NEWS

K-pop singer Holland says he was called a “dirty gay” and physically assaulted

South Korean musician Holland said on social media that he was physically assaulted on a night out in Seoul.

Earlier today (May 6), the openly gay K-pop singer took to Twitter to share more about an incident that occurred the previous night, where he had been walking around the Itaewon district in the South Korean city of Seoul with a friend and his manager.

In his post, Holland claimed that he had been physically attacked by an unknown assailant. “Last night, I was walking around Itaewon with my manager and a friend,” he said. “Suddenly, a stranger man approached me and hit me on the face twice, calling me ‘a dirty gay’.”

The singer also attached two pictures of the bruises he received on his nose as a result of the attack. “Now I have a scar on my face and I’m going to the hospital soon,” he added.

In a follow-up tweet, Holland described the incident as “obviously a hate crime”. He added: “The fact that my sexuality as gay is public should never expose myself to this kind of violence. Nor any other LGBT+ and all elders, women and minorities in this world.”

In a second follow-up tweet, Holland confirmed that he has reported the incident to local police. “This should never happen to anybody in this world, no matter who you are. I wish our world is filled with more love and hope rather than hate and violence,” he wrote.

 

Holland is best known as one of South Korea’s first openly gay idols, since debuting in 2018 with the single ‘Neverland’. He’s since gone on to release a handful more singles that year, which have appeared on his eponymous album ‘Holland’ in 2019. His last music release was that same year with the single ‘Loved You Better’.