When I spoke there to one male protester, he gestured to festival-goers across the street, saying they had the so-called “super virus,” but explained that the people with him were protected by the Holy Spirit. The resulting fears about HIV/AIDS and the perceived dangers of queer people brought droves of anti-LGBTQ protesters to a queer culture festival in Seoul in June 2015. Conservative Christians began spreading rumors nationwide – including in Korean news media – that there was a so-called “super virus” combining AIDS and MERS.
In 2015 that discrimination intersected with a rapidly spreading disease, during the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak. Those who came under suspicion through this scheme were charged under the military’s anti-sodomy law, a law that ostensibly makes homosexuality illegal in the military. As recently as 2017, the activist organization Military Human Rights Center reported on a “gay witch-hunt” in which the chief of staff of the Korean army coerced soldiers into using gay dating apps, in an effort to identify soldiers who might be queer. Homophobia is also rife in the South Korean military, where all men are required to serve for roughly two years. And the government has criminalized HIV transmission and conducts strict surveillance on people who test positive. Politicians, influential conservative Christian leaders and even doctors have incorrectly claimed that homosexuality causes AIDS. For many years, some hospitals have refused to treat people living with HIV/AIDS.