It's K-Pop Week! Teen Vogue is exploring the popular music genre with articles that explore its origins, biggest stars, and intricacies.

In August, Korean singer Holland made several emotional, last-minute appearances at KCON L.A., a convention celebrating Korean music and culture. Everywhere he went, audiences filled with young people awaited him with urgency in their eyes. As one of only a handful of openly gay public figures in Korea, Holland is more than a musician. To his fans, Holland is hope, and, at KCON, his radiant positivity drew people to him like a beacon. Teenagers, shaking with emotion, approached him, and he opened his arms to embrace them, wipe away their tears, and offer guidance for dealing with unsupportive parents. At one meet-and-greet, where rainbow flags dotted the crowd, he demurely covered his face as 300 people chanted his name.

In South Korea, where same-sex unions are not legally recognized and sex between men is sometimes criminalized, Holland has chosen to live freely as one of the first openly gay K-pop idols. In doing so, he's creating a vital, magical world for others to also embrace their sexuality and find themselves in his music.

Holland at KCON LA in 2019. Courtesy of KCON

For the 23-year-old, making music was always “more about expressing identity” than about being a pop star, he says, but the unexpected success of his 2018 debut single “Neverland” made him one of South Korea’s most prominent LGBTQ+ figures practically overnight. Now, more than a year and a half later, he’s still grappling with what his bravery has come to mean to LGBTQ+ youth around the world.

“I’m still not used to thinking of myself as a role model for the LGBTQ+ community, and I’m a bit shy when asked what advice I’d give to teens struggling with their sexual identity,” Holland tells Teen Vogue through a translator. It’s 9 a.m. in a hotel suite 57 stories above downtown Los Angeles, and Holland is dressed in a chic black tunic with an asymmetrical neckline and matching trousers. A single silver earring dangles from his left lobe as he takes a seat on the couch, crossing his legs and draping his wrist elegantly over his knees. On social media, Holland sprinkles his posts with “bb,” “qt,” “lover,” and other adoring pet names for his fans. In person, he is just as affectionate. His demeanor is warm and bright, and he has an endearing way of communicating by physical touch, frequently offering up delicate hugs and holding hands while talking closely, even with strangers.