A report from BBC World.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49751410
Gay in South Korea
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thewayhelooks
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Gay in South Korea
'She said I don't need a son like you'
A report from BBC World.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49751410
A report from BBC World.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49751410
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Gaybutton
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Re: Gay in South Korea
Here we are - it's nearly 2020 and this kind of shit still goes on. People can't just let people live their lives. Noooo. Instead they have to judge them and be cruel to them.
If I was an alien visiting earth and saw what was going on, I'd turn around and go back to whatever planet I came from.
If I was an alien visiting earth and saw what was going on, I'd turn around and go back to whatever planet I came from.
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fountainhall
Re: Gay in South Korea
Sadly this reinforces the point I made in my article about the influence of Christianity in Korea and the near extreme conservatism in Korean society.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9966for all its wealth, for all the new glitzy downtown bars and clubs in Seoul catering to gay men and women, despite the worldwide popularity of the androgynous K-Pop phenomenon . . . South Korea remains one of Asia’s most conservative societies . . . Even today most gay Koreans remain in their closets, afraid that coming out will affect their family, their friendships, their place in society and their jobs
The influence of the various churches and sects has grown so much that no country in the world apart from the United States provides more Christian missionaries to save souls around the world.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Gay in South Korea
And there's the problem, right there. Meanwhile, how many righteous, pious clerics - the ones busy telling everyone else how to live and what to believe - have been caught molesting young boys? I've lost count.
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fountainhall
Re: Gay in South Korea
Molesting young boys is only part of the problem. Pastors of these mega Churches had a fondness for cash - loads of it. In 2014 David Yonggi Cho, founder of South Korea’s largest and richest mega-church, the Yoido Full Gospel Church, was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $12 million in church funds.
Worse, other church leaders were well aware of what he was doing and had for years tried to persuade him to stop. Then when he stepped down from his post as pastor in 2008, he took with him a severance payment of $18 million.
And it did not stop there. In 2011 church elders accused the pastor of embezzling another $20 million and privatizing church assets.
Another mega Church leader, Kim Sam-hwan,came to the fore in 2014 when a whistle blower informed Church members that there was a hidden slush fund of US$80 million. The revelation came shortly after a senior church member in charge of the church's finances committed suicide.
No city in the world has more mega-churches than Seoul - 17 at last count. All Korea's mega Churches were founded following World War 2. The oldest is the Unification Church founded by Sun Myung Moon in 1954 (the Moonies). At that time only 2% of Koreans identified themselves as Christian. Time to blame the missionaries again, those who appeared once American influence in both politics and society started to appear. Christian missionaries started 293 schools and 40 universities including three of the country's top five academic institutions. In 2010 Pew Research estimated 29% of South Koreans were Christians. Another reason is the tax-exempt status of these Churches - another American influence, I believe.
But as usual sex is still on the agenda of these mega Church pastors. In 2017 75-year old Lee Jae-rock had about 130,000 followers at the Manmin Central Church in Seoul. That year he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for raping eight of his followers.
Two years ago a South Korean film maker produced Romans 8:37, a movie about Korean mega Churches and the hold they have over their huge congregations. He commented -
Worse, other church leaders were well aware of what he was doing and had for years tried to persuade him to stop. Then when he stepped down from his post as pastor in 2008, he took with him a severance payment of $18 million.
And it did not stop there. In 2011 church elders accused the pastor of embezzling another $20 million and privatizing church assets.
Another mega Church leader, Kim Sam-hwan,came to the fore in 2014 when a whistle blower informed Church members that there was a hidden slush fund of US$80 million. The revelation came shortly after a senior church member in charge of the church's finances committed suicide.
No city in the world has more mega-churches than Seoul - 17 at last count. All Korea's mega Churches were founded following World War 2. The oldest is the Unification Church founded by Sun Myung Moon in 1954 (the Moonies). At that time only 2% of Koreans identified themselves as Christian. Time to blame the missionaries again, those who appeared once American influence in both politics and society started to appear. Christian missionaries started 293 schools and 40 universities including three of the country's top five academic institutions. In 2010 Pew Research estimated 29% of South Koreans were Christians. Another reason is the tax-exempt status of these Churches - another American influence, I believe.
But as usual sex is still on the agenda of these mega Church pastors. In 2017 75-year old Lee Jae-rock had about 130,000 followers at the Manmin Central Church in Seoul. That year he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for raping eight of his followers.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46299239His victims had spoken of his "divine power" and said they felt compelled to do what he asked because "he was God".
Two years ago a South Korean film maker produced Romans 8:37, a movie about Korean mega Churches and the hold they have over their huge congregations. He commented -
https://www.france24.com/en/20171020-so ... t-new-filmthe issue is deeply rooted in South Korea's culture of collectivism, which [he] said meant "people are rarely given a chance to think individually and independently, or to express their own opinion".
"So they want to belong to whatever is the biggest and most powerful to feel safe -- whether it's a megachurch or a big company," he added, "and try to ignore the suffering of individuals in the name of protecting the establishment".