While transparency is often lauded as a positive dimension of government, it has the potential to have a deleterious impact on marginalized communities. Through their SSRC-funded research, Timothy Gitzen and Wonkeun Chun examine the impact of South Korea’s extensive public health surveillance system and the government’s efforts to make private information public on the LGBT+ community. Though intended to ensure public trust during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government’s unprecedented sharing of information opened the doors for discrimination.
Timothy Gitzen
Timothy Gitzen is an anthropologist and postdoctoral fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at the University of Hong Kong. His research examines the intersection of national security and sexuality in South Korea through the lens of queer activism. His work has appeared in TSQ, Cultural Studies, and positions: asia critique.