Seoul Searching: The Struggle for Gender and Sexuality Equality in South Korea
When people think of other countries’ political stances, they often view South Korea as a generally left-leaning, decently progressive country. Which they are, in some areas. South Korea is one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries, with citizens and the government embracing cutting-edge technology daily and pioneering research in high-speed internet and artificial intelligence. Not to mention how the country views esports: not as an after-school hobby, but as a professional career. The largest market in the South Korean economy is esports betting, with a market volume of 164.1 million USD.1 However, most are surprised to find out that South Korea has yet to legalize same-sex marriage, just like 47 other Asian countries that have ignored bringing such a bill to the table.
Additionally, South Korea has the most significant gender wage gap out of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, with a 31.2% difference between male and female wages, with the OECD average being 11.6%.2 There is also a concerning lack of female representation within the South Korean government, with women only holding 61 of 300 seats in the South Korean General Assembly.3 In short, the gender and sexuality inequalities present in South Korea permeate an entirely different narrative than what the world believes their political stance to be.
Figure 1. A table representing the wage gaps within specific professions (Table from L. Yoon, Gender Pay Gap South Korea 2023, by Occupation, March 4, 2025, Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/689775/south-korea-gender-pay-gap-by-occupation/).
OECD countries were given a grade in the 2019 Franklin and Marshall Global Barometer of Gay Rights, with a B average.. However, three outliers received an F: South Korea, Poland, and Turkey. Countries that received an F are “persecuting” their queer communities.4 South Korea’s score was 52%, slightly increasing to 56% as of 2022.5
In short, gender and sexuality inequalities run rampant across the country. Yes, there are legal reforms in the works, but even if those are implemented shortly, societal attitudes won’t change overnight. Abandoning the country’s historically conservative ideals, the same ones they’ve held for hundreds of years, requires more of a gentle shift over time, instead of an iron-fist crackdown in favor of the left.
On a deeper level, LGBTQ+ individuals face countless difficulties in their daily lives when living in South Korea. Only two countries from the Asian peninsula have fully legalized same-sex marriage, Thailand and Taiwan. Other countries, such as Nepal, India, and Japan, have taken steps towards implementing legal protections, but no official laws have been put into place. Full legal implementation is still in progress in Nepal, but the country recognized a queer couples’ marriage for the first time in November of 2023.6 Same-sex couples were legally decriminalized in 2003, and the subject has become more well-known, but LGBTQ+ individuals still cannot marry, adopt, or be protected from discrimination. Japan’s situation is similar to South Korea’s: both citizens and lawmakers are becoming increasingly more supportive of LGBTQ+-friendly laws, but the government has yet to implement significant legal reforms.
Homosexuality is a somewhat taboo topic in South Korea, with only 15.85% of people feeling comfortable with the idea of having a queer member of their family.7 South Korea has not enacted anti-discrimination laws that explicitly protect sexual minorities, and it doesn’t recognize same-sex couples. The country’s strong conservative and religious influences continue to shape public opinion, making progress toward marriage equality and broader LGBTQ+ rights a slow and ongoing struggle. There was a draft of a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill written in 2007, but conservative members of the government opposed the inclusion of sexual orientation.8 Eight pieces of legislation have been proposed since then, all getting shot down in the Assembly.9
Students and schoolteachers face discrimination from classmates, coworkers, and teachers, with no legal precedents to back them up. A Human Rights Watch investigation published in 2021 reported that 96% of respondents reported experiencing discrimination or bullying in school, while a second poll found that peers verbally harassed 92% of LGBTQ+ students, and 80% were harassed by teachers.10 Compared to conservative areas in the United States, 45% of queer individuals under the age of 18 have attempted suicide, with only 20% attempting in the U.S.11 For a country trying to tackle the lowest birth rate in the world, one would think they would prioritize the protection and mental health of young people throughout the country.
Queer intercourse is legal among everyday civilians but illegal for those serving in the military, with the most severe punishment being to serve up to two years in federal prison.12 Some may believe this is a small price to pay for social acceptance. Yet, those from outside the country forget that all male citizens are required to perform military service after they turn 18 years old, regardless of sexual orientation.13 Therefore, young men are subject to forced closeting to fulfill their legal duties and evade the punishment for being gay.
