Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, why did he choose to die?
In SBS'I want to know that', broadcast on the 3rd, under the subtitle of'To You-The story left by the late Sergeant Byun Hee-soo', LGBTQ people including Sergeant Byun Hee-soo experienced discrimination and hatred on the earth. .
On March 3, the death of Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, who was forced to discharge after undergoing a sex change operation while serving in the military, was reported. It was only a year after being forced into war by the military, and many people were sorry for this.
Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, who was subjected to the military's forcible warfare last year, filed a personnel petition at the Army headquarters asking for a re-evaluation of the decision. Accordingly, the opinions of the public were strikingly opposed to the opinion that it is greed to continue military service after undergoing surgery at their own doctor during military service, and that the disposition of forced military service by the military is discrimination against sexual minorities.
Then, is Sergeant Byun Hee-soo's choice of becoming transgender? From one day, Sergeant Byun looked at her body and thought that she was hateful and ugly, and went to the hospital to find out that she was transgender. When Sergeant Byun Hee-soo found out that he was a male but transgender woman, he was already a sergeant of the ROK Army.
Most people know that it refers to those who have undergone sex reassignment surgery for transgender people, but in fact, only a few of the transgender people have had surgery, and everyone who has a different physical gender at birth and the sex they feel is called transgender, regardless of whether or not they have surgery.
And all transgender people said they wanted to live more ordinary than anyone else.
Also, to the question of whether he chose something unusual, he replied, "I didn't choose. If you don't live like this, you can't live, so it's just like this."
The transgender responding to the interview said, "People say that I chose it because I liked it, but it wasn't because I wanted to choose it. In fact, it was scary from that time when I decided that I was a transgender. My family and friends also hated me and seemed to be distant from me. It was like this because it could not be done," he said, creating a regret.
Most of the transgender people hide their lives until they reach adulthood, but in the case of Haneul, they live as ordinary men and even married until their mid-40s.
However, he is currently living as a transgender after surgery.
He pledged to live as a man all his life, but made this decision when he was reported as a sex offender.
"I was born as a man, but I couldn't go to the men's restroom because I thought I was a woman. I used the sparse women's restroom that day, but there was no medical certificate or hormone therapy, and someone reported me. Why did women's restrooms?" I asked if I went there, and I made my first official come out, saying, "I'm transgender."
With this incident, Haneul began to seek hormone therapy at a hospital and has reached now.
And this was a common occurrence for transgender people.
The gender discomfort experienced due to the different sexes of the body and mind, and some suffered and got sick with a feeling of disgust for themselves.
Hormonal therapy and transgender surgery are what is done to reduce this gender discomfort.
The expert explained, "hormone therapy and sex change surgery are only processes to relieve tremendous pain and stress. It's okay, but it's not about getting a better sense of satisfaction in everyday life."
And it was the same that Sergeant Byun Hee-soo decided to operate.
Sergeant Byun Hee-soo received hormonal therapy and overcame depression, but his gender discomfort did not decrease. Eventually, he was diagnosed with the need for surgical treatment from the Armed Forces Hospital's doctor and decided to operate.
Afterwards, Sergeant Byun Hee-soo left for Thailand after taking a long vacation for a month for a sex change operation in Thailand.
Accordingly, an acquaintance who was in the same chat room with Sergeant Byun Hee-soo said that his decision was very sudden.
In fact, it did not take a long time to decide and perform the operation.
Also, acquaintances in the chat room at the time held the operation of Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, who was especially a soldier, but said that he was unable to dry his thoughts.
In response, Sergeant Byun Hee-soo's colleague said, "I will push you to become the first female soldier to undergo a sex change operation in the military. That's why I decided to operate with the permission of my bosses."
In fact, long-term vacations only possible with the permission of the general manager
In particular, the senior sergeant Byun Hee-soo gave not only permission to leave for his surgery, but also support and support.
In fact, through the conversation between Sergeant Byun Hee-soo and their bosses, it was possible to get a glimpse of what the generals were thinking about his surgery.
In particular, the commander of the corps of the highest direct supervisor sent a direct e-mail to support and support him.
However, even the superiors who gave support and support in this way could not prevent Sergeant Byun's forced discharge.
Did the Ministry of Defense and the Army Headquarters have different thoughts, unlike the positive affiliated units?
In response, the reporters asked the Ministry of Defense and the Army Headquarters for an answer, but did not give a specific answer.
Instead, the military argued that the one-month vacation was only guaranteed for a vacation that the NCO could use, and that the military allowed only overseas travel, not surgery.
