Gay pride faced Christian outrage in central Seoul in a showdown that dramatized the conflict between Korea’s deeply conservative values and the country’s latter-day surge toward democratic equality. Advocates and foes of gay rights clashed after a gay pride rally on the grassy plaza in front of Seoul City Hall that drew several thousand people — many celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing marriage between gay couples. As gay pride ralliers cheered, sang and danced inside the plaza, thousands of foes of gay marriage shouted slogans and epithets from beyond rows of policemen. The policemen, pouring from dozens of police buses, probably outnumbered both the gay ralliers and their foes. A parade in which those at the rally sought to march up the avenue toward the reconstructed Kyongbeok Palace of Korean kings broke up in scuffles between marchers and their critics organized by Seoul’s powerful Protestant churches.
Anti-LGBT protesters attempted to disrupt the final day of the Korea Queer Festival and Gay Pride parade as 20,000 people came out in Seoul, Sunday, to celebrate the US Supreme Court decision to legalise same-sex marriage across all states. Protesters can be seen shouting at the LGBT event attendees through a wall of police officers deployed to prevent clashes. One protester was led away by police but it is unconfirmed as to whether he was officially arrested.
A court in the South Korean capital Seoul ruled Tuesday that police violated the law when they banned a pride march to be held June 28 as the culmination of the Korean Queer Cultural Festival, according to a press release from organizers. Police had denied permits to hold the march, citing conflicting applications for events that overlapped the parade route. These applications were filed as the result of a showdown between Christian conservative activists and LGBT activists, who had both camped out in front of the police station processing applications for more than a week in May. The conservatives managed to get their public use applications in first. On Tuesday, the court ruled this violated the LGBT activists’ right to protest. “Unless there is a clear risk of danger to the public, preventing the demonstration is not allowed and should be the absolute last resort,” the court ruled, according to a local news report.
Last year's parade was supported by the US embassy and Google. Opponents are largely organized by the Christian Council of Korea, a coalition claiming to represent 20 Christian groups and 12 million South Koreans.
SOUTH KOREA: Christian Activists Rally Outside Queer Cultural Festival
Citing threats from Christian groups who last year physically blockaded the Seoul Pride parade, last week the Seoul police denied a permit for what would be South Korea's 16th annual such event. The Korea Queer Cultural Festival kicked off this week anyway, but not without a rabble of Christian protesters who were watched over by about 1000 cops. Via the Korea Times:
The festival's opening ceremony took place at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall on Tuesday. Almost 150 people participated in the ceremony, including international guests. Demonstrators arrived at the venue 12 hours earlier on Tuesday to surround the venue, calling on sexual minorities to repent for their "sins" and to cancel the festival. They also criticized the Seoul Metropolitan Government for granting festival organizers use of the venue for the opening. The ceremony went off peacefully. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency dispatched almost 1,000 riot police as a precaution. There could still be trouble as several events are scheduled until June 28, the last day of the festival. A private party is scheduled for June 13 in Itaewon, followed by a prayer session for sexual minorities at a Seoul temple on June 17, film screenings on June 18-21 and a symposium on same-sex marriage at the National Assembly on June 20.
Buzzfeed has posted some of the protesters' signs, one of which read, "Gays out: Homosexuals have no civil rights."
SOUTH KOREA: Organizers Vow To Defy Police Ban On Seoul Pride Parade
Earlier this week Seoul police banned this year's gay pride parade, citing threats from Christian groups who disrupted last year's parade by lying down in the street. Today the parade's organizers are vowing to stage their event anyway.
Woo Ji-Young, executive director of the festival's organising committee, accused the police of caving in to pressure from conservative Christians. "The police should protect the rights of free expression, rather than siding with those trying to suppress it," Woo told AFP. "The parade will go on whether the police ban it or not," Woo said, while adding that activists would continue to press for the police decision to be reversed. Violating laws on public rallies can draw a fine of up to two million won ($1,800) or even a jail term of up to two years, but Woo said the organisers were willing to take the risk. Five major Protestant groups, including the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), have urged Seoul to ban the festival in its entirety, arguing that it encourages homosexuality and would contribute to the spread of AIDS. "We will not stand blindly by when our social values are being threatened and the lives of our children are at risk," they said in a joint statement this week.
