Experiences of Placelessness: Rethinking Queer Economies and Everyday Exclusion in South Korea.

This paper explores queer placelessness in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA), South Korea. While recent studies reinterpret placelessness as a positive phenomenon, this research foregrounds the persistent struggles of queer residents navigating commercial districts that serve as both spaces of identification and exclusion. Drawing on interviews with 26 LGBTQIA+ participants of diverse gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicities, financial situations, and ages, this study reveals that while placelessness is a shared experience, its causes and dimensions vary. Using an intersectional approach, it confirms that gender and economic power shape these experiences in intersection with age and mental health. It argues that queer placelessness is not a transitional phase but a socially constructed, intersectional struggle constituting queer ontology. Examining Seoul’s gaybourhoods, the study highlights their role in rights projects while addressing their limitations. This perspective reassesses critiques of Euro-American gaybourhoods as neoliberal spaces, expanding discussions on queer economies.