How a native of Seoul found Korea in Brazil

When I had boarded the plane to Brazil early in the summer of 2014, my stomach fluttered as I tried to hold in my excitement. While everyone else on the plane was buzzing with World Cup frenzy, I was traveling on my own to work with the “Proteja o Gol” (Protect the Goal), a joint program between UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS) and UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund).

At age sixteen, I understood that there would be strong differences between my Korean culture and that of Brazil in addition to a relatively significant age gap between my co-workers and me, but I resolved that I would not let my background or age prevent me in aiding the program. I thought my days would be all suits and ties and learning about spreadsheets, but as I made my way to  Igualdade’s (Organization for Transsexual/Transgender Rights in Brazil) in Rio de Janeiro, I knew that this journey was going to resemble anything of a cubicle life.

Igualdade was a transsexual/transgender rights group in Rio led by the president Marcelly Malta Dos Santos. She is not only a fervent supporter of transgender and transsexual rights in Brazil, but also an advocate of other marginalized groups such as that of homosexual inmates in prison. The Igualdade office itself was something completely out of a movie; the whole room was decorated with vibrant colors and the walls were plastered with photos of Marcelly proudly posing with the members or leaders of different local activist groups. I was pleasantly surprised that her office also comprised of a small section that Marcelly called the Gallery. Its bright, vivid colors and the sheer beauty of the costumes and props that Marcelly’s group used for its past festivals and carnivals were more than enough to captivate me. I talked to Marcelly and her coworkers about my experiences in Korea: my involvement in HIV/AIDS patients rights group, the history and works of Igualdade, and the Brazilian ONU’s Proteja o Gol were some of the topics we talked about.

The meeting ended with Marcelly taking a photo of us (which she immediately posted on her wall) and kisses on each other’s cheeks. This was the point where my respect and admiration for Marcelly and her work transformed into a newfound inspiration. Earlier on during the conversation, while Marcelly’s stories were truly powerful and moving, I found it hard to make an emotional connection with her. Her background, the cultural context that she was in, her organization, her visions, her goals, and Marcelly herself were too distant from who I am and what I do. She was a Brazilian while I was a Korean. She fought for trans rights while I fought for HIV/AIDS patients’ rights. She was more vibrant while I was more composed.

Most importantly, I did not feel that I was a force to be reckoned with at the same level as Marcelly; the difference between the scales of her organizational achievements and my small group in Korea felt like an impenetrable wall that I could never overcome. My natural response to such striking differences was a rather distant and aloof sense of respect and admiration. The same time of respect one feels towards a heroic firefighter on  the newspaper: True and sincere respect, but fleeting. However, what I believed to be such a fleeting experience turned into what was not just one of the most memorable events in Brazil, but a moment of inspiration and enlightenment that I still carry today. When I saw Marcelly being truly delighted by our companionship and expressing her feelings towards earning an ally from a different country, I saw how foolish it was for me to focus on the differences between us.

What was truly important to Marcelly was the fact that both of us were fighting for something that is looked down upon by the mainstream society in our respective communities. After boarding the plane back to Brasilia, I fell asleep watching the video of Marcelly discussing the issues surrounding homosexual inmates in Brazil (which was one of the many materials she gave to me before I left Rio). Even as I drifted into sleep among the clouds, I was surprised by how Brazil was not very different from Korea. I could see how in both Korea and Brazil, there was a universal struggle to survive and thrive that could be found in the richest neighborhoods in Brasilia and the favela at Rocinha. Floating above Brazil, I was reminded of the universality of human life.

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