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Police are on alert as church-backed counter-protesters gather in nearby streets highlighting tensions in this very conservative country around the rights of sexual minorities. There are no major melee or interruptions starting Saturday afternoon.
In the Seoul Queer Parade, revelers wearing or waving rainbow banners cheered during speeches and swayed music on the stage in front of the city hall. Later, as it drizzled, they lined up umbrellas while marching to the downtown commercial district, calling for a law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Police set up surrounding areas to separate them from conservative Christian protesters, and thousands more marched on nearby streets. As their leaders prayed loudly into the microphone, they held banners and shouted slogans against homosexuality, begging God to “save the Republic of Korea from anti-discrimination legislation”.
Some protesters condemn the conservative Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's reluctance to stop the "lustful" pride parade. Gay rights activists are also unhappy with Oh, who said in an interview with Christian newspaper last week that the city may ban the use of the Town Hall Square from next year if participants this year “display indecent materials or over-display their bodies.” “Who knows if the staff at Seoul City Hall are now around the rulers, trying to determine if our skirts are too short,” said Bae Jin-gyo, a gay rights activist, on the stage. “The Seoul City Government should focus on not the length of our skirts or what we wear, but the discriminatory environment around us.” By the standards they have maintained for years, the organizers of the Pride Parade asked photojournalists to take photos of participants from “as far as possible” distance and obtain the consent of everyone in the photo who can identify faces – a measure that protects participants from strong opposition as their images may spread over the internet.
29-year-old Jang Yong-geol is one of the few people willing to talk to journalists, saying, "I first realized I was a sexual minority when I was in kindergarten, but I didn't come out until 2021." "This is my first time attending this festival and I really like it. I don't know why people hate it when we are all humans.
Seoul Metropolitan Police Officer Kim Man-seok said thousands of police officers from nearly 60 units were deployed to monitor demonstrators on both sides. Police did not immediately provide crowd estimates, but previously predicted turnout for the duel was about 40,000.
While South Korean major politicians avoided the pride march, the event attracted some foreign diplomats, including newly appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Philip Goldberg's support for homosexual rights has sparked anger among conservative and Christian groups. Some protested in front of the United States. In recent weeks, the embassy has condemned Goldberg's appointment as a sacrificial group Part of the government's "Gay Cultural Imperialism".
Goldberg tweeted during the Pride Parade that "no one should be discriminated against for his identity", standing with President Joe Biden , applauding "all those who are committed to promoting the human rights of sexual minorities in South Korea."
British Ambassador Colin Crooks cheered in his speech in Korean , saying: "Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity has no place in the 21st century." ”
He said: “The UK experience shows that the best way to protect the rights of (sexual minorities) is through the establishment of a legal protection system. ”
Although South Korea's perception of sexual minorities has gradually improved in recent years, they are still severely stigmatized and often face hate speech and crime. So far, a powerful Christian lobby has blocked appeals for equality that has prevented politicians from passing laws that prohibit discrimination. Representation is a problem because there are no well-known openly gay politicians or business leaders, despite some celebrities playing roles in the showbizarre.
Seoul Queer Parade was not held in 2020 and 2021 as strict social distancing measures were taken to fight the new coronavirus. The country's anti-virus campaign has also exposed the issue of homophobia. In 2020, a series of infections related to Seoul's luminous attractions triggered a huge public rebound, which critics say could intimidate many sexual minorities to come forward for testing.
Seoul Queer Parade was not held in 2020 and 2021 as strict social distancing measures were taken to fight the new coronavirus. The country's anti-virus campaign has also exposed the issue of homophobia. In 2020, a series of infections related to Seoul's luminous attractions triggered a huge public rebound, which critics say could intimidate many sexual minorities to come forward for testing.