Sergeant Byun Hee-soo made a regrettable decision, who was forced to undergo military service and filed a lawsuit, but finally gave up hope that he could return to the military.
His acquaintance said, "On February 27th, he sent a message stating that he was depressed, saying,'I think this will be my last attempt'. At that time, it would be nice if I had reported it, but it was my fault for not doing that."
Sergeant Byun Hee-soo's social media had a post called'the last courage' at the time that an acquaintance revealed.
And the day after he delivered these writings and messages, the 28th was his short-term campaign date.
In response, the secretary general of the Military Human Rights Center said, "That would have been the biggest factor." From the start, even if he wins, it is confirmed that he will not be able to return to his job.” He speculated the reason why he had to make an extreme choice.
In fact, about Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, who was so depressed as February came, the people around him said, "I don't know why I didn't notice. There were several suicide attempts. I was so anxious enough to carry a self-defense gun. I was so depressed that I would not be able to return to work." I did," he explained.
The secretary general of the Military Human Rights Center said, "The military is also a job. Normally, it gives you a preparation period. You have to prepare for a job change, and you have to find a residence." It's very rare. Byun Hee-soo made a decision not to put foot in the military."
The reporter added that it was regrettable that Sergeant Byun Hee-soo had a press conference at the time because of the betrayal he had, who loved the military so much.
Why couldn't the military accept Byeonhasa?
According to the document, according to the military's personnel rules, testicular defects and penis loss are all reasons for mental and physical disability, and Sergeant Byun Hee-soo is deliberate and has no choice but to be dismissed.
Thus, the lawyer said, "The reason for the judgment as a physical disorder is genital amputation. However, in the case of treatment purposes, it is a question of whether it can be interpreted in the same way as general genital amputation and self-harm behavior."
In addition, the specialist explained that it is unfair to view Sergeant Byun Hee-soo's genital mutilation as intentional damage, saying, "It is impossible to deal with intentional damage to the body in a hospital. It is a category of medically recognized treatment."
In December, the National Human Rights Commission recommended that the dismissal of Mr. Byeon was unfair and that it should be canceled.
However, afterwards, the military reported that the female army was opposed to Sergeant Byeon's service, claimed the inconvenience and fairness that the female military would suffer, and expressed the position that they could not serve in the female military.
However, Byun Hee-soo's colleague said, "The female military did not oppose it. The female military supported it and told him to come quickly."
In addition, it is ironic that neither the officials of the Military Human Rights Center nor the women's toilets are properly equipped to worry about the inconvenience of women.
The broadcast gathered various people to discuss what kinds of ideas other than Sergeant Byun Hee-soo's acquaintances had.
Also, various opinions were raised and attracted attention.
And an acquaintance of Sergeant Byun Hee-soo responded to some opinions on whether it would be necessary to re-enlist as a female military, "You cannot re-enlist as a female military. Females can only be enlisted if their reproductive function is normal. Not knowing that, it was a dilemma." Explained.
According to the military, it was the military principle that currently transgender people cannot become active duty soldiers or executives regardless of whether they have surgery or not.
An official from the Military Manpower Administration explained, "If it is judged that even though treatment for more than 6 months due to gender disagreement, there are some symptoms that interfere with military service, it is possible to dispose of Class 5 as a wartime worker."
Are transgender people unsuitable for military service?
The U.S. Department of Defense commissioned a research institute to investigate and said that the results of the investigation had no problem at all.
He also said that even the American generals who lead them respected their desire to serve, saying they had no problems.
However, the South Korean military has put forward a position that transgender people's military service requires social consensus and the formation of public consensus.
Korea has been able to correct gender without lawsuits if certain requirements have been met since 2006.
However, due to lack of understanding of transgender people at the time, whether or not the appearance of the body, including the external genitalia, was changed to the opposite sex, and the loss of fertility, which included the requirement for gender correction, raised doubts.
As a result, Lee Han-gyul was rejected in Seoul and recognized in Gunsan because he did not undergo penis reconstruction, which is called the male period.
At that time, the judge of Gunsan judged that "the applicant himself is already living as a male enough, but it was an unreasonable demand of the state to require this."
Regarding genital reconstruction, an expert pointed out the reality that surgery cannot be easily performed, saying, "Complications are high. The urethra is blocked or the urethra is not functioning properly, so there is a possibility of living with pain for a lifetime."
Due to these requirements, there were cases in which the judges were unreasonable in requesting gender correction.
