South Korea: How South Korea’s Nightclub Outbreak Is Shining an Unwelcome Spotlight on the LGBTQ Community

In his early 20s, after leaving business school to follow his ambition of becoming an artist and performer, Heezy Yang was drawn to an out-of-the-way area of Seoul’s Itaewon district known as Homo Hill, a longtime haven for LGBTQ people in South Korea.

There, he found a place where he could interact with others without fear of judgement or discrimination, while exploring ways to express his sexuality through art. The area is a craggy hill near a U.S. military base, where, after dark, bright signs bearing the names of clubs like Queen and Soho cast the streets in multicolored light.

Nowadays, those lights are off, the bars and nightclubs are closed and the usually buzzing streets are uncharacteristically quiet after a coronavirus cluster with more than 130 cases shined unwanted attention on the neighborhood—sparking a surge in homophobia, activists say.

The South Korean government is now trying to track down anyone who visited establishments in the neighborhood, sparking fears that the country’s efficient, aggressive system of contact tracing could lead to people being outed, and imperil the neighborhood’s status as a discreet area where LGBTQ people can be themselves.

The publicity is a stark departure for an area that is normally a discreet sanctuary for LGBTQ people in South Korea—a country that ranks low among developed economies for LGBTQ acceptance, and where many choose to keep their sexual orientations private to avoid discrimination at their workplaces or from their families.

South Korea’s media began focusing on the neighborhood after public health authorities announced that a 29-year-old man who later tested positive for the coronavirus visited several establishments in the area on May 2. Authorities gathered a list of more than 5,500 people who visited clubs there. As of Thursday, they had still not managed to contact some 2,500 of them. Read more via Time

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지금은 용기를 내야 할 때입니다. 성소수자는 기본적으로 자신의 정체성이 가족에게, 지인에게, 사회에 알려지는 게 두려운 게 사실이기 때문입니다. 그래서 용기가 필요합니다. 오랫동안 이태원에서 자리를 잡고 있는 사람으로서 이번 일이 참 안타깝고 걱정스러운데, 무엇보다 아직도 검진을 받지 않고 연락이 안되는 사람들이 너무 많다는 것이 가장 우려됩니다 물론 ‘아웃팅’에 대한 걱정이 크다는 건 누구보다 잘 알고 있습니다 하지만 지금은 그 무엇보다도 본인과 가족, 그리고 사회의 건강과 안전이 우선입니다. 다행히 ‘익명 보장’ 검사가 가능하다고 하니, 지금이라도 당장 검사를 받아야 합니다. 지금은 모두가 힘든 시기입니다. 그리고 모두가 이 사태에서 벗어나고 싶어 힘을 모으고 있습니다. 방역 당국과 의료진, 그리고 국민 한 사람 한사람이 쏟은 그동안의 힘과 노력이 헛되지 않게 지금 당장 용기를 내서 검사에 임하길 간곡히 권합니다.

A post shared by Tonyhong1004 (@tonyhong1004) on May 11, 2020 at 7:46pm PDT

Now is the time to take courage. It is true that sexual minorities are basically afraid of their identity being known to family, acquaintances, and society. So it takes courage. As a person who has been in Itaewon for a long time, this is a pity and anxiety, and most of all, I am most concerned that there are still too many people who have not been examined and cannot be contacted. Of course, I know better than anyone that I'm worried about 'outing', but now, above all else, the health and safety of myself, my family, and society are our top priority. Fortunately, the 'Anonymous Guarantee' test is said to be possible, so you still need to be tested right now. It is a difficult time for everyone. And everyone is trying to get out of this situation. Quarantine authorities, medical staff, and a citizen I urge you to take courage and go to the prosecution right now so that the strength and effort of one person have been spent in vain.