Star K-Pop that came on stage into the world

Bane went halfway through the Los -Angeles concert on his band on a clear night when the music stopped.

In an oversized coat and black sunglasses, a 24-year-old K-Pop star told thousands of fans: “Before you start the next song-I want to share something with you guys.”

A short pause, and then: “I (explicat) are proud to participate in the LGBTC -community!”

The crowd flashed with applause and shouted when Bane broke into the anthem of Lady Gaga: “Just put your paws,” because you were born this way. ”

At that moment, when he was released, he was not nervous, he tells the BBC in an interview in his studio in Seoul – rather, he tried “sound cool”.

In recent years, a handful of artists K -pop came out as a gay – but not as publicly as Bane.

Even in 2025, this is a bold step in the South Korean entertainment industry, where the stars adhere to impossible standards. Recognition even heterosexual relations scandalously.

“There were people who knew (I thought to get out) in this area and warned me from it, saying it would be a risk,” says Bane. “And of course, I thought about the risk – that we would lose fans.

“But then I thought that society was changing … I could get more than I can lose.”

This is the main question: did he open the door to change the industry that became global but remain deeply rooted in conservative South Korea?

Bane, whose real name – Song Byeonghee, says he studied in high school, about 12 years old when he realized he was gay.

Soon he decided to become a K -Pop trainee, but he kept his sexuality – he felt that the gay “did not allow”.

“It was not what I asked … I just thought I had no choice,” he says. “There was no one else (around me that was gay). I thought I could just pretend and keep going.”

Wealthy, modern South Korea is becoming traditional. Powerful but conservative churches often see homosexuality as a disability either Sin. And the same -sex marriage was not legally recognized.

In 2021, Bane made his debut as part of a hexual boy, Just B. They released several albums and took part in a reality show, receiving a devoted audience.

But through all this, the years when they hid part of themselves, they took part in the bein.

“I was so broken that I thought maybe I couldn’t be an idol. I felt like hiding. I decided to talk to my mom.”

It was about three years ago. His mother was the first in the family to find out: “We talked an hour, and I finally said,” I like men more than women. “That’s when she knew.”

Her reaction was difficult for him. “Honestly, she didn’t like it – not at first. It was ambiguous.

Then the members of his team and the company began to encourage him to jump – and tell the world.

Earlier this year the band started the world tour, and at the last stop of its tour in the US, Bane decided to take the stage.

Since then, the band has been sent to the spotlight – with Ben, he gave countless interviews when he quickly became a new face of the Korean LGBTC.

“I feel that I have changed a lot since I came out. I feel more confident. When I meet with someone new, I show who I am at once,” he says. “But I’m also sad that my personality is now such a big deal.”

Over time, he hopes that people will stop saying, “Oh, he is gay, but rather, it’s just the one he is.”

When South Korean actor Gan Sek Czeon came out in 2000, the LGBTQ representative office really entered the main direction of the country.

He was the first Korean celebrity to tell about her sexuality – and she became a price. He was discarded from TV shows and advertisements.

Since then, the relationship has certainly changed. The 2019 poll showed that the number of people who took homosexuality increased to 44% from 25% in 2002.

And yet only a few other celebrities came out. In 2018, the Netherlands became the first open gay-pop artist in the country, and in 2020 Jiae, a former member of the Girl Group Wassup, came out as bisexual. Both stated that it was difficult for them to be signed with a short -lived label.

The announcement of Bain, however, was noted by both fans and LGBTQ -community South Korea.

“If someone, like a idol, goes out, it gives people like me, we are not alone,” says a 26-year-old Korean transgender woman who does not want to call her.

“It brings comfort … makes me think, perhaps I’m ok like me.”

Also on the Internet, most comments were positive. One gay supporter in YouTube’s comment wrote as prompted by Bane, feeling “so much despair” from the ” -the” hated comments “and discrimination.

“But thanks to Bain, I found the courage to keep going.”

International fans especially cheerful it: “After the initial shock I started crying,” Leah said, a K-Pop supporter with the US, which is identified as a lesbian.

“Knowing that in Korea, there are some repressions against LGBTC, courage and courage he showed … (was) exciting.”

South Korea’s cultural trail is growing around the world, and this has led fans everywhere, with its prospects and beliefs. They may well redo the K-Pop branch.

But it will take time. And this is evident in the range of comments in response to Bain’s announcement – abandonment of apathy.

First, the country noticed the rise of the right, often signs of anti-feminist beliefs in young people who seem to oppose any problem of traditional gender roles.

And these roles in South Korea remain strong. The government and the Church of the Champion on ordinary family values, encouraging young people to marry and have children so that they can increase their birth level, now the lowest in the world.

Given all this, it may not surprise that homosexuality is still taboo, even in such a global area as K-Pop.

This is a world in which even direct couples do not talk about their personal life, says critic Lim He-Yun.

“K-Pop spent almost 25 years, avoiding sexuality topics (overall). Even heterosexual relations are hiding to protect fan fantasies.”

He adds a bein, “challenged this silence in a symbolic and powerful way. I think it means the main point.”

But he believes that the fans may have reacted completely different – “it could be an explosive” – ​​if a member of the global boy came out as a gay.

“The case of Bain was significant, but his group is not so famous (yes), it did not cause so much excitement inside the country,” says Mr. Lim.

Bane certainly helped increase awareness, agree. “This is a slow process, but we see more public figures who act or create content around these LGBTQ problems.”

But, he said, any direct changes in the K-Pop or the entertainment industry are unlikely.

“It’s not just a social problem – it’s a problem with the market. Men’s idols usually have a much larger woman -fan -baz … (and) if you find out that your favorite male idol is a gay, it can destroy the illusion that you can once become the object of his commitment,” he says.

“So, when they get (go out), they run the risk of shaking the foundation on which they are built.”

However, Bane says his decision is worth even “one person in K-Pop gets power or interest.”

“I pretended for so long … I realized that since I came out, others also felt safe.”

On the day he came out, he recalls that several fans approached him, saying that they were gay or lesbians, talking about their own personality.

“They thanked me, and I thought of myself,” I had to do it before. “