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| Pedestrians pass below a giant rainbow banner held by participants of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival parade in the Myeong-dong and Euljiro areas of downtown Seoul, June 2019. Newsis |
By Ko Dong-hwan
With the LGBTQ community set to host the 23rd Seoul Queer Cultural Festival (SQCF) later this month at Seoul Plaza, an association of Christian churches has been protesting the decision to permit the event.
United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK) criticized the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Monday, for having approved a "queer event" to take place in Seoul Plaza, one of the city's most symbolic public open spaces, located in front of Seoul City Hall.
A civic committee for the management of Seoul Plaza ― consisting of 10 civic experts from various fields ― granted approval last month for the festival organizers to use the space. The committee, however, rejected the organizers' request to use the space for six days and instead gave permission for only one day, July 16. The committee's approval also came with the condition that the festival's participants don't publicly "overexpose" their bodies or sell or display products considered "harmful obscene material" to minors according to the country's Youth Protection Act.
UCCK President Ryu Young-mo, in a statement on the association's homepage, hailed the city government's decision to shorten the festival's period to a single day and to be held under strict conditions, calling it a "step forward from the previous policy." But the group argued that the city government, by ultimately allowing the festival to be held, hasn't improved the "serious problem of the event itself being held in Seoul Plaza."
The UCCK insisted the city government should manage the place so that it is used only for "healthy leisure and cultural activities for members of the public as well as gatherings and demonstrations," in accordance with its own regulations on the use of Seoul Plaza.
But, according to the association, which was formed in 2017, by approving use of the space for "homosexual propaganda" for the purpose of protecting the human rights of a minority group, the city government has failed to fulfill its duties.
The annual festival began in the city in 2000 and has been running for over two decades in Korea's capital. After being held in popular neighborhoods like Sinchon, Hongdae, Itaewon and the Cheonggye Stream area, it was first held at Seoul Plaza in 2015. The festival organizers continued holding it there until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the city government to implement social distancing measures. The city government gave final approval to the festival in 2015, but in 2016 started relaying approval authority to the civic committee.
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