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Culture Homosexuality in TV/Screen
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“Life is Beautiful,” written by Kim Soo-hyun, one of Korea’s most influential playwrights, features a gay couple — Tae-seop and Gyeong-su — who develop mutual feelings from friendship to love. They struggle to convince their conservative families — in the program, Tae-seop’s uncle calls them “dirty” and Gyeong-su’s mother calls them “subhumane” — and fight social prejudices against homosexuality.
The drama received generally warm reviews from the gay community because it described the real obstacles homosexual people encounter in their lives. It is also one of the highest rated weekend dramas.
The program was the talk of the town when a group of parents published an advertisement on the front page of a local daily on Sept. 29. The ad reads: “The drama beautified lives of gay men, which are morally and ethically wrong. If my son becomes gay after watching the drama develops AIDS and dies, the program producers should take full responsibility for it.” The group claimed that the chance of a homosexual getting AIDS is 730 percent higher than straight people and that the drama is stimulating young people to explore homosexuality.
The ad has caused a stir, prompting psychologists, gay rights activists, conservatives and others to “refute” that homosexuality is not “infectious” through TV dramas or other cultural events. They also claimed the ad has provoked homophobia in society.
“It’s time we implement a law against all forms of discrimination,” a member of Chingusai said.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/117_74155.html
Korean society seems much more tolerant about homosexuality these days. But what about a gay kissing scene on a prime time TV drama? That may be too much for at least some religious groups in this society where Confucian values are still dominant. Nevertheless, homosexuality is no longer taboo as a soap opera theme. It’s emerging as a popular topic, raising the eyebrows of some religious groups.
Conservative Christian groups argue that it is inappropriate for terrestrial broadcasters to air TV dramas featuring gay love, insisting it negatively influences the “sacred” institution of marriage between men and women. However, progressive religious organizations say that now is the time for Korea to openly discuss the controversial issue and find ways of properly protecting homosexuals and other social minorities.
SBS, one of Korea’s major broadcasters, is currently airing a soap opera, titled “Beautiful Life” on Saturdays and Sundays, which deals with love between two gay men, and their conflicts with family members and friends. Its viewer ratings exceeded 20 percent on May 23 when the two came out of the closet, pointing to Koreans’ growing interests in the once-social taboo. MBC also aired a drama, titled “Personal Taste,” featuring a man who pretended to be a gay in order to live together with a woman he is in love with. An actual homosexual man played the gay character. With more soap operas and other entertainment programs shedding light on homosexuality, conservative religious groups have begun stepping up on criticism against what they call the “glamorization of gays and lesbians” by TV program producers seeking to draw a larger viewership.
The Korean Association of Church Communication (KACC), a lobbying group for conservative Christian churches here, recently released a statement, blasting broadcasters for making homosexuality seem more alluring.
“Everybody knows that homosexual relationships are ‘not a social norm.’ A family should be made up of a man and a woman, with children being born and raised by a father and a mother. It is what the mighty God intended for humans.”
The organization then said it is not right for the society to generalize and approve homosexuality, stressing that a series of recent TV programs have overly beautified gays and homosexual love, negatively affecting the acceptable growth of adolescent sexuality.
“The problem with soap operas featuring gays is that homosexuality concerns only a small number of individuals. Most of us have nothing to do with it,” KACC spokesman Shim Man-sup said. “Gays can pursue their own lifestyle privately. But when homosexuality is highlighted and glamorized by TV programs, it not a private matter anymore. Broadcasters must stop commercially exploiting the issue for the common good.”
Another conservative Christian group, Esther Prayer Movement, sent an email message to its members early this week, saying if TV programs continue to feature gays as they do now, many adolescents may be misinformed about homosexuality. It urged members to send protest emails and make complaining phone calls to broadcasters, and if necessary, to stage a boycott campaign against them.
In contrast, progressive religious groups say that the recent emergence of homosexuality should serve as a chance for Korean society to pay more attention to the welfare of social minorities and discuss how to better protect their rights.
“We do not hold a particular stance on this controversial issue. But we believe that everybody is equal before God and gays should not be discriminated against for their sexual preference,” said Ching Yong-taek, spokesman for the Christian Institute for the 3rd Era. “Their rights should be protected in a more institutionalized manner. We will take a range of measures to further publicize the issue.”
The group plans to hold a forum under the theme of “Beyond Hatred of Homosexuality” in Seoul on June 7, inviting a number of liberal-minded theologians from home and abroad in a bid to inform more Christians of homosexuality in the context of the Bible.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/117_66574.html
WORD
subhuman 인간 이하의
obstacle 장애물
morally 도덕적으로
infectious 전염성 있는
implement 시행하다
taboo 금기시 되는
shed 비추다
allure 매력, ~를 꾀다
adolescent 청소년
conservative 보수적인
QUESTION
1. Have you watched any tv dramas or films that featured homosexuality?
2. What do you think about homosexuality?
3. What is your opinion on Dramas or films that deals with homosexuality?
이 글은「대학연합영어토론동아리」www.pioneerclub.com에서 제공하는 영어토론 정보입니다.
