In this March 18, 2014 photo, Dr. Kim Seok-Kwun wears a mask before entering the operating room at Dong-A University Hospital in Busan, South Korea. Dr. Kim is a pioneer in slowly changing views on sexuality and gender in the country, where many have long considered even discussions of sexuality a taboo. As Dr. Kim begins what will be 11 hours of surgery meant to create a functioning penis for a Buddhist nun, he is well aware of the unease his work creates in this deeply conservative country. The devout Protestant known as the “father of South Korean transgender people” once wrestled with similar feelings. “I’ve decided to defy God’s will,” Kim said in an interview before the nun’s recent successful surgery to become a man. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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