Last week members of CCK blockaded the police station in at attempt to stop activists from filing a permit request for the parade. Seoul's parade launched in 2000 and drew 20,000 attendees last year.
SOUTH KOREA: Christian Groups Force Police To Deny Permit For Seoul Pride
Last year Christian activists disrupted Seoul Pride when hundreds lay down in the street to prevent the parade from proceeding. That tactic may prevent this year's parade from happening at all. Via the Korea Observer:
South Korea’s Pride Parade has been rejected by the Namdaemun Police Station and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency due to pressure from conservative groups according to the Korea Queer Cultural Festival’s (KQCF) organising committee. The Pride Parade originated in Seoul in 1990 with only 50 people attending. Last year around 20,000 people attended. However, for the first time in Korean history non-affirming church groups blocked the pride parade in 2014 causing major traffic jams and tension between the Christian groups, the LGBT members and the community. “This is the sixteenth year of the Pride Parade and last year the hate groups started to try to ban sexual minority groups,” Yun Candy said. “Mostly they are conservative Christians, they come to our pride parade and sit in front of our pride parade and stop it for five hours,” she said. A police officer at the Namdaemun Police Station claims that they rejected the application because they expected a major standoff between LGBT and Christian groups.
Christian activists physically blockaded the police station last week to prevent the permit application from even being filed.
Protestant groups have vigorously opposed plans to hold a LGBT pride parade at Seoul Plaza on June 28, physically blocking applications for the necessary permits. On May 21, police announced they would accept applications for public events at the end of June on a first-come, first-served basis at Namdaemun Police Station. This prompted a group calling itself the “Love Your Country, Love Your Children Movement” to queue outside the station indefinitely to prevent the festival organizers from applying for a permit. A similar concerted campaign by Christian groups to book out public venues forced the postponement of the event from its earlier date of May 13, when it was scheduled to be held in a different part of the city. The organizers for the Korea Queer Festival have already received the go ahead from Seoul Metropolitan government for the new date, but also need police approval to use the public space. LGBT activists lined up outside the police station this week to register their parade and to protest the actions of the Christian demonstrators and the police, whom they have accused of favoritism. Candy Yun, a member of the organizing committee for the festival, told The Diplomat that she suspects the police tipped off the Christian protestors in advance about the application procedure. “When we called the police station for a complaint, one of the police officials said they decided to make a line [for submitting applications] because they got lots of complaints from the Christian groups.”
Last year's parade was supported by the US embassy and Google. Opponents are largely organized by the Christian Council of Korea, a coalition claiming to represent 20 Christian groups and 12 million South Koreans.
VIDEO: An Italian tourist filmed last year's disruption.
NOTE: The 1990 date in the first linked piece above appears to be an error. Other sources report that the parade began in 2000, which jibes with the mentioned 16th anniversary being this year.
North Korea has said the razor attack on the US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was “just punishment” for the two countries’ joint military drills. The assault has left the US official’s face slashed, but he is now recovering. Lippert was at a breakfast forum earlier in central Seoul when the attack occurred. During the attack, Lippert was slashed in the face by an unidentified man, a witness told Reuters. Other outlets are reporting that the assailant used a razor. Outlets are reporting that the man yelled, "No drills for war," referencing joint military drills conducted by the US and South Korea.
