Online Seoul Drag Parade goes global

The poster for Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Drag Parade

By Chantal Terblanche

Seoul Drag Parade hosted its first free online drag show on Sunday, during this year's Seoul Queer Culture Festival, featuring drag performers from all over the world, including drag queens from "RuPaul's Drag Race."

The two co-founders of Seoul Drag Parade are Ali Zahoor, originally from the U.K., who lived in Seoul for five years, and Heezy Yang, a Korean citizen who performs under the name Hurricane Kimchi. An international artist who has performed across Asia, Europe and the Americas and opened for "RuPaul's Werq The World Asia Tour," Yang was named on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 list.

Inspired by Korea's regional queer culture festivals and pride parades all over the world, Seoul Drag Parade was an event founded in 2018 to participate in solidarity with the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, attracting over 1,000 attendees its first time out. It is also one of a few queer organizations in Korea that is completely bilingual, which increases their accessibility to a larger group of people.

Seoul Drag Parade is oriented around drag, an exaggerated, performative form of gender expression. As organizer Zahoor explained, "Drag is essentially a performance of gender, identity, sexuality, culture, feelings, or all of the above through makeup and/or clothes," Zahoor explained.

Zahoor added, "Cross-dressing is very commonly seen in the Korean media, but it's usually male celebrities mocking women, whereas drag is more of a personal thing where one is able to express and explore their gender and/or sexuality."

A screenshot of Hurricane Kimchi (Heezy Yang) performing for the Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of the Seoul Drag Parade

In Korean society today, conventional gender norms are binary, heteronormative and patriarchal according to conservative values derived from Confucianism and Christianity. Although things are changing, Korea still has no anti-discrimination law, so coming out is uncommon and not socially accepted.

In this context, drag has been growing in Seoul, but is still very much restricted to bars and clubs. The organizers felt it was a shame that this major LGBTQ+ cultural phenomenon that lacked visibility, so they decided to bring drag out into the daylight.

"This let us show the streets that we're queer and we're here. It also allows for minors and people who aren't into the nightlife scene to enjoy drag," Zahoor explained.

Since then, in addition to the annual parade, they have organized various non-profit community events for the LGBTQ+ community and allies, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and culture.

Before the pandemic, Seoul Drag Parade was held offline as a march through Itaewon to bring awareness to drag and LGBTQ+ culture, before ending the day indoors with a series of drag shows.

Seoul Drag Parade 2018 / Courtesy of Sangsuk Sylvia Kang

Due to the pandemic restrictions, they were unable to do an in-person event, but streaming presented an opportunity to open up the Seoul Drag Parade to a more global audience. It also allowed organizer Zahoor to be a part of it this year as he is currently based in the U.K.

This year's parade was co-hosted live by Zahoor and Hurricane Kimchi, who introduced the performers' prerecorded pieces in both Korean and English.

Throughout the 93-minute broadcast, they showcased local talent in Seoul, featured Korean drag artists living abroad, connected with international drag artists who have shown appreciation for K-pop and Korean culture and even invited some celebrity drag artists.

"I'm actually very honored and thankful that y'all invited me from my bedroom to yours," Yuhua Hamasaki, a Chinese-born American drag queen who appeared on season 10 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," said during the show. "And I know we're living in tough times right now, but don't you worry babe. We'll be out again to celebrate in no time!"

A screenshot of Yuhua Hamasaki, a contestant on season 10 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," performing for Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Drag Parade

I'm so happy to participate," Miss Gim Huay, who appeared in season 2 of "Drag Race Thailand," added. "Please give a lot of support."

A screenshot of Miss Gim Huy, a contestant on season 2 of "Drag Race Thailand," performing for Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Drag Parade

Jasmine Rice LaBeija, a Korean opera singer living in New York, performed "Longing for Mount Geumgang." "I'm so proud and happy that there's such an event in Korea," LaBeija said in the recording.

A screenshot from Jasmine Rice LaBeija's performance of "Longing for Mount Geumgang" for Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Drag Parade

Recruitment for the show was a simple process. All of the performers have either worked with Seoul Drag Parade in the past or have been following and supporting it on social media. "We wanted a diverse cast, representing different gender identities and drag styles," Hurricane Kimchi said. "Bringing the show online also gave us the opportunity to work with international artists we would probably not have the opportunity to work with otherwise."

Kiko, one of the overseas participants based in Scotland, said, "I have a love of K-pop, as well as a love of drag, so bringing them together made perfect sense to me! I've been performing K-pop in Glasgow, Scotland for a few years now, so when I was asked to join Seoul Drag Parade, I was humbled. Performing alongside such amazing talent from Korea and around the world is such an honor... I hope my performance does justice to K-pop and you enjoy it very much! Maybe Kiko will become your fantasy!"

Saffron Reign, an American drag king based in Seoul, said: "Pride for me is more than just parties," Reign said. "Pride is about being grateful for our chosen families and acknowledging the continual process of 'coming out.' As a drag performer, I use my drag to tell stories. Often that story is one of confidence and strength. But this pride season, I was feeling much more reflective and felt I needed to tell a more honest story."

Reign performed "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens, explaining that it was "a way for me to acknowledge the relationships we as queer people have lost due to stigma and ignorance."

A screenshot from drag king Saffron Reign performing "Father and Son" for Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Drag Parade

Reign added, "It's also an ode to my own mother, who never got to know her daughter's queer identity. For me, this was a sort of coming out to her that I never got to have. The song seemed perfect for this message, and it's also special to me, because my mom loved this song, and I can't help but think of her when I hear it."

Now that the parade has ended, Seoul Drag Parade is running a Hashtag Event until July 4. This event also ran last year very successfully. To join in, participants just need to upload a prideful picture to social media and tag it using the official hashtags. The picture can be a dragged-up queer selfie, a piece of art or whatever the person's interpretation of pride is. It is open to entries until July 4, and anyone can take part via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by using the hashtags #seouldragparade, #seouldragparade2021, #서울드랙퍼레이드 and #서울드랙퍼레이드2021.

A screenshot of Hurricane Kimchi (Heezy Yang) performing for Seoul Drag Parade 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Drag Parade

Through Seoul Drag Parade, the organizers have already been awarded the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia nomination, as well as have been invited to speak and perform all over the world. Their ultimate goal is to encourage people to express their identity, gender, sexuality, feelings, personal style and more through the art of drag.?

Seoul Drag Parade 2019, with Ali Zahoor in front left, and Heezy Yang on the right / Courtesy of Argus Paul

The following performers took part in Seoul Drag Parade 2021: G.Van (Korea), Skim (Canada), Kiko (Scotland), Black Peppa (U.K.), Miss Gim Huay, a contestant in season 2 of "Drag Race Thailand," Yuhua Hamasaki, a contestant in season 10 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," Saffron Reign (Seoul), Jasmine Rice LaBeija (U.S.), Hurricane Kimchi (Seoul) and Hoso Terra Toma (Seoul).

The show will be available to stream for a week following the June 27 broadcast on Seoul Drag Parade's YouTube channel.

Follow them at @seouldragparade on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch.

Chantal Terblanche, from South Africa, lives here with her dog, Samsung. She runs the blog ClumsyinKorea.com and the Korea Events group on Facebook.