404 Still Remain

2001 officially marked the beginning of the 21st century. At the time, South Korea seemed to be entering an open-minded era, with the appearance of Harisu on public broadcasting and the growing acceptance towards Japanese culture.But was it truly an open era? In reality, discourse surrounding the queer community remained limited, evidenced in the expulsion of Hong Seok-cheon. Meanwhile, political tensions between South Korea and Japan—such as Dokdo referring to it as a Japanese island in textbooks, and shrine visits—meant that fans of Japanese culture were subtly ostracized.