SOUTH KOREA: LGBT Rights Protesters Thank Supporters Around World
Via press release:
At 5 PM on December 10, the fifth day of the sit-in, the mayor requested a private conversation with the protesters. Consequently, a delegation consisting of six representatives from both LGBT activist groups and civil NGOs met with him. From the start, dialogue had been one of the protesters’ demands. During the private conversation, the mayor apologized to the LGBT delegation, “It is my responsibility and fault.” Saying, “I am sorry for the emotional pain that you have suffered and will make whatever statements that you demand,” he made it clear that “This is an occasion for me to offer comfort for the emotional pain that you have suffered and to apologize to you” and, “regardless of any misunderstanding or statement, no citizen will be subjected to discrimination or disadvantage.” He also stated, “I will search for practical ways of resolving the difficulties that you suffer from.” On the contrary, the official press release subsequently issued by the metropolitan government mentioned the entire train of events only briefly and inadequately: “deep regret for having provided the grounds for the sit-in.” Nevertheless, the protesters concluded that the promise made by the mayor during the private conversation was important.
SEOUL: Activists Stage City Hall Sit-In After Mayor Backtracks On LGBT Rights
Just two months ago Seoul Mayor Park Won-Soon earned international headlines when he expressed his hope that South Korea would be the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage. South Korea's powerful Christian lobby screamed with outrage and Park soon recanted. Yesterday activists occupied Seoul City Hall after Park reportedly refused to allow LGBT rights to be added to the city charter. Via press release from the activists:
We, Rainbow Action, a coalition of 20 LGBT organizations of the Republic of Korea, have an urgent request for your support to stop discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by the Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government (“SMG”), Mr. Park Won-Soon, in the Republic of Korea. Mayor Mr. Park, formerly a human rights lawyer, is halting the process of enacting the Seoul Charter of Human Rights (“the Charter”), because the Charter includes a provision that states the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. He then expressly and publicly denounced the rights of LGBT people. The Charter was duly drafted and passed by the Citizen Committee. It awaits proclamation by Mr. Park, which he now rejects. We need your support to make it happen! The Charter was drafted and passed by the Citizen Committee, composed of 134 lay citizens and 30 human rights experts, including professors and activists, on November 28, 2014. The SMG, however, announced on November 30, 2014 that it would not proclaim the Charter. And the next day, December 1, 2014, Mr. Park, at a meeting with protestant pastors, assured that “As the Mayor of Seoul, I do not support homosexuality.” He apologized to the pastors for the “social conflicts” caused during the process and confirmed that the Charter will not be made with inclusion of such provisions that cause “social conflicts.” The ‘social conflicts,’ which Mr. Park refers to, in fact mean the instances where the hate groups had caused during the deliberation process in drafting the Charter. The hate groups, mostly fundamental Christians, violently disrupted the public hearing on November 20, 2014. The SMG, however, did not stop the hate groups, or try to call the police, and only left the hate groups to forcibly end the public hearing. The SMG’s non-action to such hate-motivated violence, in addition to Mr. Park’s remark before the pastors, clearly express the intention to condone, and thus authorize, discrimination and violence against LGBT people.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) postponed a public hearing on gay rights Thursday after some 200 activists opposed to fair treatment of homosexuals stormed into the capital’s City Hall to stop the proceedings. SMG officials initially planned to gather opinions from a range of experts during the hearing in an effort to draft a Charter of Human Rights for Citizens in Seoul. Experts are divided over whether to include a clause on protecting sexual minorities in the charter. Some Christian groups are vehemently opposed to including this statement — “Every Seoul citizen has a right not to be discriminated against based on sexual orientation, sexual identity, educational background, religion, and the right not to be subject to any form of discrimination banned by law.” Among the protestors were members of the Christian Council of Korea, which represents some 45,000 churches, and is on the record as opposing gay rights.
Earlier this year hundreds of Christians laid down in the street to block Seoul's gay pride parade.
SEOUL: Mayor Hopes His Will Be First Asian Country To Legalize Gay Marriage
This weekend the mayor Seoul, Park Won-soon, expressed his hope that South Korea will become the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
"I personally agree with the rights of homosexuals," Park said. "But the Protestant churches are very powerful in Korea. It isn't easy for politicians. It's in the hands of activists to expand the universal concept of human rights to include homosexuals. Once they persuade the people, the politicians will follow. It's in process now." I asked him if Taiwan might be the first Asian country to allow same-sex marriage since the Taiwanese legislature is considering a bill to legalize it. "I hope Korea will be the first," Park said. "Many homosexual couples in Korea are already together. They are not legally accepted yet, but I believe the Korean Constitution allows it. We are guaranteed the right to the pursuit of happiness. Of course, there may be different interpretations to what that pursuit means."
