‘What If My Family Found Out?’: Korea’s Coronavirus Tracking Unnerves Gay Community

Responding to fresh coronavirus outbreak, health officials have sought to track down thousands of Seoul clubgoers

South Korea held the world’s first major national election during the coronavirus pandemic. WSJ’s Andrew Jeong explains the election-day blueprint that allowed millions to head to the polls and how it could offer a road map for other countries. Photo illustration: Crystal Tai
By

Dasl Yoon

and

Timothy W. Martin

SEOUL—As he entered a nightclub here recently, John Choi subjected himself to the coronavirus protocol: He wore a face mask, got his temperature checked and grabbed a pen to jot down his information at the door. But when he glanced at the sign-in sheet, he saw celebrity names that he assumed to be fake.

His fellow clubgoers had reason to be coy: They were largely from South Korea’s LGBT community, where many still conceal that side of their identities from family and colleagues because they fear they will be stigmatized in...