Interesting page brought to our attention by Kimball:
http://www.globalgayz.com/g-korea.html

What do you guys think?

perhaps my mind is in the gutter, but it just reminded me about how difficult it is to find free good korean porn. i swear, it is virtually impossible. GOOD PORN, mind you.

Seems pretty accurate to me - the article that is - Korea will probably never become a gay Mecca. The culture just will never admit to exceptions. That's not a bad thing, mind you. Korea's culture is a very noble thing - and I've seen too many tragedies to think that the progress we've seen in Japan will ever happen in Korea. Presuming upon changes that will never be is another way of living in a fantasy world.

Regarding korean porn - it's there but it never has been and probably never will reach the level of professionalism you see in Japan. Most of the stuff I've seen has been pretty poor fare - nothing compared to Japanese quality or subject matter. Just an opinion.

Lars, how on earth did you survive that long in Korea? The article makes life sound so hard for gay Kguys, even with the Internet giving them the chance to keep in 'virtual' touch with other gays.

Here, in Japan, there is "tatemae" (official stance for outside consumption) and "honne" (real personal stance). When straight people talk about gays at the office or drinking together, they are never malicious, but you know that the "tatemae" view is that it is something they pretend to have no knowledge about, e.g. "I have never met a gay in my life". On the "Honne" level, though, things are quite different of course, and you realize that they are willing to try homosex, have done so or fooled around with male friends when drunk, or are actually gay/bi but in the closet.

Japan likes to offer the illusion of still waters, a quiet social lake, whose peaceful surface few dare disturb by throwing an "I'm gay!" stone into. Yet under this seeming tranquility, all kinds of fish mingle together at various depths, and gays can be quite happy, even open about their sexuality down there.

Koreans don't seem to find the need to compartmentalize their thoughts and lives like the Japanese do, so it must be a nightmare being gay in such a transparent society... Even the closet doesn't seem safe from prying eyes!

How do you cope with it, Lars?

KF

Cope with it? Well, since I'm really not "in your face - take it or leave it" type of person I really don't have a lot of coping to do. There is also a great gentleness under the surface of the monolithic image that Korean society tends to project - especially to "waegugin" - "gaijin" in the Japanese context. An excellent reflection is the wonderful blog by Teazed that we have reference to in several other parts of the site.

Like the Japanese, Koreans have many levels in this society. Bath house culture doesn't have much to do with Confucian ethics - but the pecking order is still manifested there as well. The principle is not sexuality - but "place" - where I stand in relationship to others based upon (1) my chronlogical age (2) my social rank, and finally (3) my "uichi" or place in economic and cultural terms. All three areas have nothing to do with personal morality - but a great deal to do with how any one person is perceived in society. I would imagine it would be similar in Japan as well.

Being gay in Korea isn't the problem - but being in an inappropriate "place" is much more important. Gays in Korea haven't found their "place" yet in terms of the Confucian culture which dominates.

Making room for religion in Korea has taken the better part of the past century - after Korea was no longer the essentially atheistic, confucian state it was for seven centuries. I would say that new social strata have yet to reveal themselves for gays or lesbians in this society.