. Yoon made an obscene reply, mentioning a specific body part. When another Twitter user criticised this saying ‘so this is the expression coming from a Korean priest,’ he replied ‘you make me puke,’ adding oil to the fire.
Twitter users rapidly started condemning his ‘rash’ behaviour in this war of words.
Many Twitter users were not shy of expressing their anger. ‘I was wondering who Reverend Jeong-Hoon Yoon was, and the debate showed me what kind of mind-set he had’ said dodo****, while bayst**** commented that ‘it seems to me that Jeong-Hoon Yoon has only had an immature training of the rational mind. On top of it all, his theological knowledge and faith as a priest is very seriously mediocre.’
Some Twitter users found his comments unpalatable; p_ele**** wrote ‘Dear Rev. Yoon, think about how many homosexuals would have been discouraged and suffered from the view of the world, while you were confident that our country was homo-free. Please be more benevolent and embrace their pain.’
Reverend Yoon and Professor Jin were accompanied by Jin-Mi Hwang (film critic) and Hee-Mun Cho (Professor of Inha Univ.) in the panel for the debate. They not only discussed homosexuality but also the Korean acceptability standard of rating cultural contents, attracting public attention. South Korea is the only nation that Lady Gaga has visited during her World Tour to have decided to give her concerts an R rating.
Comments from Nate:
"The Bible is a funny book. Homosexuality is a crime to die for, but incest is allowed. Weird book it is."
"Must they [homosexuals] be condemned? I think Christians should embrace and walk with them too"
"The country was free from homosexuals? How do you know that, did you do a survey or something?"
Comments from Twitter:
"It’s complete nonsense of Jeong-Hoon Yoon that Western churches had no choice but to accept homosexuality due to spread of homosexuality which increased the number of homosexual clergymen. He only showed off his ignorance and stupidity on air when he linked homosexuality with AIDS. He seems to be devoid of not only theological knowledge but also common sense."
"Jeong-Hoon Yoon said “Korea has been free from homosexuality so far.” !? Korea has been free from Jeong-Hoon Yoon [this priest] for 5,000 years."
Source: koreabang
Is it douchebag week or something?
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:10 pm (UTC)i have a third option it's ur shitstained soul you slimy piece of crap
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Date: 2012-05-10 09:33 am (UTC)<3 You're my favourite.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:10 pm (UTC)I just can't see how people can think like this, smh
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:19 pm (UTC)ikr i was pleasantly surprised
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:14 pm (UTC)That was pretty a good dig at Korea's obsession with banning everything.
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Date: 2012-05-10 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-09 09:18 pm (UTC)Neither is dirty... Your existence however...
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:18 pm (UTC)Other than for laughs I don't get how these kinds of people get on tv
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:24 pm (UTC)Oh snap
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Date: 2012-05-10 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-09 09:31 pm (UTC)lol I lyk you
perhap's this priest should see a specialist, so much hate and fear inside himself.
Which reminds me of how my very religious friend and her family in her church told me one of their relative has a eating disorder but they don't think it is necessary to see a psy because they just can't do that it is their church's pbm.
Sigh.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:31 pm (UTC)Gold. A+
This reverend is an obvious fool. Part of me wishes that they'd chosen someone less belligerent and zealous. Involving a person like that stops real dialogue and understanding from actually happening by turning the discussion into a side-show. Regardless, I would still very much like to watch this debate.
In better news, President Obama has openly side-eyed North Carolina and voiced his support for same-sex marriage!
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:39 pm (UTC)Yay for Obama. Although it still doesn't change the fact that North Carolina has done what it has, my friend showed me news articles about it today and I was so shocked.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-09 09:32 pm (UTC)This is seriously a great jab.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:40 pm (UTC)If he wants to take the Bible literal then anyone that works on the sabbath should be killed. Or so I hear.
Whatever the Church's obsession with homosexuality is just sad at this point, you're fighting a losing battle so fucking et over it before you become more of a laughing stock.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:48 pm (UTC)Why do they only focus on homosexuality, and not the other myriad sins that the bible condemns? Oh, that's right, because the idea disgusts them personally and makes them feel uncomfortable.
You know what? Love is love, and it's not your business what consenting adults do. UGH.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:42 pm (UTC)the other guy needs a reality check.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:44 pm (UTC)^^^ THIS. The Bible (well, the OT) has some messed-up, violent, creepy-ass stuff in it. My (least) favourite is the whole 'We're angels and this mob is trying to anally rape us, please protect us!' 'Oh of course! Lemme offer up my virgin daughters to be raped by the mob!' 'Yes, that is the good and holy thing to do!'
WTF.
(GENESIS 19:6 - NIV Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”)
Anyway. Stop this stupid, unfounded nonsense. Some people are gay, Korea. Deal. (the same should be said to the rest of the world)
Also, this is heart-wrenching, and it makes me so bad that they banned it after one airing for being 'obscene' (Eng subbed. It's an hour long, but well worth the watch imo):
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:47 pm (UTC)But yeah, after I read the OT, and not the sanitised, selective version you hear in church, I stopped with Christianity. Was a theist for a few years before reading and thinking a lot and now I'm agnostic...anyway, yeah, not the place :p
It's pretty eye-opening though, and it pains me that some of my friends genuinely believe in this stuff and think kind of think Lot was in the right :/
http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/page/bible-atrocities if you're interested. I'll go away now.
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Date: 2012-05-09 09:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-09 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-09 10:04 pm (UTC)It is problematic to understand the Bible literally. If so, we would have to restrict viewing of the Old Testament from under-19s
A+
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Date: 2012-05-09 10:13 pm (UTC)........seriously?
It's a good that netizens called him out on it.
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Date: 2012-05-09 10:19 pm (UTC)i'm glad to see sane netizen comments, for once. professor jin is good job, thumbs up!
mr. priest needs to get his hands on junsu's mv teaser and clean his mind of all those anti-homossexual disgusting thoughts.
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Date: 2012-05-10 09:23 am (UTC)*fapfapfap*