Korea’s first openly gay idol reveals he was physically and verbally attacked by a homophobic stranger on the street 

Fans and netizens are outraged at what happened to out K-pop idol Holland. 

In 2018, Holland came out as the first openly gay K-pop idol. Aside from the support he receives, Holland recently suffered from a heartbreaking incident because of his sexuality. 

At midnight on May 6th, Holland wrote on his SNS that he was physically and verbally hurt by a stranger on Itaewon street in Seoul. He posted photos of a bleeding wound on his nose and recounted what happened. Specifically, while walking around with his manager and friend, Holland was suddenly hit in the face twice by a man, who also insulted Holland by calling him “a dirty gay.” 

Holland has reported this incident to the police and hopes the case will be resolved quickly. He expressed his anger and disappointment, saying, “This is obviously a hate crime. The fact that my sexuality as gay is public should never expose myself to this kind of violence. Nor any other LGBT+ and all elders, women and minorities in this world. This happening in 2022 shows the sad reality of LGBT+ human rights.” Holland added that no one in this world deserves such disrespect. He wishes the world would be filled with only love and hope, instead of violence and hatred.

Holland (real name Go Tae Seop) was born in 1996. In 2018, he announced his sexuality to the public when he just debuted and released the song Neverland. Before Holland, there had never been a K-pop idol who came out as part of the LGBT+ community.