Countdown: 6 days until KQTcon
Over a year ago, KQTcon's directors saw the need for LGBTQ* folx of Korean descent to convene as a community. While LGBTQ*-related topics have been gaining visibility in North America, among the Asian Pacific Islander (API) groups in the U.S., Koreans consistently rank as one of the lowest in LGBTQ* acceptance and awareness. We don't need statistics to confirm this: For some of us, we've lost loved ones; some of us privately struggle with internalized shame or isolation with our identities; some of us are out to our families; some of us are raising families of our own; and some of us are starting to navigate our Korean identities, LGBTQI* identities, or both.
KQTcon started with a vision: to transform the Korean-American environment into a welcoming community. Throughout the past seven months, we've been working hard to create the first convening that is inclusive of LGBTQI folx and all diasporic identities including adoptees, mixed-race, multigenerational and undocumented individuals. We’ve also been striving to achieve something that is rarely seen in the Korean-American community: a shared space with parents and guardians of LGBTQ children, faith leaders, and supporters in the Korean-American community. For the first time in the nation, we're empowering each other as a community.
We've come a long way: from ideation in 2017, to our barn raise in March and the nation’s first Korean queer trans* conference in six days. We're students, parents, caretakers, full-time workers, spouses, freelancers, dreamers, artists, friends, children of different generations and geographical locations with the shared dedication to seeing KQTcon a reality.
And we can't wait to celebrate the first KQTcon with you. See you next week!
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