The drama received generally warm reviews from the gay community because it described the real obstacles homosexual people encounter in their lives. It is also one of the highest rated weekend dramas.
The program was the talk of the town when a group of parents published an advertisement on the front page of a local daily on Sept. 29. The ad reads: “The drama beautified lives of gay men, which are morally and ethically wrong. If my son becomes gay after watching the drama develops AIDS and dies, the program producers should take full responsibility for it.” The group claimed that the chance of a homosexual getting AIDS is 730 percent higher than straight people and that the drama is stimulating young people to explore homosexuality.
The ad has caused a stir, prompting psychologists, gay rights activists, conservatives and others to “refute” that homosexuality is not “infectious” through TV dramas or other cultural events. They also claimed the ad has provoked homophobia in society.
“It’s time we implement a law against all forms of discrimination,” a member of Chingusai said.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/117_74155.html
Korean society seems much more tolerant about homosexuality these days. But what about a gay kissing scene on a prime time TV drama? That may be too much for at least some religious groups in this society where Confucian values are still dominant. Nevertheless, homosexuality is no longer taboo as a soap opera theme. It’s emerging as a popular topic, raising the eyebrows of some religious groups.
Conservative Christian groups argue that it is inappropriate for terrestrial broadcasters to air TV dramas featuring gay love, insisting it negatively influences the “sacred” institution of marriage between men and women. However, progressive religious organizations say that now is the time for Korea to openly discuss the controversial issue and find ways of properly protecting homosexuals and other social minorities.
SBS, one of Korea’s major broadcasters, is currently airing a soap opera, titled “Beautiful Life” on Saturdays and Sundays, which deals with love between two gay men, and their conflicts with family members and friends. Its viewer ratings exceeded 20 percent on May 23 when the two came out of the closet, pointing to Koreans’ growing interests in the once-social taboo. MBC also aired a drama, titled “Personal Taste,” featuring a man who pretended to be a gay in order to live together with a woman he is in love with. An actual homosexual man played the gay character. With more soap operas and other entertainment programs shedding light on homosexuality, conservative religious groups have begun stepping up on criticism against what they call the “glamorization of gays and lesbians” by TV program producers seeking to draw a larger viewership.
The Korean Association of Church Communication (KACC), a lobbying group for conservative Christian churches here, recently released a statement, blasting broadcasters for making homosexuality seem more alluring.
“Everybody knows that homosexual relationships are ‘not a social norm.’ A family should be made up of a man and a woman, with children being born and raised by a father and a mother. It is what the mighty God intended for humans.”
The organization then said it is not right for the society to generalize and approve homosexuality, stressing that a series of recent TV programs have overly beautified gays and homosexual love, negatively affecting the acceptable growth of adolescent sexuality.
“The problem with soap operas featuring gays is that homosexuality concerns only a small number of individuals. Most of us have nothing to do with it,” KACC spokesman Shim Man-sup said. “Gays can pursue their own lifestyle privately. But when homosexuality is highlighted and glamorized by TV programs, it not a private matter anymore. Broadcasters must stop commercially exploiting the issue for the common good.”
Another conservative Christian group, Esther Prayer Movement, sent an email message to its members early this week, saying if TV programs continue to feature gays as they do now, many adolescents may be misinformed about homosexuality. It urged members to send protest emails and make complaining phone calls to broadcasters, and if necessary, to stage a boycott campaign against them.
In contrast, progressive religious groups say that the recent emergence of homosexuality should serve as a chance for Korean society to pay more attention to the welfare of social minorities and discuss how to better protect their rights.
“We do not hold a particular stance on this controversial issue. But we believe that everybody is equal before God and gays should not be discriminated against for their sexual preference,” said Ching Yong-taek, spokesman for the Christian Institute for the 3rd Era. “Their rights should be protected in a more institutionalized manner. We will take a range of measures to further publicize the issue.”
The group plans to hold a forum under the theme of “Beyond Hatred of Homosexuality” in Seoul on June 7, inviting a number of liberal-minded theologians from home and abroad in a bid to inform more Christians of homosexuality in the context of the Bible.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/117_66574.html
WORD
subhuman 인간 이하의
obstacle 장애물
morally 도덕적으로
infectious 전염성 있는
implement 시행하다
taboo 금기시 되는
shed 비추다
allure 매력, ~를 꾀다
adolescent 청소년
conservative 보수적인
QUESTION
1. Have you watched any tv dramas or films that featured homosexuality?
2. What do you think about homosexuality?
3. What is your opinion on Dramas or films that deals with homosexuality?
이 글은「대학연합영어토론동아리」www.pioneerclub.com에서 제공하는 영어토론 정보입니다.
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