A record-high turnout of over 150,000 participants gathered at the heart of Seoul’s downtown Euljiro area, Saturday, as the 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF) was held to celebrate the identity and diversity of sexual minorities.
The annual LGBTQ festival could not take place at its usual location of Seoul Plaza for the second consecutive year as the request to use the venue were rejected by the city government.
Under the slogan “Yes Queer,” the event, which started in 2000 with some 50 participants, now saw tens of thousands of those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) and their allies in attendance.
Bumped from the city square yet undeterred by the ban and social opposition, the celebration filled the avenues between Jonggak and Euljiro 1(il)-ga stations with booths and participants wearing rainbow banners and decorations.
Several advocacy organizations – including religious groups, foreign embassies, global corporatiosn and university and high school student groups – in solidarity with LGBTQ people and their rights, ran a total of 61 booths.
At 4:30 p.m., the three-kilometer Pride parade began. Some 43,000 participants, more than last year’s 35,000, marched through the city center, dancing and chanting for equal rights for sexual minorities.
Notably, the first among the eight parade trucks, operated by Marriage for All, a civic group advocating marriage equality, and Amnesty International, spoke up for gay marriage.
“Hello everyone! We came out to the street to call for gay marriage. We (sexual minorities) are meant for each other, yet we cannot get married. If you allow us to get married at a time like this with the plummeting birthrate, we will 카지노사이트 adopt kids, have kids, and do our best to love each other and become patriots,” shouted singer-songwriter Lee Lang, 38, into a microphone from the top of the truck.