South Korean direct-to-consumer online streaming platform Wavve will be launching the country's first-ever LGBTQ+ romance reality show in July.
According to a press release to Newsen, they will be launching two reality programs centered around the LGBTQ+ community starting in July. The two shows, titled Merry Queer and Stranger’s Love, will both show relationships of those who do not identify as heterosexual.
Merry Queer will focus on coming-out individuals and the challenges that they have to face as they publicly announce their relationships to the community.
Stranger's Love will be the first reality show for men seeking other men. These men will move into the homes of other men to find a relationship.
We will introduce Merry Queer, the first coming-out romance reality in Korea, and Stranger’s Love, a reality for male relationships, in July.
It will not only be fresh but also be extremely fun, we are going to discuss and showcase social issues that we want the viewers to seriously think about and sympathize with.
- Wavve
Wavve was first launched on September 18, 2019. The company was founded as a joint venture between South Korea's telecommunications giant SK Telecom and Korea's top three broadcast networks: KBS, MBC, and SBS.
South Korea has been under scrutiny for the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act which is still under review. The UN and global community have been recommending repeatedly that South Korea enact a comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act to end all forms of discrimination for over a decade. Unfortunately, currently, South Korea still does not have an anti-discrimination act for marginalized communities which are constantly exposed to various forms of hatred and discrimination.
The South Korean National Assembly keeps on delaying the enactment of the law. Four drafts have already been submitted during the Moon Jae In administration.
According to a survey by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in 2020, 82% of respondents acknowledged that discrimination in South Korean society was serious and 88.5% were in favor of enacting a comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act as a way to resolve this problem. Another survey of November 2021 showed that 70% of South Korean people also agreed.
Currently, the most famous openly gay South Korean celebrity is Hong Seok Cheon. He has repeatedly spoken out through various interviews and tv programs about how he has been mistreated and being banned from TV broadcasts since coming out.
Since publicly announcing his sexuality, he was banned from TV for three years and received multiple death threats from the public leading him to shut himself at home and contemplate suicide. Since then, he has taken his celebrity as a platform to inform the public about homosexuality and even has been a guest on Jessi's "Showterview"! Check it out!
South Korea has always been known as a very conservative society. Through K-pop and global exports, South Koreans have become more accepting and open-minded on various other subjects, but this topic still remains sensitive for most people. What are your thoughts about this issue? Let us know your opinions!