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LIFE IN KOREAPosted by Alex 🇳🇱 Netherlands · 1 month ago
Honest take: how is it as a queer student there?
not looking for a debate, just practical experience. is it something you keep quiet at school?
how was it with classmates and teachers
how was it with classmates and teachers
9 comments
OFFICIAL ANSWER
EvanALLO TEAM
English desk · Seoul
Practical answer, no editorialising.
Day to day, Seoul is safe and unremarkable. Violence and harassment are rare, and street safety generally in Korea is high. Nobody is going to have a problem with you existing.
What is different from the Netherlands is visibility and openness rather than danger. Korea has no anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation, same-sex marriage is not recognised, and public discussion is more reserved. Many Korean LGBT people are not out at work or to family. That social norm shapes the atmosphere more than any risk to you.
At school specifically, most students report it being a non-issue. Language classes are international, classmates skew young and well-travelled, and the environment is generally relaxed. Some students are fully out with classmates; others keep it private, usually less from fear than because a beginner-level Korean class is not where you discuss your personal life anyway. Teachers are professional and it does not come up.
Where it can be awkward: an older or more conservative homestay or landlord, and the general assumption of heterosexuality in casual conversation. Neither is dangerous, just occasionally tiring.
What exists:
- Itaewon's Homo Hill is the long-standing scene; Jongno has an older and more local one.
- Seoul Queer Culture Festival happens annually and is large.
- Foreign-resident and international LGBT groups run regular meetups and are easy to find through Facebook, Meetup and Discord.
- Several universities have queer student groups, though they are often low-profile.
The most common thing students in your position say afterwards: it was easier than they expected socially, and more closeted than they expected culturally, and those two things are not in conflict. You will be fine, and you will notice the difference.
Day to day, Seoul is safe and unremarkable. Violence and harassment are rare, and street safety generally in Korea is high. Nobody is going to have a problem with you existing.
What is different from the Netherlands is visibility and openness rather than danger. Korea has no anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation, same-sex marriage is not recognised, and public discussion is more reserved. Many Korean LGBT people are not out at work or to family. That social norm shapes the atmosphere more than any risk to you.
At school specifically, most students report it being a non-issue. Language classes are international, classmates skew young and well-travelled, and the environment is generally relaxed. Some students are fully out with classmates; others keep it private, usually less from fear than because a beginner-level Korean class is not where you discuss your personal life anyway. Teachers are professional and it does not come up.
Where it can be awkward: an older or more conservative homestay or landlord, and the general assumption of heterosexuality in casual conversation. Neither is dangerous, just occasionally tiring.
What exists:
- Itaewon's Homo Hill is the long-standing scene; Jongno has an older and more local one.
- Seoul Queer Culture Festival happens annually and is large.
- Foreign-resident and international LGBT groups run regular meetups and are easy to find through Facebook, Meetup and Discord.
- Several universities have queer student groups, though they are often low-profile.
The most common thing students in your position say afterwards: it was easier than they expected socially, and more closeted than they expected culturally, and those two things are not in conflict. You will be fine, and you will notice the difference.
Was this helpful?Updated 1 month ago
9 comments
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You can still post anonymously after signing in.queer, did a year in seoul. completely fine. out to my class, nobody cared at all. the difference isn't hostility, it's that korean friends were much more private about it than dutch ones would be
29
that distinction is exactly what i was trying to understand. thank you
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"easier socially, more closeted culturally" is a really accurate way to put it
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language school classes are international and young. genuinely a non-issue in class in my experience. the wider society is a different conversation
17
same. my class had people from 9 countries, nobody blinked
6
korean, gay, not out to my family. it's not dangerous here, it's just quiet. foreigners generally get more room than we do, which is its own strange thing
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the meetup and discord groups for queer foreigners in seoul are active and welcoming. that was where i found people fastest
11
seoul queer culture festival too, it's big and worth going to
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one thing: be a bit careful with older landlords or homestays. not dangerous, just potentially awkward. a normal one-room avoids the question entirely
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