Status: Enjoy
Unnamed Men
하나
Getting married was easy: they signed the papers and exchanged simple silver rings. They didn't kiss until they got home, though, for they both had been raised to keep that sort of intimacy to themselves. The hard part, however, came right after the papers had been signed. They had always known it would be like that. They had always known that the country they called a home and were happy to serve, wouldn't be too pleased with their behaviour, even if it had become tolerable in the eyes of the law. But the eyes that would squint at those two men, as they walked up and down the streets of Busan, weren't the eyes of the law. They were the eyes of the people, people who had been raised to despise many things, even if those things were legal.
A beautiful country, a lively country, an energetic country; such a vibrant culture that outsiders long to know more of. Yet, to those two married men who refused to walk up and down those streets holding their hands, out of fear or shame, that nation's beauty was hard to see. They weren't afraid or ashamed of loving one another, that was not the case. But they had families that weren't pleased with their decision and they had jobs they just couldn't afford to lose. That country simply wasn't ready to handle that reality, that two men -or two women- could marry one another and be happy.
That country so loved by many, the land that those two men accounted as their nation, it made absolutely no sense to them how things worked in there. A place where so many futuristic things come from, where music is so vibrant and fashion is so edgy, yet such a close minded mentality seems to reign, such a shallow vision... In a country where about thirteen people out of one thousand have undergone plastic surgery, where women and men alike struggle to stay slim, where being overweight is almos a crime, where people worry so much about the outside, it seems obvious that kids are going to be raised believing that anything outside the norm is ugly and, therefore, despicable. Those two men, that shall remain unnamed, felt despicable for the simple fact that they chose to live their love and make it official.
One of those men had once dreamed of becoming an actor. The other was an English teacher at a local school. The first quit dreaming about stepping on a stage the moment he realized he wasn't normal. Being homosexual wasn't normal, it was a sin and a choice that only those of perverted mind would make. If he was to become an actor, he would have to hide his true identity, to live a secret life. And he didn't think he'd handle it well, so he quit and decided to get a degree in Law. The other man had always been inclined to teaching and he knew that the ability to speak and understand English was one of the most valuable assets one could have. He wanted to teach children the lingua franca, to give them the ability to communicate with people from different cultures, people who could open their little eyes to the world outside of their bubble. Maybe then, prejudice could be overcome and looks could begin to matter a little bit less.
However, the world just isn't ready. It has never been and it will never be. These two unnamed South Korean men will remain unnamed for as long as there are other men and women ashamed or afraid to love freely.
A beautiful country, a lively country, an energetic country; such a vibrant culture that outsiders long to know more of. Yet, to those two married men who refused to walk up and down those streets holding their hands, out of fear or shame, that nation's beauty was hard to see. They weren't afraid or ashamed of loving one another, that was not the case. But they had families that weren't pleased with their decision and they had jobs they just couldn't afford to lose. That country simply wasn't ready to handle that reality, that two men -or two women- could marry one another and be happy.
That country so loved by many, the land that those two men accounted as their nation, it made absolutely no sense to them how things worked in there. A place where so many futuristic things come from, where music is so vibrant and fashion is so edgy, yet such a close minded mentality seems to reign, such a shallow vision... In a country where about thirteen people out of one thousand have undergone plastic surgery, where women and men alike struggle to stay slim, where being overweight is almos a crime, where people worry so much about the outside, it seems obvious that kids are going to be raised believing that anything outside the norm is ugly and, therefore, despicable. Those two men, that shall remain unnamed, felt despicable for the simple fact that they chose to live their love and make it official.
One of those men had once dreamed of becoming an actor. The other was an English teacher at a local school. The first quit dreaming about stepping on a stage the moment he realized he wasn't normal. Being homosexual wasn't normal, it was a sin and a choice that only those of perverted mind would make. If he was to become an actor, he would have to hide his true identity, to live a secret life. And he didn't think he'd handle it well, so he quit and decided to get a degree in Law. The other man had always been inclined to teaching and he knew that the ability to speak and understand English was one of the most valuable assets one could have. He wanted to teach children the lingua franca, to give them the ability to communicate with people from different cultures, people who could open their little eyes to the world outside of their bubble. Maybe then, prejudice could be overcome and looks could begin to matter a little bit less.
However, the world just isn't ready. It has never been and it will never be. These two unnamed South Korean men will remain unnamed for as long as there are other men and women ashamed or afraid to love freely.