Human Rights, the Boomerang Pattern, and Their Limitations: The Case of South Korea's LGBTQ+ Rights Movement

Views on LGBTQ+ communities are rapidly shifting in South Korea, which has one of the largest generational divides in perceptions of homosexuality in the world. Despite these critical shifts, Korea's queer rights movement has made relatively little progress, especially when compared to contemporaneous movements utilizing similar human rights framings. By comparing Korea's queer rights movement to the migrant workers' rights movement, this comparative analysis highlights several contextual factors which have impacted the efficacy of human rights framings in Korea's social movements. Through applying theoretical frameworks of international human rights to the example of Korea's LGBTQ+ rights movement, this paper elucidates the intricate interplay between international pressures, domestic reforms, and cultural/historical context.