Identity, partnering patterns, and sexual behavior among gay and bisexual men in South Korea

This qualitative study investigates the different types of selecting sex partners by Korean homosexuals in terms of homosexual identity and sexual behavior. In-depth interviews of urban gays or bisexual men were conducted; the snowball sampled through a gay portal web site (n = 32). The results of coding the interviews based on the grounded theory approach identified three types of partnering: 1) gays who do not prefer anal intercourse, but pursue safe sex in long-term relationships with fixed partners; 2) those who have fixed partners and perform anal sex, a category into which both gays and bisexuals fall; and 3) those engaged in anal sex, but enjoy a concurrent sexual relationship without having fixed partners, which was common among bisexuals. People from the first type tended to select partners on the basis of the interpersonal sexual script, while the second and third types were affected by the community-level sexual script by engaging in small group activities online and offline. Despite the dominating conservative climate in Korea today, homosexuals select their partners in varied ways, yet, the in-community partnering remained consumptive. This suggests that there is a need for community-level capacity building programs designed to understand the changed pattern of partnering.