Here’s How Korean Middle School Students Would React If Their Friends Were Gay
In the still very conservative society of Korea, a researcher dove in to discover how the younger generations think of homosexuality.
Kim Aera from Ewha Woman’s University asked 664 middle school students about how they would feel if their friends revealed themselves to be gay.
Fortunately, 80% of them said it didn’t matter if their friends were gay or not.
Only a small number of students said they would either “break off the friendship” or “keep distance” from them.
180 students said they would feel uncomfortable but it wouldn’t be their business.
234 said the relationship would go on as usual, and 81 said, “I would ask if they were having a hard time and be there for them.”
Kim Aera then conducted a survey of how a student would react if their friend was transgender.
Out of 632 students, 24.2% said they would stop being friends with them and create a distance.
179 students (28.3%) said they wouldn’t care, 218 people said it wouldn’t change their friendship and 82 students said they would comfort their friend if they were in distress.
659 students agreed that education about sexual minorities was necessary, and a good number of them marked that sex education courses help.
Although the current youth generation’s outlook on homosexuality is improving, over half of the students said they felt judged if they didn’t fit the gender stereotypes.
And 40% are using derogatory words about sexual minorities, whether they have negative intentions or not.
Although South Korea hasn’t legally banned homosexuality, the majority of its society remains either indifferent or intolerant of the LGBT community.
But the recent research by Kim Aera shows that there is hope for the future.
Check out another research that was done to find out how Korean teens feel about gay couples.
Source: Korea Times
