Singer HOLLAND reports being the victim of homophobic attack, police involved – Asian Junkie

Openly gay singer HOLLAND recently posted on Twitter that he was the victim of a homophobic attack while in Itaewon, witnessed by a manager and a friend. He says he was hit twice in the face while verbally insulting his sexuality and appears to have been left with a cut, also adding that he reported the incident to police.

I reported to the police and I hope the case is well solved.

This should never happen to anybody in this world, no matter who you are. I wish our world is filled with more love and hope rather than hate and violence.

— HOLLAND (@HOLLAND_vvv) May 5, 2022

Unfortunately, even if this does get solved legally in HOLLAND’s favor, there’s no repercussion for the homophobic aspect of the assault due to the lack of an anti-discrimination law. It’s something that has come to the forefront recently.

Examples of discrimination are easily found in South Korean society today. Seven in 10 LGBT youths hide their identity at work, with over 40 percent having experienced a negative attitude towards sexual minorities at work, according to a recent survey by LGBT Youth group Dawoom. There have been multiple reports of xenophobia and discrimination against foreigners during the pandemic – shops refusing to serve foreigners or municipal governments imposing mandatory COVID-19 testing on all foreign residents. The central government’s failure last year to recognize foreigners’ vaccinations if they received them abroad also prompted criticism from ambassadors of several countries. In December, the country’s unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, was also urged by the Human Rights Watch to enact a comprehensive anti-discrimination law to address “pervasive discrimination against marginalized groups” in the country.

Thought it does seem to have popular support, even among groups who were the most opposed in the past.

One survey conducted last year by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea showed nearly 9 in 10 people agreed that an anti-discrimination law should be enacted. Some 42 percent of Protestants in the country support the legislation while 31.5 percent are against it, according to a survey from the Christian Institute for the Study of Justice and Development released on Thursday.

At the moment, HOLLAND is at least receiving an outpour of support on social media.