[KS] Re: homosexuality in South Korea & Lou Harrison

[Stephen Epstein]

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Further data points: I fwd with permission the following from a
colleague who is a composer in our own music department, and who, like
Lou Harrison, is both openly gay and has spent time in Korea.  He once
mentioned to me (as indicated below) that he found Korean men the
*least* personally homophobic and most willing to experiment of any
place he had ever traveled--if a proposition was made discreetly.  While
I certainly have no reason to doubt him, his statement, which
highlighted the gap between actual private behavior and professed public
ideology, was enough to make me gape with disbelief.

Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 10:10:14 +1300
To: Stephen Epstein <Stephen.Epstein at vuw.ac.nz>
From: Jack Body <jack.body at vuw.ac.nz>
Subject: Re: Fwd: homosexuality in South Korea & Lou Harrison
Mime-Version: 1.0

Hi Stephen,
All very interesting.
Lou Harrison is a dear friend but we never really talked about his
experiences in Asia.
As far as Korea is concerned there are lots of paradoxes from my
experience. 
1. The gay-club scene is paranoid and exploitative, subject to raids etc
-
at least this was the impression I was left with.
2. On the other hand, boys seem very available, boys in general that is,
met anywhere in the street, not necessary "gay", but just open to new
encounters. My impression is that homophobia as such might be directed
against the life-style (as in most Asian countries, EVERY young man MUST
marry) and (possibly) overt public display, whereas, with discrete
behavior, anything is possible.
I did read once in a Spartacus Guide that Korean boys are the most
available in the world, and my experience suggests there is some truth
in it!
Jack Body,
School of Music,
Victoria University of Wellington,

>Lou Harrison who is (and has been almost right from the get go) and
>openly gay
>american composer who visisted Korea twice in the early 1960s. I have
>often
>heard that he liked to tour the gay underground every where he went and
>would
>give others "the tour" in the SF bay area when they visisted. It would
>be
>interesting to know what kind of gay world he discovered in Seoul then
>and if he
>met with any problems because of his orientation.