Queer Joy in Conversation: HA:N UMC

Rev. Sulkiro Song, pastor of HA:N United Methodist Church, joins congregants Lia and Paul in a conversation about their faith, their experiences with the Korean American church, and their journeys in navigating what can often feel like an interstitial space between queer identity and Christianity.

Lia, who had heard of HA:N through a queer Christian fellowship, remarks how the idea of a church that was at once “Korean American and queer-affirming progressive” felt so foreign (like “oil and water”) because she had seen how both the Korean immigrant and Christian communities condemned queer voices—the church, as they knew it, could operate with a punitive ethos of dogma and hierarchy, where stratifications present across Korean and Christian circles fed and exacerbated one another.

Against this backdrop of the “Korean American church,” HA:N was, for many, “a big exhale.” As Paul put it, “It just felt really nice not to be, in a negative way and a positive way, the ‘special’ one”—a space of fellowship where congregants could work together to unburden themselves of religious traumas imparted by the church itself. In practicing their faith through a radically critical and empathetic lens—contextualizing its history, challenging existing biases—HA:N increases room for worshippers to witness both interpersonal and divine love, building a congregation that refuses to separate identity from divinity, and where worship is grounded in honesty, healing, and care.

🌈 Queer Joy In Conversation invites audiences to sit in on intimate, interpersonal interviews with folks from the Korean American queer and trans community as they reflect upon the unique and shared journeys of finding queer joy in their lives. The second part to KAS’ Queer Joy series, this project aims to highlight the diverse, dynamic, and intersecting identities of the Korean American community; destigmatizing conversations around sexuality and gender. ❤️

Funding for this special Legacy Project series was made possible by The Reva and David Logan Foundation.