Dong-Yeon Koh (고동연)'s Globalizing Korean queers?: Project L(esbian), the first exhibition of lesbian arts in South Korea is an academic article now available over at Taylor & Francis Online. Published in Volume 3 of 2013's Journal of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, I am unfortunately not able to access the article yet... Damn UCSD library services. Here is the abstract.
Abstract This paper deals with the influence of queer and visual culture in South Korea by concentrating on the example of Project L, the first exhibition organized by self-proclaimed lesbian artists and curators in South Korea in 2005, followed by the group’s second exhibition, Gender Spectrum, in 2008. Conflicts between the dominant curatorial approach toward feminist arts and the identity politics of the Project L team are investigated in order to illustrate major theoretical predicaments in which lesbian activists and artists find themselves in feminist organizations and art exhibitions in Korea. As the title “Globalizing Korean Queer” suggests, this paper also examines contradictory circumstances related to the influence of queer theory in non-western countries. A close analysis of Gender Spectrum sheds light upon how a non-western lesbian group utilizes queer theory to understand the distinctive cultural conditions underlying homophobia, beyond merely importing “advanced” theories from the west.
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Hopefully soon it will be available at my library. When I do have the chance to read it, I'll give my reactions.
-TKQ