Queer K-pop group QI.X wants to change South Korea

At a bar in Euljiro, one of Seoul’s up-and-coming hip neighborhoods, two voices intertwined in a duet. One was high-pitched, the other an octave lower.

But there was only one singer, a 27-year-old named jiGook. The other voice was a recording made years ago, before he began his transition and hormone therapy deepened his voice.

“I don’t want to forget about my old self,” he told the 50 or so people at the performance, a fundraiser for a group that supports young LGBTQ Koreans. “I love myself before I started hormone therapy, and I love myself as who I am now.”