• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

A North Korean Defector Shares What It’s Like to be Gay in the Pariah State: VIDEO

Michael Fitzgerald April 26, 2017 Leave a Comment

Jang Yeong-jin north-korean-defector

A man who defected from North Korea has described what it was like to be gay in the hermit kingdom.

Jang Yeong-jin crossed the border into China in 1966 and spent more than a year struggling to find his way to South Korea where defectors are treated as refugees. China generally considers defectors to be economic migrants who will be sent back to North Korea where they will face severe punishments.

He then made dangerous decision to re-enter North Korea, travel south and cross the demilitarized zone into South Korea.

RELATED: Another American Citizen has Been Detained in North Korea — Here’s What We Know

Jang says that for the first 37 years of his life he had no concept of homosexuality. “When I was in Pyongyang University,” he told CNN, “I went to see a neurologist, wondering why I was so different to others. But as soon as I started talking about my feelings, I had to run out of the office, because the doctor started yelling at me.”

CNN reports:

Jang says he could cope with limited food or clothing in North Korea but having nothing to dream for left him miserable.

He says the closest he came to a dream was a childhood friend he later realized he had been in love with. Their innocent childhood closeness spread well into adulthood. Holding hands or sharing a bed was not unusual he says, as both of their wives knew they were close.

“One day my friend came to see me,” he says. “That night I left my wife’s bed and got into his, my heart was beating so fast as he slept and I couldn’t figure out why I felt so hurt by him.”

“I got up, went outside and saw a wild goose flying over my head. I knew then I had to leave.”

He added:

“When I was in the military there was a senior officer who had the same problem as me after he got married. There was also a man in my hometown who never got married and lived alone all his life. North Korea society treats these people as abnormal.”

Reading a magazine in a doctor’s surgery in South Korea, Jang saw an article about homosexuality and said it was like a light had been switched on. Suddenly, he explained, he had an identity.

“That was the first time I knew what homosexuality was and I was really pleased,” he explained. “I was 37-years-old by that time and thought I would be living alone for my entire life after leaving North Korea since I could not live with a woman.”

However, he added that life as a gay defector is not easy.

“Since I am a defector,” he said, “I am a stranger in this society. For all defectors it is hard to settle down, but for me the hardships double.”

A English translation of Jang’s autobiographical novel A Mark of Red Honor is due to be published in later this year.

Watch the CNN interview below.

Topics: Uncategorized More Posts About: Jang Yeong-jin, North Korea

Related Posts
  • U.S. And Major Allies Start To Look Like Human Rights, Democracy Defenders Again With Sanctions on China, Myanmar, N Korea
  • When Kim Jong-Un Hit on Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump Told Her, ‘Take One for the Team’: BOOK
  • North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un in Health Crisis: REPORT
  • Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

    Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

    Published by Radar Online KCS Presse / MEGA Madonna was in utter shock to discover that Instagram had blocked her from going live, sharing a video of the awkward moment she found out on Friday. “What …Read More »
  • US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

    US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

    Published by AFP Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a lifelong Catholic, has been barred from holy communion by the archbishop of San Francisco over her support for abortion San Francisco (AFP) – The …Read More »
  • Giuliani meets with U.S. House Jan. 6 panel, CNN reports

    Giuliani meets with U.S. House Jan. 6 panel, CNN reports

    Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Rudy Giuliani, who served as former U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, met for more than nine hours on Friday with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack …Read More »
  • WHO working on more monkeypox guidance as cases rise – senior adviser

    WHO working on more monkeypox guidance as cases rise – senior adviser

    Published by Reuters By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization is working on further guidance for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox, amid concerns cases could spike further in the …Read More »
Previous Post: « A Queer Conman Disrupts Social Boundaries in Tame Revival of ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ – REVIEW
Next Post: Late Football Star Aaron Hernandez’s Lawyers Deny Gay Prison Romance Rumors: VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Harris, White House Spox Rip Oklahoma For Passing Near-Total Abortion Ban Weeks After Leaked Supreme Court Opinion

    Harris, White House Spox Rip Oklahoma For Passing Near-Total Abortion Ban Weeks After Leaked Supreme Court Opinion

  • Trump pays $110,000 fine for blocking New York state tax probe

    Trump pays $110,000 fine for blocking New York state tax probe

  • Erdogan demands concessions to back Swedish, Finnish NATO membership

    Erdogan demands concessions to back Swedish, Finnish NATO membership

  • Zelensky says Ukraine has ‘broken the backbone’ of the Russian army

    Zelensky says Ukraine has ‘broken the backbone’ of the Russian army

Break

  • Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

    Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

  • Vladimir Putin’s Daughter SECRETLY Living In Germany With Man Named Igor Zelensky

    Vladimir Putin’s Daughter SECRETLY Living In Germany With Man Named Igor Zelensky

  • Tucker Carlson: Voice of white America’s outrage and fears

    Tucker Carlson: Voice of white America’s outrage and fears

  • Viola Davis was called by director’s maid’s name

    Viola Davis was called by director’s maid’s name

RSS Partner Links

  • Sunday Comics
  • Speedo Sunday
  • Trainer Day + Sniffing Out The Scoop On Poppers + NJ Trucker-Congressman Proposes STRICTER Don't Say Gay Bill + MORE! — 6-PACK
  • 'Barry' Actor Anthony Carrigan Says He Was Told to Quit Acting Over Alopecia
  • Adele Sits Courtside with Boyfriend Rich Paul at NBA Palyoffs Game
  • 'Sex & the City' Author Candace Bushnell, 63, Dating 21-Year-Old Model
  • Ashley Graham Reveals She Nearly Died Giving Birth to Twins at Home
  • Hot Slut Of The Day!
  • Caption Me

Most Recent

  • Kate McKinnon Leaving SNL; What? Also Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson  and Kyle Mooney Set to Depart After This Season.  Season Finale TONIGHT

    Kate McKinnon Leaving SNL; What? Also Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney Set to Depart After This Season. Season Finale TONIGHT

  • Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

    Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

  • US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

    US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

  • Giuliani meets with U.S. House Jan. 6 panel, CNN reports

    Giuliani meets with U.S. House Jan. 6 panel, CNN reports

  • WHO working on more monkeypox guidance as cases rise – senior adviser

    WHO working on more monkeypox guidance as cases rise – senior adviser

  • Belgian Pride festival returns to Brussels after two-year hiatus

    Belgian Pride festival returns to Brussels after two-year hiatus

  • Spain identifies possible new monkeypox cluster in Canaries

    Spain identifies possible new monkeypox cluster in Canaries

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in