At the same time, 47% of people responded positively to the statement “South Korea is a good place for LGBTQ+ people to live.”14 Alysia Garcia moved to Seoul after graduating, and was worried about facing discrimination due to her queer identity. However, Garcia was pleasantly surprised by the response she found and ultimately received from searching past the surface level for support. She found an online group for LGBTQ+ English teachers in Korea, who introduced her queer spaces, bars, and events in and around Seoul. Because of social discrimination, events that pertain to the LGBTQ+ community are often censored online and only spread via word of mouth.15
The shift in attitude toward the queer community in South Korea is happening, albeit slowly. However, a slow shift does not deny the fact that it is going on. The number of South Korean citizens who are okay with the idea of same-sex marriage increases every year, and lawmakers have gotten extremely close to legalizing LGBTQ+ unions.
Figure 2. A pro-LGBTQ+ rally in South Korea. Protests and rallies are not uncommon, but are often kept under wraps due to fear of discrimination. (Photograph from Lee Young-Ho, People Rally at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival in Front of City Hall in Seoul, South Korea, 2022, AP Images, Seoul, South Korea, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/south-korea).
The discrimination against the South Korean queer community is only one aspect of the injustices present in the country. Women face several difficulties across the nation, though not always in a social sense. Not only is the wage gap significantly higher than in the majority of developed countries, but women make up less than 20% of parliament and face disturbing levels of gender-based violence, both on and offline.16 In 2022, South Korea was ranked 99th (out of 146 countries) in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, moving up to 94th in 2024.17 A country’s placement in the report is determined by four key areas of analysis: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.18
A study conducted in 2020 by Women in Korea found that a more significant percentage of men worked labor-heavy jobs or in senior management positions. In contrast, women tended to work in sales and customer service.19 It is often difficult for women to obtain high-level positions in the corporate world, partly because of the sheer distaste for powerful females, but also the effect of maternity leave and lack of childcare. The required maternity leave for female employees is 90 days of paid leave, with options to reduce working hours once returning.20 However, most women feel that taking 90 days off, shortening hours in the workplace, and potentially having to work around an inconvenient childcare schedule has more of a negative impact than a positive one. The extended removal from their jobs often sets them back and makes it harder to get a raise or promotion because bosses argue that they missed too much time and now lack experience. Essentially, it is a double-edged sword.
And if women do not leave their position on maternity leave, they face degrading behaviors and experiences in the workplace. A native Korean and 28-year-old English teacher shared her memories of a Korean office setting in an interview with Jessica Gosling. She said
They see it weirdly if a man cleans cups on the table after a meeting. At the first ever Korean company I worked for, I was shocked when girls sent around notes saying that ‘let’s clean the recently bought espresso machine regularly in turn by ourselves because it looks awkward if senior members or men take the tray to the sink.’ Young women at work voluntarily suggested we do the job that’s expected for us.21
For women trying to excel in their careers, being told to complete meaningless and demeaning tasks puts a heavy damper on the environment. And in current situations, female workers cannot even turn to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to find ways out of their situations.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is in the beginning stages of being dissolved, after initial threats began in late 2022. The ministry’s focus is “Overseeing and coordinating policies for women, families, and youth.”22 President Yoon Suk Yeol’s commitment to eliminating the cabinet got him the majority of young men’s votes in the 2022 election, and that same demographic is continuing the push for dissolution.23 Many believe the abolishment of the cabinet is in response to the low birth rates in South Korea, the world’s lowest at 0.75.24 Bae Jin-kyung, head of the Korean Women Workers’ Association, said that, "The idea of replacing the ministry with the population ministry means that women will be treated as birth-giving machines, not individuals with voluntary will and dignity."25
The closing of the Ministry is not being taken lightly. Many women seek support from the cabinet after experiencing sexually based violence. Ana, a young South Korean, was raped by her college professor eight years ago, and when her family turned her away, she sought help from the ministry. "I have received more help from this ministry than my own family, which shares my blood. Closing it is a dangerous idea."26 Ana’s testimony is only one of many, and one of the few that has been shared due to her courage to speak out.
