On June 16, the South Korean online streaming platform Wavve announcement that he is launching two new reality shows about same-sex relationships. Although the announcement was perfectly timed halfway through Pride month, impatient viewers will have to wait until July for the programs, Merry fagot and The love of others (Where The love of men)Who go would have to be the first South Korean reality TV shows to focus on LGBTQ+ romance.
Whereas Merry fagot will feature gay couples and their experiences of coming out and navigating relationships and marriages, The love of others will revolve around a group of queer men who have been invited to live in the same house in the hopes of finding love.
Merry fagot (left) and The love of others (right) will be the first South Korean reality TV shows to revolve around LGBTQ+ romance
According to a press release translated per K-pop news site Koreaboo, Wavve said, “It will not only be fresh, but also extremely fun. We will discuss and present social issues that we want viewers to seriously think about and empathize with.
In recent years, East Asian entertainment has seen an increase in LGBTQ+ representation, such as boys love manga and drama.
Earlier this year, K-drama Semantic error, a gay romance between two classmates, was well received in China and marked 8.5/10 on the Chinese review aggregation platform Duban.
The two protagonists of K-drama Semantic error
In China, the LGBTQ+ community enjoys greater representation and acceptance in major cities like Shanghai, one of the first and only regions in the country to hold a pride parade – although this has been on indefinite hiatus since 2020.
However, there is still some stigma surrounding LGBTQ+ relationships and censorship of queer content in China. For example, the country is increasingly strict regulations on web series often target homosexual content, and a proposal was previously put forward to “prevent the feminization of adolescent boys”.
On that note, Chinese netizens expressed mixed feelings about the two new South Korean reality TV series. Under a Weibo hashtag for shows with nearly 57 million views, some progressive netizens showed their support. Others have done the opposite.
A user with enthusiasm job, “It’s awesome!” while another wrote, “Please release it immediately!”
“My roommate thinks [the shows] are disgusting… I guess I’ll have to watch them alone in secret,” lamented Internet user.
As for Internet users who have been explicit about their homophobia, RADII refrains here from repeating their comments.
Box The love of others and Merry fagot contribute to the acceptance of LGBTQ+ communities in China and around the world? Plug into knowledge.
All images via Weibo