Media
South Korea's first gay-themed magazine, Buddy, launched in 1998 and several popular gay-themed commercials have also aired.
Paving the way for television was the 2005 South Korean film The King and the Clown, a gay-themed movie based on a court affair between a king and his male jester. The movie became the highest grossing in Korean film history, surpassing both Silmido and Taegukgi. The Korean title for The King and the Clown is "왕의 남자" which translates as "The King's Man" with the implication that it refers to the man as being the King's lover. Other recent movies include 2008 film "A Frozen Flower" and No Regret (Korean: 후회하지 않아) by celebrated director Leesong hee-il (Korean: 이송희일), which starred in the 2006 Busan International Film Festival.
Mainstream Korean television shows have begun to feature gay characters and themes. In 2010, the soap opera "Life is Beautiful" (Korean: 인생은 아름다워) premiered on SBS broadcast TV, becoming the first prime-time drama to explore a gay male couple's relationship as their unwitting families set them up on dates with women. That same year, Personal Taste (Korean: 개인의 취향, also "Personal Preference") was broadcast on MBC and revolved around a straight man who pretends to be gay to become a woman's roommate. Before these was "Coming Out," which debuted on cable channel tvN in late night in 2008, in which a gay actor and straight actress counseled gays with publicly acknowledging their sexual orientation.
Openly gay entertainment figures include model and actress Harisu, a trans woman who makes frequent appearances in television. Actor Hong Seok-cheon, after coming out in 2000 and being fired from his job has since returned to his acting career. He has appeared in several debate programs in support of gay rights.
Popular actor Kim Ji-hoo, who was openly gay, hanged himself on October 8, 2008. Police attributed his suicide to public prejudice against homosexuality.
Read more about this topic: LGBT Rights In South Korea