Many women have responded to the years of discrimination and violence by forming the 4B Movement, a radical feminist movement that establishes that those who participate must refuse to date, marry, have sex, or have children with men.27 The movement originated in the mid to late 2010s but gained serious traction in 2026 after a man killed a woman in a train station bathroom.28 Given the economic and social hardships many women face nationwide, it should not come as a surprise that there have been several social movements, countless protests, and innumerable posts online speaking out against the inequalities.
Figure 3. A 4B movement protest in South Korea. The movement has gained traction over the last several years and continues to grow during tumultuous times (Photograph from Jean Chung, South Korean women protest against sexism and digital sex crimes, such as the making of pornography using hidden cameras, accessed on March 13, 2025, Getty Images, https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-south-korean-women-are-refusing-to-date-marry-or-have-kids-202587).
While legal actions may be taken, the larger reform needs to occur socially. Legal action means nothing when the people it affects don’t support the ideals.
Creating and implementing anti-discrimination laws are the first steps in this process. A comprehensive anti-discrimination law that encompasses the legalization of same-sex marriage strengthens workplace protections and establishes concrete consequences for public hate crimes. An overarching legal document is the first part of the journey, the start of a progressive snowball. Again, legal reformation sets the foundation and backs a social shift.
Another step towards solving these issues would be revising the school curriculum to include comprehensive lessons about women’s health, history, and more information regarding the LGBTQ+ community. While potentially controversial, as seen in other countries when they’ve tried to implement the same ideas, educators should frame it as strictly educational, leaving no room for accusations of indoctrination. Children are the next generation; and the only way to break the cycle is to teach them young. After all, hate breeds from the environment and the education system in which they are raised.
Tackling the wage gap is a must, and it is one of the several layers of this issue. Additionally, however, the problem of discrimination runs rampant in the workplace. Ensuring that employers do not overlook women and queer individuals for pay raises and promotions because of gender and/or sexuality levels the playing field to a manageable extent. Many women’s careers are often thrown off because of the lack of maternity leave and childcare, so expanding resources to better suit those needs would not only be beneficial for the woman’s physical health but would have less of an impact on her career, meaning she would face fewer excuses relating to taking time off or stalling her professional growth.
Building grassroots organizations that focus on expanding shelters, counseling, and legal support for victims of social discrimination and violence. Due to social discrimination, many victims, both LGBTQ+ individuals and females, choose not to seek help after an attack or traumatic experience. Finding ways to lessen the stigma about seeking help, both physical and mental, is a must. Grassroots organizations have the ability to fill the gap that has since been created with the dissolution of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, acting as an interim support system.
Overall, the gender and sexuality inequalities that are present in South Korea will take several years to diminish fully, even if there are small (but mighty) efforts being made in the interim. However, once that work is done, there is nothing more powerful than watching a country shift its views and policies after years of a different opinion.
Works Cited
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Atlas. "These Are the New Paternity and Childcare Leave Policies in South Korea Starting February 2025." January 24, 2025. https://www.atlashxm.com/resources/south-korea-paternity-childcare-leave-2025.
Chung, Jean. South Korean women protest against sexism and digital sex crimes, such as the making of pornography using hidden cameras. Accessed on March 13, 2025. Photograph. Getty Images. https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-south-korean-women-are-refusing-to-date-marry-or-have-kids-202587
Equaldex. "LGBT Rights in South Korea." Accessed April 13, 2025. https://www.equaldex.com/region/south-korea.
F&M Global Barometers. "South Korea - F&M Global Barometers." . Accessed April 12, 2025. https://www.fandmglobalbarometers.org/countries/south-korea/.
Gao, Ming. "'A Woman Is Not a Baby-Making Machine': A Brief History of South Korea's 4B Movement – and Why It's Making Waves in America." The Conversation. November 10, 2024. https://theconversation.com/a-woman-is-not-a-baby-making-machine-a-brief-history-of-south-koreas-4b-movement-and-why-its-making-waves-in-america-243355.
