Minki Hong: I Smell Wedding Bells
A tale of two brothers – one straight, one gay – raising questions about marriage, intimacy, family, and queer existence in Korean society
A tale of two brothers – one straight, one gay – raising questions about marriage, intimacy, family, and queer existence in Korean society
2021 / single channel video / 39min 45 sec
Minki and his older brother began dating their respective partners around the same time — but even as his brother enters a framework of greater social stability by marrying his girlfriend, Minki and his foreigner boyfriend encounter only structural obstacles when it comes to visas and marriage. I Smell Wedding Bells sheds light on the endless search for alternatives that takes over the couple’s life, while also offering insight into the experience of straight family members with a queer relation of marriageable age and the resulting struggles LGBTQ individuals face around coming out and marriage.
About Minki Hong
Born in South Korea, Minki Hong lives and works in Seoul. Having produced award-winning new media art documenting gentrification and urban inequality in Seoul, he has recently turned his attention to making experimental documentaries that unearth the hidden histories of LGBTQ Koreans from the 1970s through the present day. Hong is a graduate of Seoul National University and is currently earning a master's degree at Korea National University of Arts.
Screened as part of Frieze Film at Frieze Seoul 2022
