Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network – New Books in Station Studies
Episode: Todd A. Henry, ed., "Queer Korea" (Duke UP, 2020)
Host: Bing
Guest: Dr. Todd A. Henry (UC San Diego)
Date: September 27, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores "Queer Korea," an edited volume by Dr. Todd A. Henry that pioneers the study of queerness in Korea from both historical and contemporary perspectives. The conversation delves into the book's interdisciplinary approach, its breaking of academic silences, and the ongoing challenges and developments in Korean queer studies. Dr. Henry shares both personal motivations and broader academic intentions, offering insight into the evolving landscape of queer identities, activism, and scholarship in Korea.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dr. Todd Henry’s Academic Background

• Trained as a historian, PhD from UCLA in Japanese and Korean history (01:47).
• Early work on colonial and postcolonial Korea, now studies cross-border influences, militarism, medical sciences, and lived experiences of capitalism (02:47).
• Focus on enhancing Asian studies through queer and transgender perspectives, and expanding Western-centric queer theory with Asian modalities (03:22).

2. Genesis of "Queer Korea" and Field Formation

• The project began from Henry’s personal experience in late-1990s Korea, where homosexuality was socially erased despite evident queer communities (04:26).
• Initial LGBT activism in Korea was focused on present and future challenges; Henry wanted to historicize queerness in Korea (05:51).
• The book aims to challenge the narrative that queerness is solely a Western import or limited to minorities, positioning it as an analytical lens for broader historical processes (07:46).
• "I wanted to figure out a way to see how queerness fit within the broader picture of the 20th century history of Korea." — Dr. Todd Henry (08:30).

3. Editorial Vision and Interdisciplinarity

• Sought to bridge historical analysis, film studies, cultural criticism, and anthropology (09:33).
• “The history of the book itself was transnational in scope; it began in South Korea and involved and included filmmakers and critics.” (11:51).
• Emphasized bringing Korean-based LGBTQ scholarship into English-language academia and vice versa (12:33).

4. Book Structure: Narrative of Silence and Visibility

• Book divided into a historical part (pre-1990s) and a contemporary part (post-1980s/90s) (13:13).
• The structural division reflects shifts in available sources and political regimes (14:10).
• Resists a simplistic narrative from "silence to visibility." Instead, it suggests ongoing, complex negotiations around queerness (16:45).
• “The pre-1990s period wasn’t really a story of silence. It was a kind of crafting of how queerness was going to fit within Korean society.” — Dr. Todd Henry (15:38).
• “Visibility doesn’t exactly capture what the book is trying to get at...better to think of a constant struggle...or being queer in ways that do not injure or harm those people who are involved.” — Dr. Todd Henry (19:26).

5. Gendered Patterns in Sources & Chapters

• Early chapters focus more on female same-sex relationships, while later chapters discuss male homosexuality and trans issues (22:49).
• Henry notes this reflects the availability of sources and active scholars, rather than an intentional editorial decision (23:21).
• "In my own research, I found that female-female homoeroticism was quite widely represented in the '60s and '70s and was the face of same-sex marriage." — Dr. Todd Henry (24:05).
• Explores the shifting public face of queerness across time, with women's stories more prominent in earlier periods and men’s becoming central in more recent years (25:23).

6. Gender, Media, and State Power

• Henry’s personal chapter analyzes how narratives about female homoeroticism in media both supported and undermined state ideals (27:46).
• Media served a dual function: endorsing state heteronormativity while incidentally creating spaces for queer visibility and imagination (30:19).
• “The media served both the political function of ensuring that women would not partner with one another and would eventually marry men and bear children… but as a subtext, there’s lots of other elements that might have inspired others to follow the ‘dangerous’ paths that were being narrated.” — Dr. Todd Henry (32:20).

7. COVID-19 and the Itaewon Incident

• COVID-19, particularly the Itaewon club outbreak, drew new attention to the precariousness and ‘under the radar’ realities of queer life in Korea (33:20).
• Despite democratization, everyday life for queer Koreans remains characterized by discretion due to ongoing stigma and political backlash (34:05).
• “Even basic livelihood can be difficult under a procedural democratic state.” — Dr. Todd Henry (34:32).

