A professional video gamer in South Korea has come out as bisexual.
Hyeon Hwang, known in the gaming world by the nickname EFFECT, is a player on the professional Overwatch team called the Dallas Fuel.
Recently, EFFECT posted to twitter, in his native language, that he’s bisexual.
Thanks to a separate account that translated EFFECT’s initial post, we have the following translation of EFFECT’s message.
“It is true that I am bisexual. I’ve been hiding it since young and never even showed a hint ot anyone except my family (even they got mad immediately). I finally putting down this burden after the hard time of hiding. Sorry for causing the confusion with such sudden announcement [sic].”
LGBTQ visibility is becoming more apparent in the gaming world of late.
Professional gamer Dominique McLean also came out earlier this year on Twitter. The world renown player, who also won the Best Esports Player Award at the 2018 Game Awards, proclaims that he is a black, gay furry who’s also the world’s best gamer.
In addition, video games themselves are becoming more LGBTQ inclusive with intense anticipation for upcoming games like The Last of Us Part 2. Until those games arrive, many indie games have filled the gap with LGBTQ centric stories. This includes games like Newfound Courage, Dream Daddy, Let’s Meat Adam, and more.
Visibility is also something that South Korea gravely needs. While LGBTQ people are living fairly peacefully in the country, excluding in the military, there is still religious-based opposition to them. While thousands showed up to celebrate the Seoul Queer Pride Parade this year, thousands more showed up to protest it.
That said, there is an increase in visibility with LGBTQ celebrities such as the first gay South Korean pop star named Holland who debuted late last year.
Now, EFFECT has joined the fray and created more representation for local and international fans.
