Rainbow Teen Safe Space

For three month( Mar, Apr, May 2016) we counseled 27 LGBTQ youths and their 43 cases. And we support 6LGBTQ youths in crisis providing food, daily necessities, medical services, counsellings and so on.

And we hosted DDingDong Lunch(Totobob) twice a month. 40 LGBTQ Youth visited Totobop and had lunch together. 

And we started DDingDing's own oureach programm we called it DDingDong Pocha(Korean Style Bar). We didn't sell anything but share for free like snacks, daily necessities and so on but no alchols. Last year we participated other organization's outreach program(Moving Youth Center EXIT). In that experience we have learned a lot about what outreach is. Then from last winter we prepared our own program. We visited some places as known as streets who are most visited by LGBT Youth and we searched and gathered information. Then we launched first outreach program on first Saturday night of April. Location is Chingusai office (Korea Gay Human Rights Group) in Jongno it's famous gay scene in Korea. 7th June now we held it three times

We stated #PRIDE_ON campaign, too. This year we have budget which is for outreach programm once a month but if we succeed this fundrasing campaign we can host DDingDong Pocha twice a month like DDingDong Lunch.

And DDingDong voluteers traing programm was finished and 10 volunteers started to help DDingDong Lunch and DDingDong Pocha and other programms.

For three month( Dec 2015, Jan/Feb 2016) we counseled 28 LGBTQ youths and their 72 cases. And we support 10 LGBTQ youths in crisis providing food, daily necessities, medical services, counsellings and so on.

And we hosted one more special DDingDong Lunch(Totobob) for Chistmas and that was last one in last year. We rebooted it February. In this year we will host this program twice a month.

And a transgender girl who’s name is Yeonhee visited us and she needed a urgent help in last week of november. She was beaten by her own father and some pastors who tried a conversion therapy to her. So we started fundraising progect on December and we supported her medical treatment, counselling and accommodation for 2 months.

And we asked other human rights organisations and churches to help ‘Yeonhee’. So ‘Movement against Conversion Therapy’ was formed on January. And it prepares legal counteraction about conversion therapy as a violation. As a first step ‘Yeonhee’ went to a trial about her father for statement of victim and we were with her. And we are going to sue a conversion therapy church.

And we held a fundraising party on 5th Dec 2015. We shared our story of 2015 with our regular domors and raised fund at the party.

With thankful heart

2016. 3

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In this year, DDing Dong counseled counseled 77 LGBTQ youths and their 191 cases. And we support 23 LGBTQ youths in crisis providing food, daily necessities, medical services, counsellings and so on.

And every Saturday we hosted 34 DDing Dong Lunch(Totobob) and Totobaob of 5th December was last one in this year. We will restart next year.

25th June

DDing Dong outreached in Sinrim Area with Moving Youth Center EXIT. DDing Dong Coordinators were used to just participate as volunteers usually but we co-hosted in 25th June with EXIT.

28th June

DDing Dong campaigned at the booth on Korea Queer Culture Festival. We sold some goods for fundraising, and asked visitors to donate. (Actually we sold up what we got) And we gave ice cream to every LGBTQ youth who visit us and add DDing Dong as a friend on SNS. We handed out more than 400 ice cream and more than 100 youths are became our SNS friends.

July

DDing Dong hosted a movie screening of “Misfits”, a documentary in English that depicts a similar situation of what Korean LGBTQ+ teens go through in Korea. DDing Dong believed that this would be an opportunity to present to the views what South Korea is like nowadays. Moreover, the LGBTQ+ teen center that appeared in the movie did and went through the same things that of DDing Dong, LGBTQ+ Teen Crisis Support Center. Therefore, DDing Dong would like to host this public screening with the organizer, Seoul Pride Film Festival (the former “Seoul LGBT Film Festival), and promoted to the public of DDing Dong’s involvement and necessity in South Korea.

