“I tell you / Someone will remember us / even in another time.” This three-line fragment of a poem is attributed to Sappho of Lesbos, a poet well-known for her wistful yet romantic musings on love. She is also the etymological origin of the term “sapphic,” and the more widely known “lesbian.” Sappho is a rare case of a historical figure that is widely agreed to have been part of the LGBTQ+ community. Historical figures, unless their sexualities are explicitly voiced, are often viewed through a lens of heteronormativity. Even considering shifting societal attitudes toward sexual orientation and gender expression, history yields proof that people have always been more complex than the comfortable binaries many believe in. Though not widely known or referenced, Korean history too features its own half-forgotten Sapphos, often mentioned only in passing but with enough consistent presence that they cannot be entirely overwritten — and when better than now to remember them? Warrior-poets of Silla Surviving records of Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) showcase a different set of norms