Park is considered a leading contender to become South Korea's next president in 2017.
NOTE: Some New Zealanders contend that theirs was already the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
SOUTH KOREA: Seoul Pride Parade Disrupted By Christian Protesters
Seoul's gay pride parade was disrupted multiple times today when hundreds of Christians laid in the path of the floats and refused to move.
According to information provided to Gay Star News by a Ph.D student in South Korea, conservative Christians held mass prayer services during the 7 June event. "To put it simply today was a kind of battle between extremist Christians and LGBT attendees of said pride," the student wrote in a email account. The parade started but was stopped multiple times by protestors putting their bodies on the street, blocking the march. The anti-gay protestors sang South Korea's national anthem and chanted gays had no place in the country. The email account claims police arrested a few of the Christian demonstrators.
Many public events in South Korea have been canceled since the April ferry sinking which took over 300 lives. The pride parade went on despite official permission having been rescinded by Seoul officials. According to parade organizers, today's protesters were capitalizing on the sinking in order to thwart the celebration.
VIDEO: This clip was taken by an Italian tourist. Description via Google Translate:
Video fast and not really planned, so we apologize for the quality not really good. Today, June 7, 2014, was held in Sinchon, Seoul Gay Pride. The parade began in the early afternoon, but was not able to continue because a group of Christians was lying on the ground trying to stop participants of the parade to continue. The police arrived to maintain this order and many Christians, given their violent behavior, were dragged away by the police.
RELATED: The US Embassy was among today's participants.
The New York Times reports on this week's hottest viral video, a spoof of Les Miz (or tribute to, depending on your view) created by the South Korean air force.
In the 13-minute South Korean version, the nemesis is a taskmaster officer who keeps his exhausted conscripts clearing snow — a chore that many young South Korean men face while serving mandatory time in a military on guard against a militaristic North Korea. “Dig down, dig down, raise your shovels high. Dig down, dig down, and clear the snow below,” the airmen chant as they struggle to clear a runway. “There is no end to this accursed snow. Dig down, dig down, you still have two service years to go.” At first glance, the video — based on a novel about an often unfeeling bureaucracy — would appear to be the work of young men unhappy with their lot, serving in a hierarchical military that has been accused of sometimes brutal treatment of conscripts in the past. But “Les Militaribles” was produced by the South Korean Air Force’s official blog team, and is a celebration of sorts of airmen’s shared sacrifice during two years of service.
It's really pretty great. The performers are actual soldiers.
You might recall me posting about South Korean pop vixen BoA a couple of years ago when she played San Francisco Pride. Her real name is Kwon Boa but her Ke$ha-esque stage name is spelled BoA, which stands for "Best of Asia." In BoA's new single below you'll probably be able to spot influences from Britney and Janet to Christina.
A couple of years ago I went on a brief spate of K-pop postings, much to the horror of some of you. I'm not going to do that again (probably), but I do like the latest from top South Korean boy band Super Junior, whose press materials advise that the "official color" for the group is Pearl Sapphire Blue. And don't you forget it, I guess. The group's membership is rather fluid, due in part to South Korea's mandatory military service requirement for young men.
An architecture firm said Friday it “regrets” a bizarre design for two high-rises in Korea reminds people of the twin towers exploding on 9/11. A mockup shows two soaring skyscrapers connected in the middle by a “pixelated cloud” that evoked the clouds of debris that erupted from the iconic World Trade Center towers after terrorists flew planes into them. “What the hell were these architects thinking?” asked the headline on a Gizmodo article about the plans for the Seoul apartment buildings. MVRDV, which is based in the Netherlands, insisted in a statement that it didn’t notice the uncanny similarity that struck many observers instantly.
To my mind, any two towers with the WTC's proportions would evoke 9/11. The Korean towers are scheduled to be completed in three years.