- July 12th (Sun.) 5 P.M. / Myongdong Hyanglin Church / Total audience: 26

Interviewer: Bora Lim (Pastor, Sumdol Hyanglin Church)

Guest: Edhi Park (Coordinator, DDing Dong), Daniel Payne (Pastor, Open Door Metropolitan Community Church)

- July 18th (Sat.) 4 P.M. / Seoul Art Cinema (Seoul Theater) / Total audience: 86

Interviewer: Tari Nah (Researcher, The Korean Society of Law and Policy on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity)

Guest: Inseop Lee (Coordinator, DDing Dong), Na Rang (Editor, Feminism Journal Ilda), Seunghwan Kim (Programmer, Seoul Pride Film Festival)

- July 28th (Tue.) 7 P.M. / Seongbuk Local Theater / Total audience: 57

Interviewer: Youngshin Ahn (Activist, Fun Education SangSang)

Guset: Eunchan Ryu (Coordinator, DDing Dong), Mihye Byun (Activist, Moving Youth Center EXIT)

23rd August

DDing Dong went to Everland(Amusement Park) and had fun with LGBTQ youths. We provided time to relax and made a happy memory. 4 LGBTQ youths and 4 Coordinators shared many conversations.

14th September

DDing Dong went to a theater to see a play “the Pride” with LGBTQ youths. “The Pride” is an award winning British drama by Alexi Kaye Campbell that counterpoints two parallel love stories. Theater Company “Yeongeuk Yeoljon” supported 10 tickets for LBGTQ youths and activists. After watching this play LGBTQ youth discuss about the contents of it and gave their thoughts.

11th October

DDing Dong held a day camp. This day camp’s main theme was ‘Human Library’. We invited 8 ‘Human Books’ who are a MTF transgender web designer, a lesbian car mechanic, a lesbian naval officer, a bisexual female counsellor, a FTM transgender activist, a gay teacher, a gay airline steward and a gay poet. 18 LGBTQ youth, 4 coordinators and 6 volunteers joined this camp. 8 Human Books told their stories about their adolescence and job career. We provided job information and how to be a happy LGBTQ people with pride.

2nd November

DDing Dong Dream Project was launched. It is a project support a LGBTQ youth or a team who want to make a their own project like an exhibition, a class, an event and so on. Total 4 teams and individual were selected and DDing Dong sponsored certain amount of money.

Rainbow Teen Safe Space project Seventh letter for the donors

We have started up counselling and support activities for LGBTQ youth since Feb. after arranging Rainbow Teen Safe Space. A new log and name also was created. The new name for Rainbow Teen Safe Space is 'DDing Dong, LGBTQ Youth Crisis Support Center'. 'DDingDong' is the argot of showing of interest, which is used among teenager Lesbians as well as contains a meaning of welcoming LGBTQ with all our heart. We now are not able to run DDing Dong 24 hour-long cause its financial resources comes only from private donations without any governmental support but try to open 11 am to 9 pm on Tuesday through Saturday. Even where it is a little space, all LGBTQ adolescents coming to DDing Dong would have rest without being troubled by their sexuality. They can play a game, read comic books, take shower, or take a nap whenever they want. They as a welcome person and a respected existence do not need to read other people's countenance.

We are receiving a variety of counselling cases; some are considering whether to come out to a family or some are asking for a help after running away from home. It is so sad and pitiful that we cannot do everything for them but they always express their thanks to us for listening to their troubles and trying to come up with solutions together.

DDing Dong goes out to Shinlim-dong area in Seoul and progress street-counselling over night every Thursday. We have a plan to independently launch street-counselling from 2016, so the street outreach team is receiving an education from other youth organizations conducting street counselling. We also run off a social dining program on Saturdays. Food is prepared by a donor designated as a 'Today's Chef', and the program begins together with LGBTQ youth. Social Dining is the most favorite program to LGBTQ youth as they can participate without burdens, and it provides opportunities to communicate with one another.

Korean society has become more difficult for LGBTQ youth to live. Last Feb. the Ministry of Education has prepared 'Standards for In-school Sexual Education and issued the schools the instruction that prohibits sexual orientation and homoseuxal-related words and deletes the contents related to LGBT human rights. The Education Ministry says that the Standards does not contain homosexual-related contents because in terms of sexual value, homosexuality is not universally found in this society, and school education should uphold social, cultural, and religious value neutrality. Judging from this, it can be said that LGBTQ youth is deprived of a right to identify who he or she is through sex education. The adolescent to learn about 'equality' and 'respect' does not even know that LGBT friends are living around with them.