Garcia, Alysia. "LGBTQ Life in South Korea: A Surprisingly Vibrant Community." Passion Passport, February 13, 2020. https://passionpassport.com/lgbtq-life-in-south-korea/.
Gosling, Jessica. "Sexism in Korea: A Personal Account." Medium, July 20, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2025. https://medium.com/%40jessgosling/sexism-in-korea-a-personal-account-a18066cfa004.
Hyo-jin, Lee. "Proposal to Abolish Gender Equality Ministry Reemerges as Key Issue Ahead of Elections." The Korea Times, February 23, 2024. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20240223/proposal-to-abolish-gender-equality-ministry-reemerges-as-key-issue-ahead-of-elections.
Jung, Hawon. "Women in South Korea Are on Strike against Being 'Baby-Making Machines.'" New York Times, January 27, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/opinion/south-korea-fertility-rate-feminism.html.
Kaur, Harmeet. "4B Movement Surges in Interest among US Women after Trump Election Win." CNN, November 13, 2024.https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/09/us/4b-movement-trump-south-korea-wellness-cec/index.html.
Knight, Kyle. "Did Nepal Achieve Marriage Equality? Not Quite Yet." Human Rights Watch, December 14, 2023. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/14/did-nepal-achieve-marriage-equality-not-quite-yet.
Kolhoff, Dylan, Edgar Melgar, Carolyn O'Connor, and Nancy Tang. "'I Thought of Myself as Defective': Neglecting the Rights of LGBT Youth in South Korean Schools." Human Rights Watch, September 14, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/09/14/i-thought-myself-defective/neglecting-rights-lgbt-youth-south-korean-schools.
Lee, Jihoon, and Hyun Young Li. "South Korea's Policy Push Springs to Life as World's Lowest Birthrate Rises." Reuters, February 26, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-policy-push-springs-life-worlds-lowest-birthrate-rises-2025-02-26/.
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Mitsanas, Michael. "South Korea's LGBTQ Community Confronts Crushing Headwinds in Fight for Equality." NBC News, November 28, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/south-koreas-lgbtq-community-confronts-crushing-headwinds-fight-equali-rcna57777.
Ogles, Jacob. "Nearly Half of South Korean LGBTQ Youth Attempt Suicide." Advocate, September 23, 2019. https://www.advocate.com/world/2019/9/23/nearly-half-south-korean-lgbtq-youth-attempt-suicide.
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Thoreson, Ryan. "South Korean Court Upholds Military 'Sodomy' Law." Human Rights Watch, October 30, 2023. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/30/south-korean-court-upholds-military-sodomy-law.
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Young-Ho, Lee. People Rally at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival in Front of City Hall in Seoul, South Korea. 2022. Photograph. AP Images. Seoul, South Korea. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/south-korea.
Esports." Statista. Accessed April 12, 2025. https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/esports/south-korea.
Julia Wendling, "The Largest Gender Pay Gaps in OECD Countries," Visual Capitalist, April 2, 2024, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-largest-gender-pay-gaps-in-oecd-countries/.
"Number of Members of the National Assembly of South Korea as of January 2025, by Gender," Statista, January 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1455106/south-korea-gender-distribution-of-seats-in-parliament/.
Michael Mitsanas, "South Korea's LGBTQ Community Confronts Crushing Headwinds in Fight for Equality," NBC News, November 28, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/south-koreas-lgbtq-community-confronts-crushing-headwinds-fight-equali-rcna57777.
"South Korea - F&M Global Barometers," F&M Global Barometers, Accessed April 12, 2025, https://www.fandmglobalbarometers.org/countries/south-korea/.
Kyle Knight, "Did Nepal Achieve Marriage Equality? Not Quite Yet," Human Rights Watch, December 14, 2023, https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/14/did-nepal-achieve-marriage-equality-not-quite-yet.
"LGBT Rights in South Korea," Equaldex, Accessed April 13, 2025, https://www.equaldex.com/region/south-korea.
