A letter from Korean Rainbow United
(a network of The United Church of Canada)
Warm greetings.
We are writing to you, in faith and hope, to share a story about the life and death of a queer activist in South Korea who called himself by Yukoodang. Yukoodang means “My Six Friends” and he wrote that his Yukoo (六友) were “alcohol, cigarettes, sleeping pills, make-up foundation, green tea, and a rosary.” Yukoodang, a 19-year-old gay youth, committed suicide on April 26, 2003, in his office at Donginryun, (Solidarity for LGBTQ Human Rights of Korea) which had also been his nightly shelter away from his family since he was a minor. Yukoodang was a devoted Catholic. His baptismal name was Antonio. In spite of his frustration with his church, Yukoodang’s last words in his will were that he loved Catholicism and his God would bless Donginryun.
Yukoodang came out in middle school and endured daily bullying, violence and harassment. He supported himself after quitting high school and running away from home. Yukoodang became a very active member of the LGBTQ movement. He regularly sent donations to Donginryun by saving his pocket money. He wrote many opinion pieces for newspapers, denouncing discrimination against LGBTQs and demanding a repeal of the anti-gay clause in the Juvenile Protection Act. Under the rainbow flag, he enthusiastically joined rallies against the war in Iraq.
At his death, Yukoodang left a 6-page letter next to his body, a rosary and a cross on his desk, and about 30 dollars for donation, which was all he had. He said in his will, “Please use this money for the liberation of sexual minorities. Brothers and sisters, please don’t forget that only your efforts can make an impact for our next generation.”
In his suicide note, Yukoodang wrote, “The God I believe in will accept me.” He also expressed anger and criticism towards homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ people, particularly from the Christian Right. “How cruel and anti-biblical it is to discriminate against sexual minorities. After death, I can proudly say that I am gay, with no need to suffer, no need to hide myself anymore. … If, with my death, I can repeal the anti-gay clause in the Juvenile Protection Act and enlighten the bigoted Christians who talk of Sodom and Gomorrah, I would give my life.”
Yukoodang’s death did, indeed, raise awareness about LGBTQ youth in Korean society. Many LGBTQs came out on the street to challenge the bigoted view that homosexuality is harmful to the nation’s youth. For the first time, the LGBTQ movement found Christian allies who would stand up for LGBTQ rights against the Christian Right. The anti-gay clause in the Juvenile Protection Act was repealed in 2004.
In his life, Yukoodang enjoyed writing sijos (traditional three-stanza Korean poems) to express his emotions, dreams and visions. Yukoodang, who was a passionate peace activist and dreamed of becoming a sijo poet, was remembered as a quiet friend to many - his writing helps those who survived him to learn about his struggle and resistance. A collection of his sijo poems was published posthumously as “My Hon (spirit/soul) Rains Down as a Flower” in 2006.
The Reality
Sodom and Gomorrah,
The frightening story
Those preachers tell
To drive us out
to the edge of the cliff.
They hold the pretentious cross
In their fists;
We struggle desperately
under their feet
Not to fall.
If we fall,
Jesus will save us.
As he did for prostitutes
and those who cannot walk
Jesus will show his love even to us,
The love,
Warm and soft,
Like a cotton-wool blanket.
(written in sijo form by Yukoodang)
Since 2007, Rainbow Christians and allies have commemorated Yukoodang’s life every April on the anniversary of his death. Each year that Rainbow Jesus Alliance gathers for prayer and remembrance, more pictures of the beloved ones we lost stand beside Yukoodang’s picture on the communion table and more personal articles are placed next to Yukoodang’s rosary and cross.
Yukoodang’s death has become a pivotal turning point in queer history in Korea, as well as in our Christian narrative of queer liberational theology. The Rev. Borah Lim says that minjung liberational theologies are written by people’s lived experiences, through “events”. For example, the death of Jeon Tae-il who, in 1970 self-immolated while holding the book of The Labour Standards Act and crying out, “Keep the Labour Standards Act!” and “We are not a machine!” in order to bring public attention to the human rights abuses of young female labourers in textile factories brought reform and a legacy of labour liberation.
Queer liberation in Korea asks who the minjung (people) are now and calls us to the rainbow work of solidarity with all people who are outcast and marginalized in society. The Korean legacy of liberation is still in the present progressive tense. It’s moving forward, but still had a long way to go. Since the early 2000s, the LGBTQ community and movement in Korea has grown and gained support from other sectors of society, including Christian rainbow alliances. However, many LGBTQ youth in Korea are still facing pervasive prejudice, discrimination and bullying, driven not only out of school and home but also driven to suicide. This year in March, within the past two weeks, we witnessed the deaths of three transgender activists because their rights and voices were denied and mocked. Christian Right groups have become more organized and aggressive; they are still opposing the introduction of the Anti-Discrimination Law and Student Human Rights Ordinances that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Yukoodang’s real name, Hyun-seok Yoon, was disclosed to the public only after 2010. One member in Korean Rainbow United lamented, “How many lives should be taken away from us until Korean churches and society finally give ear to the minorities’ loud mourning and outcry? They still trample on the dignity and rights of the life of full human beings in the name of God’s love.”
That is why we need you. We invite you to share your light/colour with the work of rainbow solidarity in Korea, focusing especially on support to Rainbow Jesus (www.rainbowyesu.org) and to the Annual Gathering for commemorating the life of Yukoodang (on the fourth Thursday in April). We, Korean Rainbow United, hope to create a double rainbow of hope through global ecumenism and partnership as United Church members/friends and as Korean Rainbow queer people and allies.
Yukoodang is the epitome of the oppressed but proud Korean LGBTQ youth. We invite you to commemorate with us his death and fight for LGBTQ rights and liberation that he dreamed of.
The Song of Paradise
“Come already, Come already, the world of peace!
Come already, eating up the world of dark night.
Come flowing on the Milky Way,
like the flower petal on the river.
Come already, the world of beauty, equality and peace,
The world that protects homosexuals
The world that respects the disabled
The world that is hospitable to all of Black descent.
Dear Paradise, when your day comes,
Everyone will rejoice day and night,
Dancing merrily with all peoples,
In the joy of paradise.” (Yukoodang’s sijo)
In solidarity and peace,
Korean Rainbow United members:
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