Docuseries 'Just Family' highlights LGTBQ+ couples in Korea

Kim Kyu-jin, right, and Kim Sae-yeon are seen during their wedding in the Wavve docuseries "Just Family." The documentary explores the lives of two same-sex couples as they form a family in Korea. Courtesy of Wavve

By Lee Gyu-lee

• Published Jul 18, 2024 1:00 AM KST
• Updated Jul 18, 2024 7:15 PM KST

Getting married, becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child are all significant milestones, especially in modern Korean society, which is grappling with the world’s lowest total fertility rate. However, for Kim Kyu-jin and Kim Sae-yeon, the openly married lesbian couple who made headlines in Korea in 2019, achieving these milestones was far from easy.

When Kyu-jin became the country’s first openly gay woman to conceive last year, her pregnancy created a stir and sparked considerable controversy in a country where same-sex marriage is not legally recognized.

Wavve’s docuseries “Just Family” explores the lives of two same-sex couples: the pioneering Kim Kyu-jin and Kim Sae-yeon, along with a long-term gay YouTuber couple — Kim and Pack from the Mango Couple channel, to delve into their struggles and joys in creating a family, challenging traditional family norms through a portrayal of their everyday experiences.

“We thought that simply showing these people's existence as it is was meaningful (as a documentary). These people care for and love each other deeply, want to build a family and live with similar concerns just like any of us," the show’s chief producer Yim Ji-soo told The Korea Times at JTBC’s office in Mapo District, Seoul, Tuesday.

“However, due to the lack of institutional support, the rights we take for granted, like the air we breathe, are just dreams for them. People tend to make judgments on these issues without proper information or often fabricated or highly distorted and falsified images. So we aimed to offer a full picture that allows people to think for themselves.”

The five-part series “Just Family,” which premiered on June 28, follows Kim Kyu-jin’s journey from pregnancy to childbirth and her and Kim Sae-yeon’s new life as mothers. The series also features the lives of a dedicated Christian gay couple who have been together for a decade.

The series also broadens its perspective by featuring panels from diverse community segments — religious leaders, OB/GYN doctors, LGBTQ+, parents of LGBTQ+, foreigners and an ordinary four-person family — to watch the couples’ lives and share their thoughts on the experiences of sexual minorities in Korea.

Yim noted she intended to show a different perspective on same-sex family issues through these panels.

“There's a wide spectrum of typical views when it comes to how we look at sexual minorities. And on each end of the spectrum are the parents of sexual minorities and (conservative) religious leaders. When these different perspectives are presented side by side, there’s no one-sided argument. So we wanted to help viewers reflect and reevaluate on their own views (through them),” she said.

“(The panels) are also meant for delivering information. This is a very unfamiliar issue with their own queer terms. So we tried to explain these things through the panels. And, for example, we couldn't gather the story of Kyu-jin and Sae-yeon’s (estranged) parents in the show. So we brought the parents of other sexual minorities to speak on their behalf, making the show more empathetic."

“Just Family” adopts a bright and cheerful tone, featuring delightful scenes from Kyu-jin and Sae-yeon’s light-hearted gender reveal party, humorously dubbed "Conference on Korea's Low Birthrate," and capturing the affectionate interactions of Kim and Pack as they navigate their innovative path to family life.

Yim and the show’s producer Jeon Cheong-rim shared that they tried to prevent setting overly dramatic or sentimental tones in the couple’s lives, as much of the legacy media have done when portraying the LQBTQ+ community.

“I think the portrayal of hatred and attacks on queer individuals is often over-exaggerated, making it seem as though such condemnation is normal. Even though it is a matter of human rights, these negative portrayals are treated as natural and acceptable in Korean media, which I found to be very disconcerting,” Yim said.

“In reality, Kyu-jin and Sae-yeon have more concerns as working moms than as lesbians. They're members of our society just like any of us. So we tried to convey these aspects in an interesting way, hoping that viewers would perceive them as our everyday colleagues and neighbors, away from misrepresented images (that have been shown previously).”

Jeon noted that “Just Family” was designed to shift focus from the discrimination and prejudice faced by same-sex couples, with the goal of offering an unbiased and approachable depiction of their everyday experiences for viewers.

“When we closely observe these people’s reality, they are not consumed by hatred and sadness. They face more rejection and discrimination than others, but despite this, they still get on with their lives … Anyone can register marriage and a child's birth, but they can't. They're sad but they still need to raise their children and still need to go to church. These are the kinds of lives they lead,” she said.

“We didn’t think that just showing the hardships they face and all the hatred would provide a balanced view. Instead, we believed that a gentler approach could make their story more accessible and comforting for the public."

Despite their efforts, the producers revealed that they got a glimpse of the discrimination the couples face in society while working on the show.

“(The places we filmed) asked us to cover all their logos and declined the photos they agreed to use for marketing after learning about the couples. I’ve realized how our society is more uninhibited in expressing hatred, animosity and discrimination,” Yim said.

“It was very shocking, and when I came home afterward, I was so saddened. I thought, ‘They must feel this every day,’ and that made me empathize more. There were scenes during the production process that made my heart ache even more."

The show ends with pastors' and priests’ prayers for the newborn baby. The producers, who are Christians themselves, said that including this religious aspect was crucial for creating the show.

“This issue is a very contentious topic within Christianity right now. Rather than judging whether it’s a sin or not or demanding support for these people, I just wanted to throw a question. I wanted to ask: 'There are people living together like this, practicing their faith and attending church. Are they really committing sins every day?,’” Jeon said.

Yim added that the show aims to convey a message about embracing hatred within religious contexts.

“The love I learned from church does not include any form of hatred. But, there are attempts to justify hatred in the name of God or the Bible,” she said.

“Views on sexual minorities can vary, but it gives a message that we hope people would reconsider using religion as a justification for hatred toward sexual minorities."