LGBTQIA+ Equality South Korea Project #63816

Fighting against HIV/AIDS hate & stigma in S.Korea

by Community R

Fighting against HIV/AIDS hate & stigma in S.Korea

Project Report | Nov 11, 2025
Let's change the world with the stories of HIV

By So SungUk | Project Leader

Our organization held a human rights camp where people living with HIV could share their stories and offer support to one another. In Korean society, where the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS is severe, a safe space for communication without discrimination and without the need to hide one's HIV status is invaluable. Our organization holds a human rights camp every year to provide an opportunity for people living with HIV to freely reflect on and discuss their rights and human rights.

This year, we held a human rights camp specifically to discuss and reflect on the labor rights of people living with HIV, a topic that has been largely invisible in Korean society. We should not experience unfair treatment, discrimination, or dismissal because of our HIV status.

Because our organization was simultaneously conducting a survey on the working conditions of people living with HIV, we were able to share richer stories in that context. Our organization has now completed the survey phase and is conducting in-depth interviews with workers living with HIV.

In addition to the human rights camp, we also hold new member meetings and regular member meetings for those newly living with HIV, providing opportunities for people living with HIV to meet and share their stories.

As World AIDS Day approaches on December 1st, we are preparing various events and campaigns. We are preparing a campaign to share a message to the world through video by gathering the voices of people living with HIV and those who are not infected and are friends with them. We aim to show our ordinary lives connecting with people living with HIV in various ways and spread the message of welcoming and caring for people living with HIV. We are also planning a "Sound of Alpaca" event, where we can share our organization's activities and voice our support and advocacy for each other.

We are also preparing a citizens' declaration supporting the labor rights of people living with HIV. The declaration asserts that the right of people living with HIV to work safely and equally, without discrimination, is a universal right to work.

We are conducting a wide range of activities to raise awareness of the rights of people living with HIV, including networking for people living with HIV, research on labor rights for people living with HIV, and campaigns to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.

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Jul 15, 2025
Start talking about the right to work for people living with HIV!

By So SungUk | Project Leader

Start talking about the right to work for people living with HIV!

Our organization is conducting the first survey on the labor rights of people living with HIV in Korea. Previously, there was no survey on the labor rights of people living with HIV in Korean society. Through the survey that our organization started, we will confirm the labor conditions of people living with HIV, respond to the problem, and develop activities.

Meanwhile, our group is participating in Queer Pride parades held in various regions of Korea and conducting promotional activities to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and promote human rights. In particular, in line with the survey we have just started, we are focusing on the topic of the right to work for people living with HIV, and are spreading the message of welcoming our fellow workers and citizens living with HIV.

We recently held a talk event at the LGBT Human Rights Forum on the history of HIV/AIDS and the fight against hate. There were so many participants that there was not enough space to listen in on the topic of AIDS human rights. The interest and response from participants to this talk event was so good that we plan to plan and hold it again in a similar way in the future.

And we held a community event where people living with HIV could come together and talk about and organize the changes that are needed in our society. It was a place to talk about what changes are absolutely necessary to promote the human rights of people living with HIV in a rapidly changing political situation. The story about the sexual rights, labor rights, and health rights of people living with HIV was the key.

We are also preparing a human rights camp where people living with HIV can come together to meet, support, and communicate with each other. The human rights camp is the biggest community event we have held every year. It is a place where we can support and cheer each other on so that we do not feel lonely because we are living with HIV, so that we can restore our self-esteem, and so that we can stand as proud members of society as fellow citizens and fight against hatred and discrimination.

In a society where AIDS stigma is severe, our organization continues to fight without giving up so that the human rights of people living with HIV can be promoted without giving up their dignity. Recently, we have been counseling, working, and responding to the human rights of foreigners living with HIV who immigrate to Korea. We will not stop our activities so that the world we live in can be equal and safe.

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Mar 18, 2025
People Living with HIV Defending Democracy

By So SungUk | Project Leader

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