Opposing Desires

1. Why did you choose this topic?

During a semester abroad in Seoul in 2014, friends told me that LGBT activists had occupied Seoul City Hall to protest the mayor’s refusal to enact a human rights charter for the city. The city dismissed the charter owing to powerful pressure from radical right-wing Christian groups. Having always had a keen interest in the nexus between religion and politics, I felt the urge to better understand why and how these conservative forces acted the way they did to prevent human rights improvements.

2. What new perspectives does your book offer?

My book lays bare the explicitly political endeavors of right-wing Protestant actors in South Korea, showing that anti-LGBT activism represents both a means and an end in their attempts to gain ideological and political hegemony. My study also reveals ›opposing desires‹, that is, the manifold contradictions and internal feuds of the Korean anti-LGBT movement, challenging the view of these actors as a monolith and illustrating their precarious relations with other right-wing political forces.

3. What makes your topic relevant for current research debates?

Regarding the current rise of right-wing populist forces in many places worldwide, my study is indeed timely in that it contributes to the academic debate on conservatism. I offer a theoretical refinement, arguing based on my vast empirical material that the South Korean anti-LGBT movement engages in what I term ›dynamic continuity‹ – the skillful, yet at times delicate combination of ›old‹ and ›new‹, as well as adversarial and politically congruent action forms and framing strategies.

4. Choose one person you would like to discuss your book with!

I would love to discuss my research results with the Pope. I wonder how he, as an eminent religious leader, thinks about the blatant abuse of Christian principles for the sake of political gain, with the additional unfortunate effect of making many people’s lives miserable – also going beyond threats against queer people, fueling the exclusion of migrants, Muslims, Buddhists, women, and other minorities.

5. Your book summary in one sentence:

Understanding opposing desires: a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics and continuities at work in the South Korean anti-LGBT movement.