Organizers estimated that 130,000 people participated… U.S. Ambassador to Korea Goldberg also remarks in solidarity
Crowded with people all over the city for Chobok… protest against dog eating
The 23rd Seoul Queer Culture Festival, a festival for sexual minorities, was held on the 16th at Seoul Plaza for the first time in three years.
For the past two years due to COVID-19, the event has been held online, but as social distancing is relaxed this year, the festival is held again on site.
This year’s slogan is ‘Let’s live, let’s be together, let’s move forward’.
Yang Seon-woo, chairman of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival organizing committee, who organized the festival for the first time in three years, said, “LGBTI people have been living more lonely and isolated lives since Corona 19.”
He also said, “(With traffic control), citizens have one day of inconvenience, but LGBTQ people have been living in discomfort and cramping for 364 days except for this day.”
At Seoul Plaza, 72 booths of various organizations and organizations were installed to express solidarity with LGBT people and to raise people’s awareness.
Domestic human rights groups, LGBTQ clubs, embassies of major countries such as Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States, as well as religious groups, set up booths.
Progressive parties, labor and civil society groups, and companies such as IKEA Korea also participated.
Festival participants gathered one after another before 11 am, the start of the booth event, to receive face painting or participate in social networking service (SNS) certification events.
Park Seon-min (21), who went to Seoul from Gwangju, Jeolla-do to participate in the event, said, “Because of Corona, the Queer Parade has not been held, so I am only participating this time. ‘ he laughed.
Kim Hyang-gi (26), who also introduced herself as a sexual minority, held up a hand sign with a poem of criticism written in the name of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
This is a criticism of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s decision to inspect and guide the queer parade participants on their wearing masks, and to check the contents of harmful media for adolescents and overexposure of their bodies to collect evidence.
Kim said, “The idea that a performance like Psy’s drenched show does not regulate attire or masks and only wears clothes for sexual minority events reminds me of the mini-skirt regulations of the dictatorship of the past.” has been made,” he said.
Support and solidarity remarks from US Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg, as well as ambassadors from various countries such as Europe and Oceania followed.
“We will fight with you for human rights,” Goldberg said, while New Zealand’s ambassador Philip Turner, who took the stage with his same-sex spouse, said: “Everyone, including sexual orientation, should be able to live a free life.” sent.
After the stage event was over, at 4:30 pm, the highlight of the festival, the parade, started.
The participants walked a total of 3.8 km from Seoul Plaza, passing through the entrance to Euljiro and Jonggak Station, and then reaching Seoul Plaza again.
Although it rained at the same time, the attendees did not care and continued the march waving rainbow flags that symbolize sexual minorities.
However, the celebratory performances, support remarks, and closing events originally scheduled after the parade were canceled due to rain.
Police estimated the number of people participating in the parade at about 14,000.
The organizers estimated the number of people who participated in all events on the day at 135,000.
Protests against queer festivals by Christian and conservative groups were held at Daehanmun Gate opposite Seoul Plaza and in front of the Seoul City Council.
An estimated 15,000 protesters condemned Mayor Oh Se-hoon for allowing the festival to be held in Seoul Plaza and shouted slogans against the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act.
Police deployed 58 companies to prepare for possible clashes between protesters on both sides.
Although there were occasional quarrels between the protesters and those who were walking toward the festival, it did not lead to a physical clash.
The police also put up a defensive wall around Seoul Plaza to prevent congestion.
The whole city was overflowing with people.
At a Samgyetang restaurant near Gyeongbokgung Station, lines of tens of meters were lined up around the wall of the restaurant, and there were long lines of people waiting for their turn at the famous Pyongyang Naengmyeon restaurant in Jung-gu.
At Yongsan Station Square in Seoul, a rally was held by animal protection groups against dog eating.
After marching to the front of the War Memorial of Korea, they delivered a letter to the presidential office.
/yunhap news