Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity In The South Korean Military
South Korean military laws and procedures discriminate against sexual minorities, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals, who serve in the military. At the time of enlistment, recruits are categorized based on their physical and mental health. Sexual minorities can be marked as having a “mental handicap” or “personality disorder,” which determines their status and duties as personnel. They can also be institutionalized in a mental facility or be dishonorably discharged. Military personnel have reported experiencing harassment, violence, and forcible revealing of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Under Article 92-6 of the Military Penal Code, homosexuality acts are labelled as “sexual assault/harassment” and considered punishable by a maximum of two years in prison. In April 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that this law cannot be applied to consensual acts that occur outside of military facilities during off-duty hours. Ho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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Republic Of Korea Armed Forces
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of 3,600,000 in 2022 (500,000 active and 3,100,000 reserve). According to Global Firepower as of 2025 the ROK military is ranked as the 5th most powerful military on the planet. The Republic of Korea Armed Forces traces its roots back to the establishment of the Korean Republic in 1919 wherein its armed wing was called the Korean Liberation Army and it conducted warfare against the Japanese occupation by conducting large-scale offensives, assassinations, bombings, sabotage, and search and rescue missions. Formally founded in 1948, following the establishment of the South Korean government after the liberation of Korea in 1945, South Korea's military forces are responsible for maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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Transsexual
A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including gender affirming therapies, such as hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgery) to help them align their body with their identified sex or gender. The term ''transsexual'' is a subset of ''transgender'', but some transsexual people reject the label of ''transgender''. A medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria can be made if a person experiences marked and persistent incongruence between their gender identity and their assigned sex. Understanding of transsexual people has rapidly evolved in the 21st century; many 20th century medical beliefs and practices around transsexual people are now considered outdated. Transsexual people were once classified as mentally ill and subject to extensive gatekeeping by the medical esta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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LGBTQ Rights In South Korea
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in South Korea face prejudice, discrimination, and other barriers to social inclusion not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents, though there has been social improvements since the late 2010s. Same-sex intercourse is legal for civilians in South Korea, but in the military, same-sex intercourse among soldiers is a crime, and all able-bodied men must complete about one year and half of military service under the conscript system. South Korean national law does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions, nor does it protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Same-sex couples cannot jointly adopt, and a 2021 Human Rights Watch investigation found that LGBTQ students face "bullying and harassment, a lack of confidential mental health support, exclusion from school curricula, and gender identity discrimination" in South Korean schools. On LGBTQ rights, South Korea is an outlier among o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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Byun Hui-su
Byun Hui-su (11 June 1998 – 27 February 2021) was a South Korean soldier. Known as the first openly transgender soldier in Republic of Korea Army, she had risen to the rank of staff sergeant and was a tank driver before being discharged from the army in January 2020 after she underwent gender reassignment surgery in Thailand in November 2019. She had fought for the right to continue serving in the army, but was denied and discharged. The army subsequently denied her request for reinstatement in July 2020. Speaking about her decision to undergo surgery, she stated, "I thought I would finish serving in the army and then go through the transition surgery and then reenter the army as a female soldier. But my depression got too severe. I want to show everyone that I can also be one of the great soldiers who protect this country." In 3 March 2021, she was found dead in her home. Workers from the Sangdanggu National Mental Health Center, where Byun received treatment, called for so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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LGBT Rights In South Korea
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in South Korea face prejudice, discrimination, and other barriers to social inclusion not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents, though there has been social improvements since the late 2010s. Same-sex intercourse is legal for civilians in South Korea, but in the military, same-sex intercourse among soldiers is a crime, and all able-bodied men must complete about one year and half of military service under the Conscription in South Korea, conscript system. South Korean national law does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions, nor does it protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Same-sex couples cannot jointly adopt, and a 2021 Human Rights Watch investigation found that LGBTQ students face "bullying and harassment, a lack of confidential mental health support, exclusion from school curricula, and gender identity discrimination" in South Korean schools. On LGBTQ rights, South ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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LGBT Rights In Asia
Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are complex in Asia, and acceptance of LGBTQ people varies. Same-sex sexual activity is outlawed in twenty-one Asian countries. In Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, homosexual activity results in death penalty. In addition, LGBT people also face extrajudicial executions from non-state actors such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While egalitarian relationships have become more frequent in recent years, they remain rare. Historical discrimination towards homosexuality in much of the region include the ban on homosexual acts enforced by Genghis Khan in the Mongol Empire, which made male homosexuality punishable by death. The Fatawa-e-Alamgiri of the Mughal Empire (descended from the Mongol Empire) mandated a common set of punishments for homosexuality, which could include 50 lashes for a slave, 100 for a free inf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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LGBT History In South Korea
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is generally conceived as broadly encompassing all individuals who are part of a sexual or gender minority, including all sexual orientations, romantic orientations, gender identities, and sex characteristics that are not heterosexual, heteroromantic, cisgender, or endosex, respectively. Scope and terminology A broad array of sexual and gender minority identities are usually included in who is considered LGBTQ. The term ''gender, sexual, and romantic minorities'' is sometimes used as an alternative umbrella term for this group. Groups that make up the larger group of LGBTQ people include: * People with a sexual orientation that is non-heterosexual, including lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, and asexual people * People who are transge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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The Hankyoreh
''The Hankyoreh'' () is a centre-left liberal daily newspaper in South Korea. It was established in 1988 after widespread purges forced out dissident journalists, and was envisioned as an alternative to existing newspapers, which were regarded as unduly influenced by the authoritarian government at the time. When it launched, it claimed to be "the first newspaper in the world truly independent of political power and large capital." As of 2016, it has been voted as the most trusted news organization by Korean journalists for nine consecutive years but is also the least influential news outlet by the survey. It has online editions in English, Chinese, and Japanese. History The newspaper was originally established as ''Hankyoreh Shinmun'' () on 15 May 1988 by ex-journalists from '' The Dong-A Ilbo'' and '' The Chosun Ilbo''. At the time, government censors were in every newsroom, newspaper content was virtually dictated by the Ministry of Culture and Information, and newspape ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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JoongAng Ilbo
''The JoongAng'', formerly known as ''JoongAng Ilbo'' (), is a South Korean daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and a newspaper of record for South Korea. The paper also publishes an English edition, ''Korea JoongAng Daily'', in alliance with the ''International New York Times''. It is often regarded as the holding company of JoongAng Group ''chaebol'' (a spin-off from Samsung) as it is owner of various affiliates, such as the broadcast station and drama producing company JTBC, and movie theatres chain Megabox. History It was first published on September 22, 1965, by Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung Group which once owned the Tongyang Broadcasting Company (TBC). In 1980, ''JoongAng Ilbo'' gave up TBC and TBC merged with KBS. ''JoongAng Ilbo'' is the pioneer in South Korea for the use of horizontal copy layout, topical sections, and specialist reporters with investigative reporting teams. Since Apri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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OhmyNews
''OhmyNews'' () is a South Korean online news website. It was founded by Oh Yeon Ho on 22 February 2000. The site's motto is "Every Citizen is a Reporter", which reflects its status as the first news website in Korea to accept, edit, and publish articles from its readers in an open source-style. About 20% of the site's content is written by the 55-person staff; most articles are written by freelance contributors. Political position ''OhmyNews'' is consistently considered liberal and progressive. This is in contrast to the somewhat more moderate liberal Hankyoreh and Kyunghyang. It is also considered anti-imperialist, anti-racist, and anti- xenophobic. However, anti-China/anti-Japan government left-wing nationalist media is common among South Korean liberals. The site is also generally critical of the 'hegemonic nationalism' of the Chinese and Japanese governments, and supports 'resistance nationalism'. The site strongly criticizes and opposes anti-Japanese and anti-Chin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, the ''Times'' serves as one of the country's Newspaper of record, newspapers of record. , ''The New York Times'' had 9.13 million total and 8.83 million online subscribers, both by significant margins the List of newspapers in the United States, highest numbers for any newspaper in the United States; the total also included 296,330 print subscribers, making the ''Times'' the second-largest newspaper by print circulation in the United States, following ''The Wall Street Journal'', also based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' is published by the New York Times Company; since 1896, the company has been chaired by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, whose current chairman and the paper's publ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |
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Vaginoplasty
Vaginoplasty is any surgical procedure that results in the construction or reconstruction of the vagina. It is a type of genitoplasty. Pelvic organ prolapse is often treated with one or more surgeries to repair the vagina. Sometimes a vaginoplasty is needed following the treatment or removal of cancer, malignant growths or abscesses to restore a normal vaginal structure and function. Surgery to the vagina is done to correct congenital defects to the vagina, urethra and rectum. It may correct protrusion of the urinary bladder into the vagina (cystocele) and protrusion of the rectum (rectocele) into the vagina. Often, a vaginoplasty is performed to repair the vagina and its attached structures due to trauma or injury. Congenital disorders such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, adrenal hyperplasia can affect the structure and function of the vagina and sometimes the vagina is absent; these can be reconstructed or formed, using a vaginoplasty. Other candidates for the surgery incl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   [Amazon] |