Where Has K-Pop’s First LGBTQ+ Boy Group Gone?

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Lionesses made history as the first LGBTQ+ K-Pop boy group in the genre’s storied history.

Lionesses was originally made up of 4 members.

This is Damjun.

This is Foxman.

This is Kanghan.

This is Lee Marlang, the group’s maknae.

The group of 4 met while frequenting LGBTQ+ friendly places in South Korea. Over time, they bonded over their desire to make music that the LGBTQ+ community would resonate with. The members said they hope to “play the role of a lighthouse so that young LGBTQ people who dream of becoming musicians don’t miss their shot due to their fear.”

The group’s name was inspired by real-life lionesses. Damjun said that lionesses are the real rulers of the jungle, even though people think male lions run the jungle. He said, “We tend to think that the carnivore at the top of the food chain in the African ecosystem, which we often see through the media, is the male lion with the thick bushy mane. But the ruler of the plains is actually the lioness. It’s a group of lionesses in charge of the hunting of the troop.”

Lionesses said they plan to emphasize queer acceptance in their music. While they acknowledged that South Korea has progressed in terms of LGBTQ+ acceptance, Foxman said there’s still much work to be done. He said, “I think Korean society is still very conservative — although it’s much better than before — and I think our perspectives and perceptions will change more in the future.”

Lionesses acknowledged that there are other openly LGBTQ+ K-Pop idols, but they are the first boy group in which every single member is openly LGBTQ+ at the time of their debut.

Their debut single “Show Me Your Pride” was released in October 2021.

Since then, the group has continued to be active on social media and YouTube, releasing a steady stream of videos and music. While they debuted with four members, they have since downsized to three members as Foxman left the group for health reasons. The group had a comeback in June 2024 with their single “Like Christina taught me”.

Following this, the members started to focus on their solo promotions, with Malrang releasing a single “Take you to that moon”. However, fans complained the quality of the single wasn’t good, and thus the group removed the song from social media sites. The group celebrated their four year anniversary in November 2025.