Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Seoul Queer Culture Festival seeks new venue for record turnout in June
Yang Sun-woo, left, chairperson of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival organizing committee, holds a press conference with committee members to herald this year’s event at Hyangrin Church in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
This year’s Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF), set for June 14 in downtown Seoul, is searching for a new venue as it moves on from its past location of Seoul Plaza due to the growing number of attendees, organizers said Tuesday.
“We have all cherished those glorious times when the festival took place in Seoul Plaza,” Yang Sun-woo, chairperson of the SQCF organizing committee, said during a press conference in Seoul. “But the event has grown to accommodate over 150,000 participants each year, and considering the safety concerns of the square, we will not be returning to that location.”
The committee has not applied for the use of the square this year and is instead searching for an alternative venue.
"All we know for sure so far is that it will take place in the city center," she said, explaining that the celebrations will continue to seek visibility, as they traditionally have, rather than being held in a remote park or stadium, as some have suggested.
Participants in the 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival march through downtown Seoul, June 1, 2024. Newsis
The SQCF launched in 2000 with around 50 participants in the Daehangno area of northeastern Seoul. It grew over the years, eventually settling in Seoul Plaza in 2015, one of the largest public squares in the capital, during the tenure of progressive and nonpartisan Mayor Park Won-soon.
However, the annual event was unable to take place at its usual location, the grassy Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, for the past two consecutive years, with Oh Se-hoon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) serving as mayor.
In 2023, the city government approved a "youth concert" organized by the Christian Television System Culture Foundation instead, as it had submitted its application to reserve the public space on the same day as the SQCF committee. The decision was based on city regulations for Seoul Plaza, which prioritize children- and youth-related events when multiple organizations apply for the same date. The event was sparsely attended.
In 2024, the city government held an outdoor book reading event every weekend in May, June and October across the entire square. Both the SQCF organizing committee and a Christian group called Boost Your Youth were denied permission to use the square on June 1, a date included in the event’s schedule.
In response to being bumped from the city square, the event was held on the avenues between Jonggak and Euljiro 1-ga stations, drawing a record-high turnout of 150,000 participants according to organizers.
Participants in the 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival march through downtown Seoul, June 1, 2024. Korea Times photo by Lim Eun-jae
Under the slogan “We Will Never Stop,” the 26th edition of the event is expected to draw at least 150,000 participants, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) as well as their allies.
Notably, this year’s event will be joined by the farmers’ association and several other civic groups in solidarity, following the LGBTQ community's participation in joint impeachment rallies demanding the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the committee said.
The SQCF is scheduled for June 1-22 and will feature Seoul Pride on June 14, a queer film festival, an online campaign and sales of rainbow-themed objects created by small businesses supporting the LGBTQ community.