Our scheduled visit to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between north and south Korea) was cancelled today because military exercises taking place between the U.S. and South Korea. We noticed a lot of police activity in downtown Seoul yesterday, we're assuming this was also part of the military exercises taking place. We're now rescheduled to visit the DMZ later in our trip. The unexpected opening in our schedule gave me room to work on my sermon. I'm preaching twice next week and I have to have my sermon in to the PROK office in advance for translation. Also, if you found the post about yesterday's information on the "Comfort woman" was interesting, people here recommended the movie: Spirits Homecoming (http://joent.net/en/spirits-homecoming/)
July 8th 2016
Today was our "Rainbow Tour" of Seoul. Human sexuality is not talked about openly in Korea and there is a significant stigma for the LGBT community. Today we have Rev. Lim Bo Rah from the PROK church take us around to visit with organizations supporting the LGBT community in Seoul.
We started with Chingusai, an organization that specifically supports the gay community. Their aims are to assist men in coming out within a Korean context and also to work on suicide prevention within the LGBT community. They produced two movies Rumor and Weekends that they would like to have shown to wider audiences. They shared with us that the suicide rate within Korea as a whole is .4% of the population while the suicide rate for the LGBT community is suspected to be over 28%. Chingusai offers support services to family members who's relatives have committed suicide because of their sexual orientation.
Part of the historic legacy of Confucianism leads to strict gender roles in Korean culture making the coming out process even more difficult. Currently there is a very repressive law within the Korean Military against homosexual activities. The law itself uses inhuman slang language to and is used to criminalize gays in the military (remember military service is mandatory for all Korean males).
Our next visit was with the "Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea" office. They are a membership organization headquartered in Seoul working for solidarity across minority populations. They work to connect the LGBT community's struggles with those of the disability community, migrants, the labor movement, and the victims of the Sewol Ferry sinking. Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea operates several support groups including LGBT youth, PFLAG, and a communications committees .
There is a transgender group that has just started but out of the diverse spectrum of sexual identity and sexual orientations this is one of the more marginalized groups within the country. Interestingly, the Korean government will allow individuals to change their sexual identity on their official government records, but only after they have gender reassignment surgery, something which is extremely difficult to obtain in Korea.
The office tries to maintain a public presence in many street protests, major national parades, and vigils so that their is a visual reminder of the existence of the LGBT community. They also hold a memorial service ever year in remembrance of a key LGBT leader who committed suicide, the memorial service has turning into a touch point of remembrance and lament for many in the community.
Next we visited Rev. Lim Bo Rah's church, she is rare that she is a female senior pastor of a PROK congregation (PROK does support woman's ordination but many women can only find roles as associate pastors). Rev. Lib Bo Rah is even more exceptional for her outspoken advocacy work for the LGBT community. Her church is only one of five congregations in the entire country that is open and affirming. The other congregations are part of the Anglican Church or the Metropolitan Community Church.
After our stop at the church we visited with DDingDong LGBT Youth Crisis Support Center. This center has a specific mission to support LGBT youth. They wanted initially to be a shelter but Korean regulations make this too difficult. So they are a drop by site where LGBT youth can receive counseling, do laundry, hang out and have a safe space. Many of the youth are living on the streets. A large part of their ministry is interviewing and documenting the stories of LGBT youth. The Korean government does not say that this population exists within the country so it is up to DDingDong to create the documentation verifying the stories of these youth.
We ended our day with a powerful shared meal with members of an HIV/AIDS support group. This community is one of, if not the most marginalized community we've encountered so far on this trip. There is still a great deal of public perception that HIV/AIDS is a "gay" disease and it is difficult of the gay community and the HIV/AIDS communities to distinguish themselves. Recently the United Nations commissioned a survey of the HIV/AIDS community in Korea and discovered that the most pressing need was for medical providers. We were told that there had been one hospital in the entire country who would see AIDS patients, but it was closed down for dismal medical practices. There is no hospital that will take people with AIDS and dentistry is also extremely difficult to find for persons with HIV or AIDS. They group kept asking Jonathan and I questions about how HIV and AIDS is addressed in the United States, we spoke about information campaigns we remember from our childhood about how the disease is spread, about celebrities such as Magic Johnson coming out as HIV positive and red ribbon campaigns. Granted Jonathan and I were both very young in the 1980's but we suspect that the Korean HIV/AIDS situation is similar to that time period in U.S. history and is woefully misunderstood, demonized, and under-served in Korea today. We learned that it is very common for both politicians and for mega pastors to blame HIV/AIDS as the downfall of Korean society and link it to the sins of homosexuality.
Overall, this day was filled with hope for the incredible ministries we visited, mixed with deep lament for how far this country needs to come on LGBT and HIV/AIDS awareness. This is an area that the United Church of Christ can continue to offer support and guidance to NGO's and church partners.
Jesus, you welcomed in little children even though others sought to turn them away. Help us to welcome all of our sisters and brothers into the loving embrace of solidarity and friendship even if others would turn them away. We ask in your name, precious Jesus, for those considering death rather than living life as a gay man or lesbian woman. We pray for an end to unjust laws that dehumanize and discriminate. We ask for compassionate hearts for those who heal in the name of medicine. And we seek to make space at the table for all people just as you O Christ welcomed all at your table of passion and victory. Amen.
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