Mitsanas, "South Korea's LGBTQ Community Confronts Crushing Headwinds in Fight for Equality."
Ibid.
Dylan Kolhoff et al., "'I Thought of Myself as Defective': Neglecting the Rights of LGBT Youth in South Korean Schools," Human Rights Watch, September 14, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/09/14/i-thought-myself-defective/neglecting-rights-lgbt-youth-south-korean-schools.
Jacob Ogles, "Nearly Half of South Korean LGBTQ Youth Attempt Suicide," Advocate, September 23, 2019, https://www.advocate.com/world/2019/9/23/nearly-half-south-korean-lgbtq-youth-attempt-suicide; Lindsey Tanner, "Teens — Gay or Straight — More Likely to Attempt Suicide in Conservative Towns," NBC News, April 18, 2011, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/teens-gay-or-straight-more-likely-attempt-suicide-conservative-towns-flna1c9462047.
Ryan Thoreson, "South Korean Court Upholds Military 'Sodomy' Law," Human Rights Watch, October 30, 2023, https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/30/south-korean-court-upholds-military-sodomy-law.
Ibid.
Equaldex, "LGBT Rights in South Korea."
Alysia Garcia, "LGBTQ Life in South Korea: A Surprisingly Vibrant Community," Passion Passport, February 13, 2020, https://passionpassport.com/lgbtq-life-in-south-korea/.
"Save Gender Equality Ministry in South Korea." Amnesty International. Accessed April 13, 2025. https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/save-gender-equality-ministry-in-south-korea/.
World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap 2024: Insight Report (Geneva: Switzerland, 2024), 325, https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2024.pdf.
World Economic Forum, “This is why we need a global gender parity sprint,” accessed on March 15, 2025, educational video, 1:07, https://www.weforum.org/videos/global-gender-gap-report-general-audience/.
Jasmyn J. Tang, "South Korea's Hurdles with Gender Equality," Human Rights Research Center, February 27, 2024, https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/south-korea-s-hurdles-with-gender-equality.
"These Are the New Paternity and Childcare Leave Policies in South Korea Starting February 2025," Atlas, January 24, 2025, https://www.atlashxm.com/resources/south-korea-paternity-childcare-leave-2025.
Jessica Gosling, "Sexism in Korea: A Personal Account," Medium, July 20, 2017, https://medium.com/%40jessgosling/sexism-in-korea-a-personal-account-a18066cfa004.
"About MOGEF," Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Accessed April 13, 2025, https://www.mogef.go.kr/eng/am/eng_am_f005.do.
Lee Hyo-jin, "Proposal to Abolish Gender Equality Ministry Reemerges as Key Issue Ahead of Elections," The Korea Times, February 23, 2024, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20240223/proposal-to-abolish-gender-equality-ministry-reemerges-as-key-issue-ahead-of-elections.
Jihoon Lee and Hyun Young Li, "South Korea's Policy Push Springs to Life as World's Lowest Birthrate Rises," Reuters, February 26, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-policy-push-springs-life-worlds-lowest-birthrate-rises-2025-02-26/.
Hyo-jin, "Proposal to Abolish Gender Equality Ministry Reemerges as Key Issue Ahead of Elections."https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20240223/proposal-to-abolish-gender-equality-ministry-reemerges-as-key-issue-ahead-of-elections.
Hawon Jung, "Women in South Korea Are on Strike against Being 'Baby-Making Machines,'" New York Times, January 27, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/opinion/south-korea-fertility-rate-feminism.html.
Harmeet Kaur, "4B Movement Surges in Interest among US Women after Trump Election Win," CNN, November 13, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/09/us/4b-movement-trump-south-korea-wellness-cec/index.html.
Ming Gao, "'A Woman Is Not a Baby-Making Machine': A Brief History of South Korea's 4B Movement – and Why It's Making Waves in America," The Conversation, November 10, 2024, https://theconversation.com/a-woman-is-not-a-baby-making-machine-a-brief-history-of-south-koreas-4b-movement-and-why-its-making-waves-in-america-243355.