Australian Journal of Asian Law, 2019, Vol 20 No 1, Article 6: 1-17 LGBTQ+ Rights in South Korea – East Asia’s ‘Christian’ Country Wondong Lee, * Joe Phillips ♣ and Joseph Yi ♦ While South Korea outwardly appears socially, politically and legally intolerant of LGBTQ+, the landscape is contradictory and dynamic. Alternative sexual orientations, practices and gender identities are mostly legal, and a vibrant, largely open social scene exists. Activism has rapidly increased; polls show the younger generation accepting of LGBTQ+ people; and, the National Human Rights Commission, some municipalities and courts have expanded, or attempted to expand, protections. But conservative, heterosexual values dominate the family, workplace, academia and most social interactions. Same-sex marriage is not legal, and no enforceable laws protect against discrimination in employment, housing and other key sectors. The Military Code continues to discriminate, and major political parties either oppose or ignore LGBTQ+ rights. This traditionalist status quo is enhanced by an influential conservative, activist Christian demographic that distinguishes South Korea from other East Asian countries. After describing this landscape, we analyse three evolving legal areas that inform the future of rights: (1) official recognition of sex change by non-surgical transgenders; (2) elimination of the military’s prohibition against same-sex sexual acts; and (3) the conflict at Christian Universities between pro-LGBTQ+ speech and the conservative administrations. Christian activists have largely ignored the first issue, providing an opportunity to advance rights. They have engaged the second issue, and South Korean courts have rendered conflicting rulings. The third case may be a new battleground. The casual, macro picture of South Korea (Korea) is one of LGBTQ+ 1 intolerance. The OECD scored Korea 2.8 on a 10-point scale measuring ‘acceptance of homosexuality’, from 2001 to 2014 – the fourth-lowest score among thirty-six member states (OECD, 2019). Australia scored 6.3, New Zealand 5.7 and Japan 4.8. The 2019 Spartacus Gay Travel Guide listed Korea at 122 out of 199 countries, the same position held by notably discriminatory Pakistan, the Republic of Congo and Vatican City (Spartacus, 2019). New Zealand was ranked 4 th , Australia 28 th , Taiwan 41 st , Thailand 47 th , Cambodia 57 th , Japan 68 th , and Singapore 83 rd . The 2017 Rainbow Index measured the legal and social climate at 11.85 per cent, the same as relatively illiberal Belarus and very different from the most tolerant countries, such as Norway at 77.74 per cent (SOGILAW, 2018). Same-sex marriage is not legal and there are no civil unions or enforceable laws protecting LGBTQ+ against discrimination. Major political parties avoid or reject a pro-LGBTQ+ legislative agenda. Conservative, heterosexual values dominate the family, workplace, academia and most social interactions. These outward characteristics belie a vibrant, largely open social scene and a dynamic political- legal environment, where homosexuality and transsexuality are not illegal, and LGBTQ+ and their supporters increasingly demand rights. Victories have been won through the courts, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), and several city governments. Surveys reveal strong support among younger generations for social acceptance and rights. These successes have sometimes triggered strong resistance from conservative groups, particularly evangelical Christian activists. After describing this landscape, we analyse three evolving legal areas that inform the future of LGBTQ+ in Korea: (1) the official recognition of sex change by non-surgical transgenders; (2) ending the Military Code’s criminalisation of certain same-sex sexual acts; and (3) the conflict at Christian * PhD Student, Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine. First author. ♣ JD, PhD, Justice & Civil Leadership Program, Underwood International College, Yonsei University, Seoul (Songdo), South Korea. Corresponding author. ♦ PhD, Department of Political Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea. This article was supported by Hanyang University Research Fund and National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF- 2016S1A5A2A01026603). 1 ‘LGBTQ’ refers to lesbians, gays (male), bisexuals, transgenders and queers. We add ‘+’ to include other categories of alternative gender identities and sexual orientations. See, Chingusai, 2014.