"So of course gay relationships in mainstream Korean works generally aren't text and are left to subtext. By insisting that the only legitimate queer representation is textual you are ignoring the possibility that the author intended the characters to be gay but chose to censor their work in order to find a wider audience."
Hyunjae and yoojin shippers is always so annoying. Like Oh, I hear this excuse every single day and let me tell you exactly what is actually going on, because it is almost NEVER just about censorship or fear alone. It is almost always about MONEY, and having it BOTH WAYS.
Like stop acting like that is the ONLY reason, or that it is always some poor helpless author being silenced against their will. 9 times out of 10, especially with huge popular series and especially a korean author like The S‑Classes That I Raised and so many others, it is a cold, calculated, extremely profitable business decision and you are being played.
Here is exactly how the scam works, and why they choose to leave it forever in subtext, never confirmed, never textual, never real:
They want OUR money and attention first: They write all the charged glances, the soft lines, the life‑or‑death devotion, the promises, the “I would burn the world for you” moments on purpose. They know exactly what it looks like. They know queer fans will immediately go “IT’S GAY”, make thousands of fanarts, write millions of words of fanfiction, trend it every week, buy every single volume, every art print, every figurine, every special edition, drive up the views and the sales numbers and the popularity to insane levels, and carry the whole fandom on our backs basically for free. Queer fans like you all keep on repeating are the engine that keeps so many of these series alive and rich and the authors and publishers know this perfectly well.
BUT they ALSO want the homophobic / casual / straight audience’s money too, and they do NOT want to lose a single one of them. This is the part you all keep ignoring. If they actually make it TEXTUAL if they kiss, if they say “I love you romantically”, if the author confirms it clearly out loud? Suddenly all the people who hate gay people, or who insist “it’s just brotherhood / just bromance / they’re like family”, or who simply refuse to engage with anything actually queer, will get mad, leave, review‑bomb, stop buying, call it “forced”, “political”, “ruined”. And publishers HATE losing customers. So what is the perfect, cowardly, win‑for‑them‑only solution? KEEP IT FOREVER AS SUBTEXT. Never say it. Never confirm it. Never make it undeniable. Leave it exactly in the middle. To US: “See?? All the moments are there! Of course I meant it gay! You’re not crazy! Keep supporting me! ” TO THEM: “What?? No! They’re just really close friends! Brothers in arms! You people see gay everywhere! It’s all in YOUR head!
They literally designed it so NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THEY WIN AND GET PAID AND WE GET NOTHING BUT CRUMBS AND HEADACHES. They get to profit off queer existence, queer labour, queer joy and queer money… while at the exact same time keeping homophobes perfectly comfortable and happy. They never have to take a real stance. They never risk anything. They never actually stand with us. They get to be “progressive enough” to collect our cash, and “safe and normal enough” to never be targeted by bigots. That is not censorship. That is EXPLOITATION. That is COWARDICE. That is QUEERBAITING, full stop.
"So of course gay relationships in mainstream Korean works generally aren't text and are left to subtext. By insisting that the only legitimate queer representation is textual you are ignoring the possibility that the author intended the characters to be gay but chose to censor their work in order to find a wider audience."
Hyunjae and yoojin shippers is always so annoying. Like Oh, I hear this excuse every single day and let me tell you exactly what is actually going on, because it is almost NEVER just about censorship or fear alone. It is almost always about MONEY, and having it BOTH WAYS.
Like stop acting like that is the ONLY reason, or that it is always some poor helpless author being silenced against their will. 9 times out of 10, especially with huge popular series and especially a korean author like The S‑Classes That I Raised and so many others, it is a cold, calculated, extremely profitable business decision and you are being played.
Here is exactly how the scam works, and why they choose to leave it forever in subtext, never confirmed, never textual, never real:
They want OUR money and attention first: They write all the charged glances, the soft lines, the life‑or‑death devotion, the promises, the “I would burn the world for you” moments on purpose. They know exactly what it looks like. They know queer fans will immediately go “IT’S GAY”, make thousands of fanarts, write millions of words of fanfiction, trend it every week, buy every single volume, every art print, every figurine, every special edition, drive up the views and the sales numbers and the popularity to insane levels, and carry the whole fandom on our backs basically for free. Queer fans like you all keep on repeating are the engine that keeps so many of these series alive and rich and the authors and publishers know this perfectly well.
BUT they ALSO want the homophobic / casual / straight audience’s money too, and they do NOT want to lose a single one of them. This is the part you all keep ignoring. If they actually make it TEXTUAL if they kiss, if they say “I love you romantically”, if the author confirms it clearly out loud? Suddenly all the people who hate gay people, or who insist “it’s just brotherhood / just bromance / they’re like family”, or who simply refuse to engage with anything actually queer, will get mad, leave, review‑bomb, stop buying, call it “forced”, “political”, “ruined”. And publishers HATE losing customers.
So what is the perfect, cowardly, win‑for‑them‑only solution? KEEP IT FOREVER AS SUBTEXT. Never say it. Never confirm it. Never make it undeniable. Leave it exactly in the middle.
To US: “See?? All the moments are there! Of course I meant it gay! You’re not crazy! Keep supporting me! ”
TO THEM: “What?? No! They’re just really close friends! Brothers in arms! You people see gay everywhere! It’s all in YOUR head!
They literally designed it so NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THEY WIN AND GET PAID AND WE GET NOTHING BUT CRUMBS AND HEADACHES. They get to profit off queer existence, queer labour, queer joy and queer money… while at the exact same time keeping homophobes perfectly comfortable and happy. They never have to take a real stance. They never risk anything. They never actually stand with us. They get to be “progressive enough” to collect our cash, and “safe and normal enough” to never be targeted by bigots. That is not censorship. That is EXPLOITATION. That is COWARDICE. That is QUEERBAITING, full stop.