8. Production Challenges for "Queer Korea"

• Challenges included lack of sources (especially pre-1990s), translation issues, and skepticism from both inside and outside academia (38:01).
• Some essays required translation cooperation; significant gaps exist between what is publishable/possible in the US vs. Korea (39:12).
• “It’s still extremely difficult in Korea for graduate students to be advised by faculty who are willing to read their work and be able to comment on their work...if you publish a dissertation on this kind of topic...it might be extremely difficult to find a job.” — Dr. Todd Henry (40:22).

9. The Future of Queer Korean Studies

• The field is expanding, with more research on queer children, intersex identities, diaspora, and North Korean perspectives (42:25).
• Urgent directions include:
  • Diaspora and adopted Koreans.
  • North Korean queer experiences, including defectors.
  • Intersex issues and internal community dynamics.
  • Intergenerational dialogue within queer communities.
• “Diasporic, inter-Korean, adoptee issues…a study that connects people who are born in the '50s and '60s with later generations could help diversify this growing field.” — Dr. Todd Henry (44:50).

10. Dr. Henry’s Ongoing and Future Work

• Upcoming monograph: Prophets of Queerness: Media, Biomedicine, and Citizenship in Authoritarian South Korea (U of Hawaii Press, July 2026). (47:01)
• Next project: 1980s-90s Korea, examining globalization, HIV/AIDS, 1988 Seoul Olympics, sex tourism, and LGBT issues in democratization (48:01).
• Aims to reveal transnational forces in late-authoritarian Korea and unresolved issues of democratic transition.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Queer Erasure as Motivation to Research:
  “From the first time I had a chance to live in South Korea … I often heard that the country had no gay and lesbian people, which at first I thought was quite curious … I was meeting gay and lesbian people every week in fact. So it struck me as quite odd that people made the statement that Korea had no gays.”
  (Dr. Todd Henry, 04:26)

• On Visibility and Continuity:
  “On the one hand, queerness I tried to show was really always a part of Korean society and culture ... The pre-1990s period wasn’t really a story of silence. It was a kind of crafting of how queerness was going to fit within Korean society."
  (Dr. Todd Henry, 15:38)

• On Media’s Paradoxical Role:
  “The media served both the political function of ensuring women would not partner with one another … but as a subtext, there are other elements that might have inspired others to follow the ‘dangerous’ paths.”
  (Dr. Todd Henry, 32:20)

• On COVID-19’s Impact:
  “Covid … really drew new attention to the kind of, again, I'll use the word under the radar nature of queerness that I tried to highlight in the introduction. So rather than ... being out and proud, I think under the radar is more of a kind of mainstream way in which a lot of queer people in South Korea pursue their lives."
  (Dr. Todd Henry, 34:15)

• On Barriers to Academic Work:
  “It’s still extremely difficult in Korea for graduate students to be advised by faculty who are willing to read their work ... and then having no promise of being able to continue on with what you spent your life dedicated to, that's a real problem.”
  (Dr. Todd Henry, 40:22)

• On the Need for Broader Research:
  “Diasporic ... adoptee issues ... North Korean experiences … a study that connects people across generations ... those kinds of issues could help diversify this growing field.”
  (Dr. Todd Henry, 44:50)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Dr. Henry’s academic background – 01:47
• Motivation for Queer Korea / field formation – 04:26 – 09:10
• Editorial vision and interdisciplinary approach – 09:33 – 13:13
• Book structure and narrative (silence vs. visibility) – 13:41 – 20:48
• Gendered patterns in scholarship and sources – 22:49 – 26:54
• State, media, and female homoeroticism – 27:46 – 33:20
• COVID-19, Itaewon incident & present politics – 33:20 – 37:26
• Production challenges: sources, translation, mentorship – 38:01 – 41:50
• Future directions for Queer Korean Studies – 42:25 – 46:18
• Dr. Henry’s upcoming projects – 47:01 – 49:07

Conclusion

This episode provides a rich exploration of the origins, content, and impact of Queer Korea, while situating the challenges and possibilities for queer scholarship and activism in Korea. It stresses the importance of interdisciplinary, transnational, and intersectional approaches moving forward, and highlights ongoing obstacles faced by queer academics, activists, and communities both in Korea and across the diaspora.