The other four, which included the current president Moon Jae-in, all made statements against gay rights. Out of the five main presidential candidates in the election for the new president of South Korea, only one openly supported rights for the gay community. It is a topic that has only really come to light these recent years in the Korean media, following the derogatory statements against homosexuality made by the now president Moon Jae-in during his campaign trail, the “gay witch hunt” within the Korean army and the the issue of South Korea’s first transgender in the military.
However, the problem still remains that LGBTQ rights is almost never talked about in South Korea. Meanwhile, the older generation - people in their fifties and sixties - remained largely negative.” Korea Exposé reports that “In 2010, roughly 30 percent of people in their twenties and 20 percent of those in their thirties said they had no aversion to homosexuality four years later, these numbers doubled. There does seem to be a slow shift of attitudes within younger generations, however. Homosexuality was and often still is depicted as a mental illness within Korean culture, and numerous STDs, such as HIV/AIDS, are blamed on the LGBTQ community in Korea. Much of this is rooted in misinformation. Gay marriage and same sex unions are not recognized in Korea and though being gay in Korea is legal, it is highly stigmatized. But those who have spent some time within the country quickly learn that when it comes to important issues such as welfare, gender equality, and political stability, Korea has absolutely no problem leaving certain matters on the back burner while it continues to maintain a façade of security and strength to its political and economic allies. South Korea seems highly modernized from the outside it boasts one of the fastest internet connection in the world, has the highest education level in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and its citizens seem to be naturally born workaholics.