Are There Many LGBTQ+ Idols In K-Pop? Former Idols Discuss

After numerous requests from viewers to interview a boy group idol, second-generation star Crayon Pop‘s Way brought soloist and former BLANC7 leader Shinwoo to her YouTube channel to answer some burning questions—including whether there are really a lot of gay idols in the K-Pop industry.

According to Way, a lot of the questions submitted to her “K-Pop Boy Group Q&A” video on WayLand were about homosexuality in the K-Pop industry. “We hear that there are many gay people [in K-Pop],” asked one fan, “But are there really a lot?”

| 웨이랜드WayLand/YouTube

Given that the LGBTQ+ community is still seen as taboo in South Korea, there are very few openly gay idols in the industry.

Holland | VOGUE

Soloist Holland and Superstar K competitor Park Woo Sik were two of the first male stars who came out as queer, while former WA$$UP member Jiae and Idol School contestant Som Hein are openly bisexual. KATSEYE’s Lara also came out as queer on Weverse a month ago.

KATSEYE’s Lara Comes Out As Queer, Admits Past Fears That Her Sexuality Would Ruin Her Debut

TO BE WORLD KLASS contestant Lim initially stated they were non-binary and was okay with any pronoun.

Oh yeah I never tweeted this out before since I was scared to and since it’s June but I am happily Non-binary and I prefer any pronoun!

— Kendall 켄달 (@prettylimlim) June 7, 2022

Lim has since changed their pronouns to she/her.

Most recently, JUST B’s Bain stated how proud he was to be part of the LGBT community during the group’s concert in Los Angeles.

Fourth-Gen Male Idol Comes Out As Member Of LGBTQ+ Community At Concert — Sparking Emotional Reactions

Shinwoo, who was a member of Jackpot Entertainment‘s BLANC7 from 2017 to 2019, revealed that while he has heard about gay idols in the industry, he doesn’t have any experience with them firsthand. He went on to say, “Even if people say [this person is] gay, he doesn’t act like that to me, so I can’t really believe it.”

| 웨이랜드WayLand/YouTube

Conversely, Way revealed that she’s seen many gay people on her side of the K-Pop industry. However, when asked by WayLand‘s production director whether gay and lesbian idols are open about their sexuality, Way noted that they don’t usually “come out.”

| 웨이랜드WayLand/YouTube

That said, Way says gay people in the industry tend to recognize other gay people. “Amongst gay people,” she says, “There can be some kind of connection.”

Check out the full video below: