Seven out of 10 young gay men in Korea hide their sexuality from their parents, a new study has found.

Seoul National University human ecology major Jo Nam-seok surveyed 103 gay men in their 20s and presented her findings on Tuesday (23 November).

Her study found that 68.9 percent of respondents had not come out to their parents for fear of disapproval, especially from their fathers.

Only 1 per cent said their father knew their sexual orientation, compared with 19.4 per cent of mothers.

Jo told the Korea Times that those who had come out to their parents were met with strong denial, dismissal or avoidance.

Of those, 75 per cent said they told them while 25 per cent said their parents learned from others.

Korea has no laws protecting LGBTI people and last week the National Assembly scrapped a gay rights bills.

Twenty-six of the 46 lawmakers who introduced the bill withdrew their support after a fierce backlash from Christian groups, which said it would ‘destroy the fundamental norms of society.’