‘K-pop for queer’: the LGBT choirs in South Korea singing for change in the conservative nation
- South Korea’s Unnie Choir, described as ‘K-pop for queer’, and G-Voice, the country’s first gay choir, are helping raise awareness of LGBT issues
- They are part of an expanding network of LGBT choirs across Asia who are using song to fight discrimination
Wearing bright bow ties and dark dress, a group of South Korean women belt out song after song about the joy and stigma of being gay – part of a growing clamour for LGBT rights in Asia.
“Unnie Choir” sang about their struggles at a sold-out concert in the socially conservative nation, where homosexuality remains taboo despite rapid economic advances in recent decades. They are part of an expanding network of LGBT choirs across Asia, which use song to fight discrimination in a region where progress on gay and transgender rights is slow.
“Through singing, we’re saying homosexuality exists. We just want to be ourselves,” says Chung Ui-jung, the music director and conductor of the 15-strong choir.
“Singing has the power to change,” she says backstage after the concert, attended by some 70 people in a cosy venue in the capital Seoul.
Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, which in 2003 ended its classification as “harmful and obscene”. There is growing public acceptance of LGBT relations and annual gay pride rallies attract thousands.
