Fifteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

For young men navigating a sexual identity that lies on the periphery of culturally understood and politically acceptable discourses, places where one expresses such identities become a necessary outlet. Gay districts have existed as bastions of open self-expression, providing a sense of belonging in restrictive societal contexts. This is particularly true in South Korea. Through direct ethnographic engagement this work analyzes the ways in which community defined “gay spaces” work as physical locals that shape understandings of alternative forms sexual identity for young men in Seoul. Through methods of participant observations and semi-structed interviews with self-identified gay men, qualitative data was collected and analyzed. This paper shows how these spaces help formulate, reinforce, and shape young gay men’s understanding of self and identity.