South Korean rapper Aquinas defiantly comes out as bisexual with beautiful message of ‘courage’
Korean rapper Aquinas, Kang Minsoo, came out as bisexual in a powerful post on Instagram. He told reporters he wanted to give “courage” to LGBT+ people in South Korea. (Instagram/@loveyouraquinas)
South Korean rapper Aquinas has come out as bisexual in a powerful Instagram post, saying he wants to give “courage” to young LGBT+ fans.
Aquinas – whose real name is Kang Minsoo – was a contestant on High School Rapper, a Korean TV show, in 2019 where he won second place. He also appeared on the rap competition show Show Me the Money in 2016.
Aquinas posted a picture Tuesday (13 July) on his Instagram of the bisexual flag emblazoned with the words “I’m a bisexual” written in both English and Korea.
The simple but effective coming out post has garnered much love on the platform with thousands of fans sharing their support for the rapper. One fan wrote they are “so proud” of Aquinas while another person commented that they will “always be on your side”.
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Aquinas shared more details about why he decided to come out in an interview with the Korean news website SPOTV. He said that he only started to think about coming out via Instagram “about three or four hours before posting”.
Aquinas described how it was “frustrating” to hide his sexuality from the public, but he “wanted to give courage” to queer fans by getting his “story out”.
“In our society, LGBT+ people are still discriminated against and criticised,” Aquinas told SPOTV. “I thought that if I made this confession at a young age, LGBT+ people would gain courage and be comforted.”
He added that he was worried about the potential backlash that his family, who already knew about his sexuality, might face. Aquinas is especially worried for his younger brother, who is currently a high school student.
South Korean rapper Aquinas, Kang Minsoo, told reporters that he plans to write songs about the LGBT+ community to “support” others. (Instagram/@loveyouraquinas)
Aquinas also told SPOTV that he plans to write songs about the LGBT+ community in the future. The rapper debuted independently in 2020 and released his recent EP “It Doesn’t Matter” earlier this year. He said: “In the American pop market, a lot of stories about LGBT+ come out in songs.
“I also want to make a song like that and support them.”
Aquinas is one of a few openly LGBT+ celebrities in South Korea.
Although same-sex relationships are not generally criminalised, acceptance of LGBT+ people remains low in South Korea. Same-sex marriage is not legal, and there is a ban on same-sex relations in the military.
TV host and chef Hong Seok Cheon was the first – and previously only – major star to come out as gay since 2000. But last year, K-pop singer Kwon Do Woon came out as gay, saying the chef actually gave him the “courage” to live his truth.
Holland has been open about his sexuality since debuting in 2018 as the “first gay K-pop idol”. However, his first music video, which featured a same-sex kiss, was rated 19+ by regulators, meaning it wasn’t shown on national or cable TV in South Korea. Last year, Holland begged fans to “please admit that I’m gay” after a Twitter user ranked him 10th on a list of “gayest K-pop idols”.
In 2019, another K-pop singer, Som Hein, came out as a bisexual woman.
Trans representation is similarly scarce in Korea with actor and singer Harisu being the country’s most famous trans star. Earlier this year, Harisu shared that she doesn’t “get any damage” from transphobic online trolls because she’s “legally a woman so there’s nothing to be gained telling me I’m not a woman”.