They asked the court staff to check the genital organs in person, take pictures and send them.
In order to increase the possibility of gender correction due to such a problem, it is advantageous to apply after surgery, but there are few places to operate in Korea, and because it is treated as plastic surgery, there is no insurance coverage. .
As a result, some of them even received loans through lenders and operated on them, but because they are LGBTQ, it is difficult to get a job, and another problem arises.
Sergeant Byun Hee-soo also received a loan and performed surgery.
As a result, an acquaintance said that he seemed to have received a loan with the belief that he would not be forced to fight in the military.
However, after being forced to discharge, he tried to do anything to pay off the loan, but because he was known to be transgender, he was not welcome anywhere, and it turned out that he was unable to even work at a convenience store.
And this fact was conjectured through the articles he earnestly wishes for a job on social media.
Accordingly, Sergeant Byun Hee-soo is known to have even prepared a business with an acquaintance.
Among LGBTQ people, not only Sergeant Byun Hee-soo, but also many of them gave up their own lives.
In response, one transgender said, "We have no scholarships, and where we meet after a long time is always a funeral."
Another said, "There is no dying. After surgery, people die of complications, sepsis, or die during surgery. Minorities like us think that the end of life is suicide."
In fact, a survey revealed that sexual minorities think more than 19 times more about suicide than the general population and try to do so more than 10 times more.
Lee Han-gyul said that he had thought of committing suicide because he felt that he was not confident of living in a country that is said to be for the people and pours out unstoppable hatred toward the people.
In fact, in many parts of our country, hatred and discrimination against LGBTI people was casual.
And the reason why he takes discrimination for granted and not ashamed of ignorance was because he thought he had nothing to do with him.
So how do people react when they know that there are LGBT people around them?
Accordingly, the production crew discussed and joined the transgender people in the previous discussion, and then checked what changes would occur before and after knowing about their existence.
In response, participants in the debate expressed their usual thoughts about LGBT people, such as, "I should be equal but not give me benefits, I respect LGBT people, but I cannot force others to respect them."
However, the sudden coming-out of the three transgender people surprised and perplexed the debaters.
One debater asked a transgender if he had never regretted it.
The transgender frankly said, "There was no area to regret. This is not a matter of my choice."
Debaters who first heard stories of LGBTQ people.
They revealed their changed mindset, saying, "After discussing, I met a change of mind saying that I was wrong."
Another person said, "I was honestly opposed to it. But when I heard the story, I thought that I could choose death as well."
It was their parents who knew best that their minds could change the moment they knew that LGBT people were next to me.
At first, a mother who had blamed herself said, "I cried to the doctor asking how to live. But the doctor said,'If the child cannot live the life he wants, he will die in the end.' It seemed like he had a big stone in his head. Rather than dying. I thought it would be better to live," he said. He said he now sees his children as one person, not as a son or daughter.
Another parent also said, "It is not a problem that can be changed, not a problem that can be solved by trying. It was a question of whether to die or live. First of all, it was a mind to save the child," he said about the reason for accepting the child.
And they began to speak up against the hatred and prejudice that children face.
However, most of them were still neglected by their families.
For such people, society had to convey hope and comfort instead of hatred and prejudice.
Therefore, it was necessary to enact an anti-discrimination law above all else.
However, this law has been the most discriminated against in the past 14 years and has been wandering through the National Assembly.
In response, a member of the National Assembly said, "Because the political life of the party has been prioritized, the law has not been enacted. Because the problem of discrimination is related to a problem that violates the basic rights of the people, this is an uncompromising right. It should be dealt with,” he stressed that the anti-discrimination law should be enacted.
However, those who always insist on national and social consensus.
However, 91.1% of the people already thought that I could be discriminated against or become a minority.
In addition, more than half of those who thought it was necessary to enact an anti-discrimination law.
This was already a social consensus.
One expert said, "It seems that the death of Sergeant Byun Hee-soo does not end with acknowledging that a transgender person has changed sex, but it seems to have thrown a message that a social system that can protect social status, position, and professional values is also necessary."
He also emphasized on this issue, "If the government takes responsibility and does not solve the problem, the human rights issue will not be solved. The human rights issue does not go to social consensus, it is something that must be observed."
Lastly, the broadcast said that the society that LGBTI people really want is not a society that supports and supports LGBT people, but a society that does not use the title of LGBTQ people, and a society that treats people as you, not gender or appearance. He said it would be the country he wanted to live in.
(SBS Entertainment News Editor Kim Hyo-jeong)