On June 28, there will be holding Korean Queer Parade in Korea. DDing Dong, Youth Crisis Support Center, will join the Parade and promote DDing Dong by meeting LGBTQ youth in person. However, it might be asked whether it is safely held. At the moment, the police does not approve an assembly notice of the Parade on the ground of the opposition of conservative Christians. The conservative Christian hangs on to their position to oppose the Queer Parade by ridiculous reason of the Parade does harm youth people and may spread AIDS, and says to block the Parade through praying.

It is a sad and aggravating reality. Every single day we witness how hard and difficult we as a sexual minority live in this society. Whenever LGBTQ youth people who are denied from their own family, and are not respected and recognized knock on DDing Dong's door, I feel relief, but on the other, I feel sad. For us, now it is time to move on. I am confident that more donors's attention and support will make DDing Dong more stable and much safer.

DDing Dong is a shelter as well as a playground, and is the only place to provide counselling and support. We invite all of you to become a reassured protector.

With thankful hearts,

2015. 6

Min-seok, Jeong Project Leader from Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea

Links:

• ddingdong homepage

Last September we threw a celebration party to address the start of Rainbow Teen Safe Space project and in order to keep our word as we provide a safe space for LGBT youth, we obtained a place (about 70m2) for Rainbow Teen Safe Space in Nov, which was excitement itself. To us, it is incredible to build our own place as a non-profit project without any supports from the government. We feel very delighted in getting ready to meet LGBT youth on the one hand and bit worried on the other hand. We still need more funds because of the rental deposit and the construction expense, though I trust more people would be supporting us with more contribution if our supportive activities and programmes for LGBT youth are widely known.

Even if the space is small, by dividing it adequately we prepared a kitchen to have a meal together, a bedroom for a nap, a shower room to wash up, a counselling room, and an Open Hall so that LGBT youth would participate in a variety of programmes and enjoy activities. The rooms are not spacious enough and we are not able to provide a 24-hour running comfortable shelter for lack of operating costs, though we hope LGBT youth to have delicious food and a rest even for a while

Now we have yet to decide on what form of organisation 'Rainbow Teen Safe Space' should aim for, what management method would be democratic and appropriate for us, and the working condition for standing activists. Thus, we formed a Preparatory Committee so that we would further discuss our vision and mission and the scope of activity in detail. The committee consisting of 11 members got things started in earnest to dress up the Rainbow Teen Safe Space project. The project has made a good start with passionate activists who we have met while participating in the LGBT human rights movement. Passion in the improvement of LGBT human rights and affection for LGBT youth bring all these people together and they share each others' ideas and stay up late to discuss them.

Opening ceremony was held on 23th Dec. Beomjun(Kidida) at the age of 20 who was a gay youth passed away committed suicide on Christmas Eve. He had suffered hatred remarks in the church and managed to endure a tough life but never lost his smile. It was the saddest Christmas day ever I remember. At his funeral gathered many people to memory him. Most of them at his age was too young to know sorrow and a friend's death. One year after his death, Rainbow Teen Safe Space is getting ready to fill in his vacancy.

The clock of LGBT human rights goes backwards in Korea now. The opponent disgorges hatred against LGBT people on the pretext of freedom of speech and also takes advantage of press and media. They only reveal their stubborn insistence without respect to democratic procedures. They keep repeating groundless slander; encouraging the youth to adopt homosexuality, human rights education teaching anal intercourse, and AIDS will spread out. What's even worse, Korean government appointed Pastor Choi, E-Woo as non-standing member of National Human Rights Commission, who has publicly denied homosexuals and opposed the enactment of Anti-Discrimination law. For his appointment, it is highly likely to revise National Human Rights Commission Act that only states anti-discrimination regulations against sexual orientation.

Under these circumstances, Rainbow Teen Safe Space move forwards like a flower in the middle of the mud. We sincerely hope you to take the initiative in the fund raising for Rainbow Teen Sage Space project that is being attempted for the first time. I trust that each of your contribution would be more strengthening us.

Yours fiathfully,

2015.2

Min-seok, Jeong Project Leader from Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea

Links:

• Korean website