Is Jo Kwon genderless? 2AM star speaks on LGBTQ issues in 2nd-gen K-pop
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: While idols, fans and TV programs love the queerbaiting culture of K-pop, when it comes to actual people of the LGBT+ community, the general public seems to not acknowledge them. With South Korea being a conservative country, they still have a long way to go regarding LGBT+ rights. Female idol Jiae shared that K-pop labels avoided her after coming out as bisexual while the first openly gay idol Holland is still to be accepted by the mainstream industry. But that hasn’t bothered 2AM’s Jo Kwon.
Back in 2020, when he turned heads for playing drag queen Jamie Campbell, the 2AM star had shared in an interview that he viewed himself as genderless. This led to some confusion among international fans who wondered if Jo Kwon meant non-binary and assigned him they/them pronouns. While gender pronouns don’t exist in the Korean language, Jo Kwon has now again clarified that he is genderless. While genderless comes under the category of non-binary, not all genderless people have preferred pronouns.
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Jo Kwon opens up about being genderless
In an interview, the 2AM member said he identified as genderless because he did not mind if people saw him as male or female. Jo Kwon opened up about the fears of being part of the LGBT+ community when he first rose to stardom during second-gen K-pop. He said, “Being genderless is my weapon. In the past, I was afraid of having a neutral image. If people said I looked like a girl, I would pretend that wasn’t true. But now, I’m okay with it. If people say I look like Choi Ji-woo or Taeyeon, I’m okay with it. I’ve come to accept who I am. I have a weapon that will help me keep on going for a long time, ahead of the genderless era.”
In 2009, Jo Kwon starred in the popular second-gen reality show ‘We Got Married’, where K-pop idols fake-marry each other and do missions as a couple. The idol had been paired up with Brown Eyed Girls’ Gain and had later claimed that he felt he had indeed married her which had led to fans shipping the two idols. Jo Kwon and Gain had also spoken up on the dating rumor that had continued in 2015 and how it had affected their friendship.
The show also affected Jo Kwon’s solo debut in 2012 to a degree as fans still viewed him as a cis-man conforming to the South Korean standards of what is masculine. The general public was shocked when the 2AM star channeled his inner Lady Gaga with heels, long hair, heavy makeup and androgynous outfits. Jo Kwon recalled that while his then CEO Bang PD accepted his concept and even brought him his first pair of heels, he said, “Kwon-ah, listen to your hyung. If you try to throw a curveball [drag concept] into a still lake [cookie-cutter K-Pop image], there will still be an impact. But it will take a long time.”
Despite his 2012 solo debut, being confident as genderless was only something he could do now when South Korea is slowly starting to accept the LGBT+ community. Jo Kwon commented, “When I was in my 20s, I lived in the eyes of others. Whether it was with 2AM, or on variety shows, I lived to satisfy other people’s eyes, not mine. I entered the third chapter of my life when I entered my 30s, and I was so thankful that I could now do what I wanted to, and tell my stories as Jo Kwon.”
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
