Seoul refused to provide premises for the LGBTQ+ festival, organizers will hold it on the streets of the city

For the second year in a row, a panel overseeing events held at Seoul Plaza rejected a request to hold the festival at the space located in front of City Hall. The Seoul festival of the queer community has been held there every year since 2015, with the exception of the years affected by the covid-19 pandemic, and tens of thousands of people regularly participate, Reuters reports.

“I think Seoul is only focusing on events that suit its taste,” said Yang Sun-woo, chief organizer of the festival, about the rejection. He reminded that the current mayor of the city is the conservative Oh Se-hoon, and the conservatives have a majority in the panel overseeing the organized events.

This year the library, last year Christian youth

In its official statement, the city administration denied the accusation of discrimination, saying that it “always listens to the voices and provides the necessary support to protect the human rights of LGBTQ people as members of society.” In the square, instead of the festival, the city will host an “outdoor library” from April to November. Last year She practically displaced the LGBTQ+ festival with a Christian youth concert.

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According to representatives of the city, the outdoor library is a popular event, and the criticism that it violates civil liberties is unfounded. Still, the controversy surrounding the festival in South Korea casts a negative light when compared to other countries in the region, such as Taiwan, where same-sex marriage is legal, or Japan, where some administrations certify same-sex partnerships.

In South Korea, strong opposition from conservative religious groups has long stood in the way of passing laws against discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Queer people, for example, continue to be forced to hide their identities in the workplace. “If Seoul cared about LGBT people, it would understand the significance of this event,” artist and activist Heezy Yang commented on the rejections.

The main part of the festival will finally take place this year in the streets of the city just a short distance from the square where it was originally supposed to take place. There, a permit was not needed from the city, but only from the police. This does not mean that all the problems of the organizers have been overcome, despite the support of influential foreign bodies such as the US Embassy.

The festival is still looking for spaces where lectures could be held. The first choice was the Seoul Museum of History, but the organizers turned it down because they were “worried that the event would cause social conflict and disrupt the museum’s operations and tours,” according to his letter to the organizers.