Go Tae-Seob, better known by his stage name Holland, has been open about his sexuality since the beginning of his career, and made his debut with the song Neverland in 2018 as the "first homosexual K-pop idol."
In honour of Holland, the first country to legalise same-sex marriage, Go adopted the stage name Holland.
Last week, the South Korean musician revealed to his followers that he is dating and has a boyfriend in a clip from one of his recent live broadcasts on Twitter.
He captioned his video on Twitter, "so.. I have a boyfriend."
In the video, he repeatedly emphasised that he has a girlfriend before describing his sweetheart as "very gorgeous and kind, tall."
The K-pop superstar, on the other hand, remained tight-lipped about his boyfriend's name.
His fiancée, he clarified, is a "normal person," not a celebrity or idol in the entertainment industry.
In the video, he repeatedly emphasised that he has a girlfriend before describing his sweetheart as "very gorgeous and kind, tall."
The K-pop superstar, on the other hand, remained tight-lipped about his boyfriend's name. His fiancée, he clarified, is a "normal person," not a celebrity or idol in the entertainment industry.
Hollamd Ready For Marriage?
More importantly, the musician intimated that he and his current boyfriend were planning to tie the knot. He proclaimed, "I want to marry him."
so.. i have a boyfriend pic.twitter.com/K3HS62vvqQ — HOLLAND (@HOLLAND_vvv) March 24, 2022
By writing positive comments on the page, many admirers conveyed their love and support for the announcement.
Those who did not share Holland's affections, on the other hand, showed their dissatisfaction.
"Happy for you babe," before adding, a supporter stated, "but also lowkey wanna be the boyfriend."
While another person expressed their genuine opinion by saying,
"I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU, YOU DESERVE ALL THE LOVE AND HAPPINESS IN THIS WORLD."
On the other hand, South Korean artists are rarely seen coming out of the closet. Holland is an outlier, describing himself as "K-first pop's openly homosexual idol."
He even spoke with Gay Times in 2019 about Korea's present state of LGBTQ+ acceptance and stigma. He said,
"LGBTQ rights in Korea are still not very progressive in comparison to some other countries."
"Even the fact I debuted [as an openly gay singer] in Korea gained lots of attention here. I want to be a person of good influence by sharing my story and music with the public, and by interacting with fans."
When Did Holland Came Out?
Holland is largely considered to be the first openly gay K-Pop star. Although he came out to his friends while still in middle school, he kept his parents in the dark until he made his public debut in 2018. However, information spread rapidly, and he was constantly mocked for his sexuality.
According to SCMP, Holland told the Korean video channel Pran,
“When I decided to come out in [my] middle school days, I told one of my closest friends about being gay.”
“The next day everyone in school was gossiping about it.”
“There are not many celebrities in Korea who speak up for human rights.”
“I thought there’s got to be someone like me who discloses their sexual identity.”
He wanted to prove to the rest of the world, particularly his critics, that he was deserving of love.
Meanwhile, he saw that prominent figures who support and care about LGBTQ+ issues are hard to come by, so he decided to become one of them.
The musician thanked everyone by saying,
"I started writing songs and eventually was able to share my love stories/experiences with the public. My family accepts me and loves me for who I am. They know that it's not important what gender of a person I love."
Homosexuality & Homophobia In South Korea
#happypridemonth 🌈 pic.twitter.com/UHl0X123wu — HOLLAND (@HOLLAND_vvv) June 1, 2021
Holland is one of the few openly LGBT+ entertainers in South Korea. Not everyone is willing to talk about it, and even fewer are willing to accept it. People still have misconceptions about what homosexuality involves.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community are bullied mostly for this reason. Holland was also bullied at school for being gay. When Holland realised he was gay, he told his friends, who subsequently alerted the whole of the school, subjecting Holland to the most heinous abuse possible.
He was bullied for the following three years. He was assaulted by people he thought were his friends, who tied a rope around his neck and pulled him around the schoolyard while the other students laughed.
Holland tried to commit himself until a great friend reminded him that he was not alone. He finally got his act together and chose to speak up at that point.
Holland's early decision to be open about his sexuality prompted ire from his record company, which he eventually left in order to release the songs he wanted.
His first music video, which featured a same-gender kiss, was classified as 19+ by regulators, meaning it was not broadcast on national or cable television.
