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Hyun Kyung Kim, researcher with the Korean Society of Law and Policy on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, discussed understanding minority issues from a new perspective
What does it feel like to shift from being a conservative society member to part of the minority? Hyun Kyung Kim, researcher from the Korean Society of Law and Policy on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, described realizing her sexuality and looking at societal issues in a new way.
Kyung Kim, a participant of the third annual Salzburg Global LGBT Forum, explained the shift from her initial career plan as an economic researcher to a human rights defender who viewed things from the perspective of minorities, such as the LGBT community, those with disabilities, or immigrants.
“I was some conservative person before I realized my sexuality,” said Kyung Kim. “…at some point I became some minority [person] in society, and then I saw some other issues that mostly minority people can feel…”
The researcher led a group discussion at the forum, where LGBT human rights in a conservative Christian context was discussed. Recommendations from the discussion were to find tangible ways of honing in on what is important to the organizations themselves, using economic arguments, understanding data, and using human rights mechanisms.
Kyung Kim also participated in large-scale LGBT surveys in Korea, and discussed the surprising and inspiring reaction that the Korean LGBT community had in response to discussions of sexuality. “There are so many LGBT people in Korea [who want] to talk about themselves,” said Kyung Kim.
As a human rights defender, Kyung Kim also runs a website, "Tong," which provides a platform for Koreans to access international human rights documents. The website provides English-Korean translation of these articles, allowing for greater understanding and distribution of important texts.
To hear more about Kyung Kim's new perspective on human rights, watch the interview below.
The Salzburg Global program Strengthening Communities: LGBT Rights & Social Cohesion is part of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum. The list of our partners for Session 551 can be found here. For more information, please visit: www.salzburgglobal.org/go/551