LGBTQIA+ Equality South Korea Project #63816

Fighting against HIV/AIDS hate & stigma in S.Korea

by Community R

Fighting against HIV/AIDS hate & stigma in S.Korea

Project Report | Mar 9, 2026
A world where people with HIV live as neighbors

By So SungUk | Project Leader

To mark World AIDS Day, our organization issued a statement on the equal work rights of workers living with HIV.

"Having HIV is not related to the ability to perform work, and the responsibility for creating a safe work environment and preventing infectious diseases should not be shifted to individual people living with HIV. Therefore, we must question the "healthy body" and "normality" that society and companies impose on workers. A workplace where workers with disabilities, illnesses, or impairments can work safely without discrimination is a safe workplace for all workers.

All misinformation, prejudice, and stigma that threaten the labor rights of people living with HIV must be eliminated. The right to work safely and equally without discrimination, which should be a given for all citizens, must also be guaranteed to workers living with HIV. Let's work together toward a society where the labor rights of people living with HIV are fully guaranteed.

A society where the National Assembly and the government consider and implement policies to promote the labor and human rights of people living with HIV.
A society where businesses and employers do not unfairly treat or fire workers solely based on their HIV status.
A society where HIV testing is not conducted without the consent of all HIV-positive workers, including migrant workers, and where the results are illegally withheld from employers.
A society where workers can access medical care promptly and have their right to health fully guaranteed.
A society where people with illness, disabilities, illnesses, or impairments can work safely and equally without discrimination.
A society where people do not experience discrimination or hatred based on their HIV status.

Let us fight AIDS stigma and discrimination together. Promoting the human rights of people living with HIV is the shortcut to HIV prevention, and guaranteeing the right to work without discrimination and equal access for people living with HIV promotes the right to work for everyone."

Dozens of organizations and hundreds of individuals have joined us in this statement.

And, referring to Korea's AIDS history over the past 40 years, our group, along with other solidarity groups, issued a message that the core problem is not the disease, but hate.

"In Korean society, what hurts people with HIV is not the disease itself, but the aversion to the disease and the stigma attached to it. The anxiety and fear surrounding the lives of those with HIV stem not from science, but from inaccurate information and malicious discrimination.

Today, as we mark the 40th anniversary of HIV in Korea, we propose abandoning the language of fear, morality, and norms. Let us listen to scientific facts, not manufactured fears. Let us consider solidarity and coexistence, not hatred. People living with HIV are our neighbors, fellow citizens, and friends.

We urge the Korean government to design policies based on scientific facts and transition to a public health system that places the human rights of people living with HIV at the center. We urge health authorities to cease negative and inaccurate publicity about HIV/AIDS based on moral norms and outdated prejudices, and to boldly provide accurate information and human rights-centered campaigns that meet international standards.

People living with HIV are, like everyone else, fellow human beings, and they already live alongside us as neighbors, family, and friends. We desire a society where all people living with HIV can live healthy lives, have sex without fear, and age with dignity. The HIV/AIDS human rights movement has been working to create a society where people living with HIV can live without discrimination and prejudice. Let's support and affirm the lives of people living with HIV together for an equal society."

My friend is HIV positive

We also produced a campaign video introducing a friend living with HIV. This video aims to convey the message that living with people living with HIV as neighbors, friends, and members of society is not difficult, but crucial.

Additionally, our organization has produced an activity sharing video that visually demonstrates how well our organization has carried out its activities over the past year.

2025 Activity Video

Our organization is currently compiling and analyzing the results of a survey on the labor conditions of people living with HIV, conducted throughout 2025. We plan to prepare a report on the results and, based on this data, conduct various activities throughout the year to ensure the labor rights of people living with HIV.

Links:

News article supporting the labor rights of people with HIV

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Nov 11, 2025
Let's change the world with the stories of HIV

By So SungUk | Project Leader

Our organization held a human rights camp where people living with HIV could share their stories and offer support to one another. In Korean society, where the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS is severe, a safe space for communication without discrimination and without the need to hide one's HIV status is invaluable. Our organization holds a human rights camp every year to provide an opportunity for people living with HIV to freely reflect on and discuss their rights and human rights.

This year, we held a human rights camp specifically to discuss and reflect on the labor rights of people living with HIV, a topic that has been largely invisible in Korean society. We should not experience unfair treatment, discrimination, or dismissal because of our HIV status.

Because our organization was simultaneously conducting a survey on the working conditions of people living with HIV, we were able to share richer stories in that context. Our organization has now completed the survey phase and is conducting in-depth interviews with workers living with HIV.

In addition to the human rights camp, we also hold new member meetings and regular member meetings for those newly living with HIV, providing opportunities for people living with HIV to meet and share their stories.

As World AIDS Day approaches on December 1st, we are preparing various events and campaigns. We are preparing a campaign to share a message to the world through video by gathering the voices of people living with HIV and those who are not infected and are friends with them. We aim to show our ordinary lives connecting with people living with HIV in various ways and spread the message of welcoming and caring for people living with HIV. We are also planning a "Sound of Alpaca" event, where we can share our organization's activities and voice our support and advocacy for each other.

We are also preparing a citizens' declaration supporting the labor rights of people living with HIV. The declaration asserts that the right of people living with HIV to work safely and equally, without discrimination, is a universal right to work.

We are conducting a wide range of activities to raise awareness of the rights of people living with HIV, including networking for people living with HIV, research on labor rights for people living with HIV, and campaigns to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.

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Jul 15, 2025
Start talking about the right to work for people living with HIV!

By So SungUk | Project Leader

Start talking about the right to work for people living with HIV!

Our organization is conducting the first survey on the labor rights of people living with HIV in Korea. Previously, there was no survey on the labor rights of people living with HIV in Korean society. Through the survey that our organization started, we will confirm the labor conditions of people living with HIV, respond to the problem, and develop activities.

Meanwhile, our group is participating in Queer Pride parades held in various regions of Korea and conducting promotional activities to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and promote human rights. In particular, in line with the survey we have just started, we are focusing on the topic of the right to work for people living with HIV, and are spreading the message of welcoming our fellow workers and citizens living with HIV.

We recently held a talk event at the LGBT Human Rights Forum on the history of HIV/AIDS and the fight against hate. There were so many participants that there was not enough space to listen in on the topic of AIDS human rights. The interest and response from participants to this talk event was so good that we plan to plan and hold it again in a similar way in the future.

And we held a community event where people living with HIV could come together and talk about and organize the changes that are needed in our society. It was a place to talk about what changes are absolutely necessary to promote the human rights of people living with HIV in a rapidly changing political situation. The story about the sexual rights, labor rights, and health rights of people living with HIV was the key.

We are also preparing a human rights camp where people living with HIV can come together to meet, support, and communicate with each other. The human rights camp is the biggest community event we have held every year. It is a place where we can support and cheer each other on so that we do not feel lonely because we are living with HIV, so that we can restore our self-esteem, and so that we can stand as proud members of society as fellow citizens and fight against hatred and discrimination.

In a society where AIDS stigma is severe, our organization continues to fight without giving up so that the human rights of people living with HIV can be promoted without giving up their dignity. Recently, we have been counseling, working, and responding to the human rights of foreigners living with HIV who immigrate to Korea. We will not stop our activities so that the world we live in can be equal and safe.

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