Korean Studies

Below is the list of LGBTQ+ Advocacy Organizations in South Korea. The list is categorized and organized largely into different subfields based on their purpose. Clicking the names of the organizations will redirect you to the official website. Any inquiries concerning the list should be contacted at yeonjae@ucla.edu.

LGBTQ+ Rights Organizations

• Beyond the Rainbow Foundation (BRF: 비온뒤무지개재단) ​| X, Instagram​

Creates a culture of unbiased donation for queer people and supports activities to promote the rights of gender/sexual minorities.

• Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea (행동하는성소수자인권연대) | X, Instagram, Facebook

Practices and stands in solidarity for a society where there is no discrimination against queer and where human rights are ensured.

• Korean Gay Men's Human Rights Group Chingusai (한국게이인권운동단체 친구사이) | X, Instagram, Facebook

Guarantees the rights of queer individuals and aims to build a world free from discrimination against gender/sexual minorities.

• Lesbian Counseling Center in South Korea (한국레즈비언상담소) | X, Instagram 

A women's queer rights advocacy organization that creates concrete practices from the diverse lives and struggles of lesbians.

• UNNINETWORK (언니네트워크) | X, Instagram, Facebook

A feminist cultural movement organization that aims to expand feminist networks to achieve a new society where all forms of sexual discrimination and oppression are eradicated.

• Korean Transgender Rights Organization Jogakbo (트랜스젠더 인권단체 조각보) 

Advocate for transgender rights and work on gender/diversity issues.

• Trans Liberation Front (트랜스해방전선)

Puts leading efforts to counter hate and spearhead the enhancement of transgender rights.

• Tulip Solidarity for Transgender Youth Human Rights (청소년 트랜스젠더 인권모임, 튤립연대)

A youth transgender rights group.

• Gender Voyager (성별이분법에 저항하는 사람들의 모임, 여행자)

A group of people resisting the gender binary norm.

• Acommunity: Seungnyang'i (The Dholes) (승냥이 카페) 

A Korean asexual community.

• Korean Deaf LGBT+ (한국농인LGBT+) | Facebook

Aims to create an inclusive Korean sign language and its culture. 

• Parents, Families and Allies of LGBTAIQ+ People in Korea (PFLAG KOREA: 성소수자 부모모임) | X, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube

A gathering of parents and families of gender/sexual minorities, as well as the individuals themselves.

• LGBTIQ Youth Support Center DDing Dong (청소년 성소수자 위기지원센터 띵동) | X, Instagram, Facebook, blog

Engages in counseling and supporting activities for gender/sexual minority youths in crises.

• Dawoom (다양성을 향한 지속가능한 움직임 다움)

A youth activist organization dedicated to promoting the rights of queer individuals.

Actions 

• South Korean Coalition for Anti-discrimination Legislation (차별금지법제정연대) | X, Facebook

A coalition of various organizations working together to enact anti-discrimination legislation.

• Rainbow Action against Sexual Minority Discrimination in South Korea (무지개행동)

A collective body of LGBTQ+ human rights organizations nationwide in South Korea.

• Marriage for All Korea (모두의 결혼)

A campaign for legalizing marriage equality and same-sex marriage in South Korea.

Sexual Rights & Reproductive Justice

• SHARE, center for Sexual rigHts And Reproductive justicE (성적권리와 재생산정의를 위한 센터 셰어) | Official English Website, X, Instagram, Facebook

Creates a society where no one is discriminated against or excluded and where everyone enjoys the right to sexual and reproductive health and justice.

• iSHAP Korea (한국에이즈 퇴치연맹 동성애자에이즈예방센터) 

An LGBTQ+ AIDS prevention center established in 2003, operated by the Korean AIDS Fighting Federation.

• Youth PLHIV community of Korea R (한국청소년청년감염인커뮤니티알) 

Continues networking initiatives and human rights advocacy for South Korean youth living with HIV infection.

Military-Related

• Gunseongnet (군 관련 성소수자 네트워크, 군성넷)

A network organization consisting of LGBTQ+ rights groups, public interest lawyers' organizations, and anti-violence groups that provide counseling and support for cases of human rights violations and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in the South Korean military.

Conversion Therapy-Related

• Anti-Conversion Therapy Network in Korea (전환치료 근절운동 네트워크)

Labor-Related

• LEGAL ASSISTANCE NETWORK FOR QUEER WORKERS (퀴어노동법률지원네트워크, 퀴어동네) | X

A group of certified labor lawyers and legal activists working to advocate for the rights of queer laborers.

• Queer Workers (월급쟁이 퀴어 모임, 월퀴모)

A community of queer laborers, including salaried employees, as well as freelancers and all other laborers who receive wages from employers.

Religion-Related

• Rainbow Jesus (무지개예수)

A community of Christians seeking to support LGBTQ+ Christians and ally with LGBTQ+ individuals, aiming for LGBT+ rights to be respected in various areas within and outside the church. 

• Q & A (큐앤에이, 한국 교회를 향한 퀴어한 질문)  

A Christian queer-ally movement group working towards creating an equal and safe church community.

• Social Affairs and Labor Relations Committee Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교 조계종 사회노동위원회) | Facebook

Aims to alleviate the suffering of marginalized and oppressed, such as laborers, people suffering from poverty, people with disabilities, and queer people.

• Catholic Human Rights Commission (천주교인권위원회)

Stands with all marginalized and faces injustices, even within the church but extending beyond its confines.

