Young Generation’s Perceptions of Same-Sex Sexuality and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage in South Korea

Abstract

It is important to pay attention to the rights of lesbians and gay men within the global context of antidiscrimination. This study focused on the young generation’s perceptions of same-sex sexuality and their attitudes toward same-sex marriage with revisiting Korean Confucianism as a conceptual framework. A total of 110 college students residing in the Seoul metropolitan areas of South Korea participated in this study. The study used participant-generated imagery and face-to-face interviews for data collection. Data were examined using a hybrid approach of thematic analysis that relied on deductive and inductive coding. The results highlighted young Koreans’ conflicting perceptions of same-sex sexuality and ambivalent attitudes toward same-sex marriage. Young Koreans perceived lesbians and gay men as marginalized in spite of democratic transition and social movements in South Korea. They showed tolerance to same-sex sexuality under a human rights–based approach. At the same time, the results revealed that they still held on to traditional Korean Confucianism. There are young Koreans opposing same-sex marriage because of their rationale of Confucian heteronormativity, value of social order within collectivism, and belief of familism. The results suggest a reinterpretation of the young generation’s ambivalence regarding same-sex sexuality in the light of Confucian-family-oriented collectivism in South Korea.