'The conversation just dies': LGBTQ+ students reflect on life on Korean campuses Not hostility but silence Dorm selection issues Safe zones, but limited reach Institutional support

Queer international students describe their university experiences as shaped less by open rejection than by limited awareness and institutional support For most international students, arriving in Korea means navigating a familiar set of challenges: keeping up with classes, making friends and adjusting to a new culture. For LGBTQ+ students, however, another question often lingers beneath those concerns: How welcoming will this country be? Miko Fusco, from the United States, arrived in Korea expecting the worst. "Before coming here, I thought it would feel like a prison in that regard," Fusco, who is now studying business at Korea University, said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. "The impression came from social media because that's where we see inflated stories of people's bad experiences, which can spread misinformation and lead to broad generalizations." "I was surprised when I realized that Koreans are not hostile to LGBTQ+ people. If anything, I feel more liberated here," Fusco added. Argentinian student Rocio Alvarez, who is studying Healthcare Management and Policy at Seoul National University (SNU), expressed a somewhat different view from Fusco's, sharing her experience of being disappointed in people's attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community in Korea. "I got to know about Korea because of K-pop and Korean movies, and K-pop is often perceived as being open to LGBTQ+ people, mainly because of how male K-pop artists dress and wear makeup," Alvarez said. "People back in my country would even make fun of me because of that aspect, but I was pretty shocked to find out that Koreans are almost ignorant when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues." "I always had to explain what I am, and I gave up and stopped telling Koreans about my identity," the SNU student added. Fusco and Alvarez's experiences reflect the varied realities LGBTQ+ international students encounter on Korean campuses, where experiences often depend on factors such as campus culture, social circles and housing arrangements. To better understand those experiences, the Korea JoongAng Daily spoke with four international students from different corners of the globe and three leaders of LGBTQ+ campus organizations about issues ranging from classroom discussions and dormitory life to perceptions of LGBTQ+ identities in Korea. While some of the students interviewed said they had experienced discrimination off campus, none reported encountering overt homophobia on campus. What stood out instead was how rarely LGBTQ+ issues entered everyday conversations or classroom discussions. "Actually, I have never experienced discrimination here, but maybe it's because people don't really talk about it in the first place, not because Koreans are more woke," a Ukrainian design student at Hongik University said on the condition of anonymity, an experience echoed by all but one of the students interviewed. "Even in discussion-based lectures, I don't really get the opportunity to talk about it," the Ukrainian student said. "In Europe, we would talk about it very often and very casually." Bice, an Italian student who asked to be identified by a nickname, agreed. Bice recalled enrolling in a gender-related course at Yonsei University expecting broader discussions of sexuality and gender diversity, only to find those expectations largely unmet. "The curriculum focused primarily on the social roles of men and women, family structures and gender-related social issues, but there was no dedicated section on LGBTQ+ identities or communities," Bice said, expressing surprise at the gap between the course title and its content. Bice added that the biggest challenge was not outright hostility but how quickly conversations seemed to stall whenever topics related to LGBTQ+ emerged, referring to another elective class she attended recently. "During one classroom presentation on marriage, a group focused exclusively on heterosexual relationships," Bice said. "When someone asked about same-sex ma...