Law-Related

• GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation (공익인권법재단 공감) | X, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube

Aims to improve the human rights of minorities and socially vulnerable groups, advocate for reforming unjust laws, and undertake projects to train public interest lawyers.

• Korean Lawyers for Public Interest and Human Rights (공익인권변호사모임 희망을만드는법)

A human rights organization dedicated to changing discriminatory laws and practices, engaging in legislative advocacy, and conducting educational activities.

Culture and Media

• Korean Sexual-minority Culture & Rights Center (KSCRC: 한국성적소수자문화인권센터) | Instagram, Facebook, Youtube

An organization that enables gender/sexual minorities and HIV-positive individuals, along with their allies, to freely communicate and strives for the protection and enhancement of their rights.

• Qlife Center (큐라이프센터)

A project page by KSCRC related to the aging of LGBTQ+ individuals in South Korea.

• yPINKS (성적소수문화인권연대 연분홍치마) | X

A filmmaker-based association that practices media activism to uphold human rights values based on feminism.

• Korea Queer Archive (한국퀴어아카이브 퀴어락) | X

Collects the history of gender/sexual minorities in South Korea, including exhibitions, human rights activism sites, photos, etc.

• Queer Cast (퀴어방송) | Podcast

A queer media platform that amplifies the voices of people with diverse identities.

• Lezpa (레주파) | X, Podcast

An LGBTQ+ broadcast for the queer community.

• Q Planet (큐플래닛) | Youtube

A queer YouTube channel.

• Rainbow Bookmark (무지개책갈피) | X

An archive related to South Korean queer works of literature.

• Webzine Ggaggle-ggaggle (웹진 까끌까끌) 

A webzine published by Diversity Korea that aims to challenge current society's conventional norms.

• Seoul International PRIDE Film Festival (SIPFF: 서울국제프라이드영화제) | X

The largest LGBTQ+ International Film Festival in South Korea.

• Pride Expo (프라이드 엑스포) | X

An LGBTQ+ cultural arts expo that began under the name 'Pride Fair.'

• Seoul Queer Parade (SQP: 서울퀴어퍼레이드)

A public cultural event held to promote visibility, human rights, cultural joy, and empowerment of LGBTQ+ individuals.

• Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF: 서울퀴어문화축제) | X, Instagram

An annual summer festival held in Seoul with a vision to create a space where people of diverse identities come together to enjoy equality.

• Busan Queer Culture Festival (부산퀴어문화축제) | Facebook
• Daegu Queer Culture Festival (대구퀴어문화축제)
• Incheon Queer Culture Festival (인천퀴어문화축제)
• Gwangju Queer Culture Festival (광주퀴어문화축제)
• Gyeongnam Queer Culture Festival (경남퀴어문화축제)
• Jeju Queer Pride (제주퀴어프라이드)

Politics & Institutions

• Justice Party LGBTQ+ Committee (정의당 성소수자위원회) | X, Facebook
• Minority Rights Committee of the Green Party (녹색당 소수자인권특별위원회)
• Labor Party Sexual Politics Committee (노동당 성정치위원회) | Facebook
• Jinbo Party (진보당 인권위원회) | Facebook
• National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea (국가인권위원회)
• Amnesty International_KR (국제엠네스티 한국지부)

Research Institutions

• Queer Forum (성소수자 인권포럼)

An academic/human rights forum jointly organized by Rainbow Action Against Sexual Minority Discrimination and various other groups.

• Diversity Korea (한국다양성연구소) | X, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube

The only non-profit corporation in South Korea that provides diversity training and explores ways for diverse identified individuals to coexist in society.

• Institution for the Right to Found Family (가족구성권연구소) | Facebook

Seeks multidimensional research and practical alternatives from the perspective of minorities, feminism, and human rights to secure the right to form diverse families and communities.

• The Korean Society of Law and Policy on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI: 성적지향성별정체성 법정책연구회) | Facebook

Established to conduct policy analysis and develop alternatives for promoting human rights and eliminating discrimination related to gender identity and sexual orientation.

• Junior Scholars Network of LGBTIQ Research (성소수자 대학원생/신진연구자 네트워크) | X

A gathering of graduate students and researchers interested in LGBTQ+ studies aiming to promote qualitative and quantitative growth in South Korean LGBTQ+ research.

University Student Organizations

• Come Together (Yonsei University)*
• People to People (Korea University)*
• Queer in SNU (QIS: Seoul National University)*
• Queer Holic (Sungkyunkwan University)
• KAIST EQUEL (KAIST)
• Dancing Queers, Solidarity for Queer Liberation at Sogang University (Sogang University)
• HUFS Outer Planet (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)
• AKHUA (Kyung Hee University)
• Rainbow Fish (Chung-Ang University)
• Hongbansa (Hongik University)
• GQ (Gachon University)
• Cue the Felix (Konkuk University)
• Qubinet (Kookmin University)
• QHOOT (Sookmyung Women's University)
• SWUQ (Seoul Women's University)
• Ewha Byunnal (Ewha Womans University)*
• Queer in UOS (University of Seoul)
• CUKQ (Catholic University)
• Stranger (Soongsil University)
• Rain (Sungkonghoe University)
• Quote Mark (Seoul National University of Science and Technology)*
• Que Sera (Pusan National University)
• Lights on Me (Chonnam National University)

Note: Among the LGBTQ+ university student organizations listed below, those marked with an asterisk (*) have received official approval as recognized organizations/clubs from their respective educational institutions. The remaining organizations remain informal gatherings as their universities did not grant official approval.