The Navy's in Town

[Guest fountainhall]

I had a bit of a ‘turn’ this afternoon. I swear my heart skipped several beats.

 

As I was sipping an espresso in Starbucks at the top of Sathorn, in walked four tall, slim handsome guys dressed in crisp white short-sleeved sailors’ shore dress.

 

I do wish more guys would wear white pants. Even when not tight-fitting, they are so much more revealing of the body shape than tight black jeans. I must have been gawking so much I nearly spilled what was left of my coffee!

 

At first I thought they might be Chinese as they were all carrying cameras and taking photos of the Starbucks Thailand mugs. Then I realised they were Korean. Forget the boy bands! Two of these guys were several notches above gorgeous on my pulchritude scale! I guess a Korean naval vessel must be docked at Sattahip Naval Base today.

 

I wonder if there have been any more ‘sightings’?

[Rogie]

You say they were Korean, I assume from the south. Just think what unseen treasures lurk up there in the north. I am sure the north's sad and bereft people would benefit from a few 'Boy Bands' to brighten their dull desolate days. One day in the future it would be nice to imagine the streets of Bangkok visited by sailors of all persuasions!

 

You did have your camera with you, . . . didn't you?

[Guest fountainhall]

Alas, no! Such an exciting encounter was not expected as I set out for a simple Starbucks coffee

[TotallyOz]

I remember back when I was in NYC and they would have Fleet Week and I always had a blast. We would go to all the bars and yes, even back then, there were hot Navy guys on Christopher Street.

 

My favorite military story was years ago in Pattaya. I was out with some friends when a Navy ship was in town. We went to a ladyboy bar and these ladyboys were beautiful. It was a small bar on the same soi as all the lady bars. No way would anyone know these were guys unless you knew the scene. There was one hot gentleman that I couldn't take my eyes off and he was wasted drunk. He kept trying to feel the pussy of the ladyboy but she was very good to move and move his hand. She did go down and give him a great blowjob, much to my delight.

 

I do not think he ever knew that this was not a lady. It was great to watch and as she wasn't doing this for money, I tipped her very well!

[Rogie]

. . . an exciting encounter was not expected . . .

. . . hot Navy guys on Christopher Street.

[Guest]

Sadly, google images did not come up with any interesting material when searching the term "south korea sailor".

[TotallyOz]

I will say the Korean guys on my plane and in the airport were hot! I could easily go for them.

 

FH, as you seem to know the area, are these guys are gay friendly as Thailand? I saw so many gay couples on the plane and in the airport but they were ALL very odd IMHO. That is, it was obvious one was very feminine and one was masculine. I mean really obvious. I saw it so many times. Why is that?

[Guest fountainhall]

Definitely not, alas! Unfortunately I am no expert on Korea because it's one country I visited a lot in the late '80s and early '90s but have only returned a couple of times since then.

 

Social and traditional factors mean that vast numbers of gays are in the closet and would not dare to come out. Religious factors, both Christian and Confucian, come into play with sex - i.e. girls are much less likely to have sex prior to marriage, and even discussion about sex remains taboo in much of the country. Believe or not, the Korean attitude to sex is even stricter than that in Victorian England - and that was bad enough! It's only within the last 10 years that the term homosexuality has been discussed with a degree of openness. There is now a small Gay Pride Parade in Seoul every year, but everyone wears masks. Few dare to show their faces.

 

So Korean men will often resort to prostitutes or other men. But for most it's purely a sex thing - not a relationship. Many Korean men seem effeminate. It's perfectly acceptable for men to old hands in public, to lie with their head on another man's shoulder on the train, etc. But owning up to a relationship with another guy whilst you are in Korea - that is still quite rare.

 

Those you saw on the plane may now live in America, or have been on holiday as a couple only to resort to their 'closet' lives on their return home.

 

This blog written last year by a gay South African teacher who works in Korea sums it all up rather nicely - and sadly -

 

Public discussion about homosexuality is still rare. Hardly anyone comes out publically. And when they do their lives are destroyed in such a way that they end up committing suicide. Last year a young actor killed himself after coming out turned out to be the worst thing he could have done. Threats, loss of work, family pressure and shame ultimately did him in.

http://www.news24.co...-Korea-20110128

[Guest thaiworthy]

There is now a small Gay Pride Parade in Seoul every year, but everyone wears masks. Few dare to show their faces.

 

I don't get this at all. Why have a pride parade if everyone wears masks? The whole point of having a parade is to make yourself visible, not the opposite. Is there some other theme to the parade besides gay pride? Hardly likely. It just seems to me that anyone who hides like that is just shaming himself utterly.

[Guest fountainhall]

WIth all respect, thaiworthy, that is a very westernised, educated viewpoint. I wonder if you had time to read the blog piece I posted? That goes more deeply into the issue of gays in South Korea. However hard it may be to believe, coming out - and being seen to come out - is something few gays are yet prepared to do. The very fact there is a Pride Parade at all is in fact a mark of progress.

 

And let's face it, look around Asia as a whole. Where do you see Gay Pride Parades? In Bangkok? Sorry, there isn't one. There was one some years ago, but it was established largely by the gay establishments in the "farang ghettos". It was badly organised, there was insufficient liaison with the local authorities, and it over-emphasised the commercial aspects of being gay. It died!

 

How about Hong Kong, arguably the most westernised territory in Asia? Well, even with a prominent legislator promoting gay rights, last year's Gay Pride march attracted all of 2,000 participants. How about Tokyo, with its 24 million plus inhabitants? Last month's Parade drew 2,500, according to media reports. India has a small one. Homophobic (legally speaking) Singapore does much better with 10,000 or so at its annual Pink Dot event. No Parade, note, because the government bans it. Merely an assembly in a park.

 

The only country whose citizens really celebrate Gay Pride with pride and passion and the one which attracts by far the most participants is Taiwan. In addition to several Marches in regional cities, the annual Taipei Parade draws in excess of 30,000 - an amazing number for Asia!

[Guest thaiworthy]

Yes, you're right. I had not read the article. I have now and it was very enlightening. I guess I just don't like parades then, because instinctively I want to say there should be no parade at all if everyone is going to just wear masks. To an outsider, it may look like a mixed message. But I think there has to be a first step and mebbe this is it. The part that hit home was this:

 

The stark difference between Korea and other places, including Uganda and South Africa is that in Korea gay people are shamed into killing themselves. Elsewhere it’s others who do it. And that’s a huge difference in terms of the gay rights movement, when you have been trained to hate yourself it’s hard to fight.

 

The part I liked the best is in the next two sentences:

 

But when you actually like yourself, no matter how bloody the fight, you keep going because you know the issue is not something that is fundamentally wrong with you. It’s others who have a problem.

 

I once covered a story for a gay parade in Long Beach, California in 1991 for a tv station I used to work at. It was elective. I used my own video camera and wrote the story. A first for me, as I had a much different job then, but I felt strong about this one and just wanted to see if the station would air it. They did!

 

Unfortunately it was edited by some pretty homophobic guys who had no intention of helping me communicate a positive message. While my narrative was relevant, the scenes they selected were silly shots of men acting campy and swishy and other scenes I would not have deemed as representing gay people in the best possible light. This may have been a factor as to why I responded to your post. If we can't get it right, I am afraid I might not want to see it at all. That piece aired continuously all day long.

 

So now I'm not sure if I'll ever like parades, masks or not, so sadly I may never get to see the one in Taiwan!