The coronavirus has triggered xenophobia and racism globally. And now, the hate-virus seems to be spreading homophobia in South Korea. 

Over the past few months, South Korea has been a model of efficient virus response, with extensive contact tracing and mass testing programs. As a result, COVID-19 cases in Korea have fallen dramatically since February. With fewer cases, the streets of Seoul have come back to life, and everything seemed to be going back to how it is supposed to be in a warm spring season. People have started to picnic by the Han River, to binge-drink with friends in Hongdae, and to go clubbing in Itaewon to release the built-up stress of quarantine. Although the majority of people still followed social distancing guidelines as an unspoken promise made with one another, the decision of going out seems to have been too hastily made. 

The recent Itaewon outbreak has been closely tied to the LGBT community, following headlines that emphasized the involvement of gay bars

From April 29 to May 6, COVID-19 has resurfaced with 153 new cases. These cases were confirmed to have originated from a 29-year-old man who visited multiple nightclubs in Itaewon, some of which were LGBT nightclubs. Of the 153 new cases, 90 were directly infected in the clubs while the rest were secondary transmissions. Although the number seems to be small relative to the previous rate of infection, it might be just the tip of the iceberg. 

Although being a sexual minority in South Korea is not illegal, there is an absence of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law against the LGBT community. Korea has maintained a very conservative perspective on sexual minorities, and as the resurfaced cases happened to involve them, it suddenly made contact-tracing a lot more difficult. Even though the Korean government provides anonymous testing to maintain the right to privacy, the social stigma against the LGBT community in Korea is keeping possible infectants from participating in the contact-tracing. 

Korean media further aggravated the situation. The information about the new outbreak was first published by a Christian newspaper, Kukmin Ilbo, depicting it with a strong emphasis on the fact that the patient visited gay nightclubs. Social media pages were flooded with homophobic posts and comments, further worsening their reputation. It is important to note that there is a possibility that the link between the 29-year-old man and the gay clubs may just be a coincidence, exaggerated to make click-bait news. The homophobic comments that the post has elicited is spreading hate towards sexual minorities, and this does not help in encouraging them to come out and participate in contact tracing. It in fact spreads hate that will keep their mouths shut to avoid being publicly criticized. 

Regardless of their sexual orientation, however, the clubbers at Itaewon share the blame for the re-emergence of the virus. Many nightclubs and bars have been keeping visitor logs to enable more swift contact tracing, but this relies on collective effort and trust that people give accurate contact information. In the Itaewon outbreak, of the 5,500 people who had given a name or contact when entering the clubs, 3,100 people did not respond or had given false details. In fact, in a leaked video of clubbers at an LGBT nightclub, many were seen not wearing masks and not keeping a safe distance amongst each other. 

Although the homophobic comments online should not be tolerated, comments regarding their careless actions should be taken seriously. By going out clubbing at times like this, they should have been aware of such consequences in the case of getting the virus and should be responsible for their actions. Certainly, the LGBT community involved in the Itaewon case does face a dilemma as participating in the contact-tracing may lead to unintended revealing of his or her sexual identity. However, especially in times like now, when one’s careless action can cost many lives as shown by the rapid spread of the virus, they should be taking responsibility for the greater good. 

This situation seems to be a never ending cycle. The hate on social media towards sexual minorities discourages the infectants to partake in contact-tracing, and their lack of participation further fuels the hate. To break this cycle, the media must learn to understand and accept the LGBT community while those who haven’t come forward must take responsibility for their actions.

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