“Parade route under negotiation with the police”… Rights Commission also petitions against Seoul City’s refusal to host
Seoul Queer Culture Festival is set to take place at a different location again this year, not at Seoul Plaza as it was last year.
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee held a press conference on the 7th at Hyangrin Church in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to announce that the Queer Parade, one of the programs of the “2024 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival,” will be held in the area around Namdaemun-ro near Euljiro-1-ga Station in Jung-gu and Ujeongguk-ro near Jonggak Station starting on May 1st.
The committee stated, “The specific route is currently being negotiated with the police.”
They criticized Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon for refusing to rent out venues such as the Seoul Historical Museum for discussions and lectures, and also revealed that they filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission on the 29th of last month.
Holic, who is in charge of the festival organizing committee, condemned, “The reason for rejecting the rental is that the Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee events cause social conflicts or provoke acute conflicts,” adding, “What Seoul should prevent is hate groups that unilaterally commit violence against the weak. If it does not fulfill this role, Seoul is no different from hate groups.”
This year’s Queer Festival, with the slogan “YES, QUEER!” will run from the 27th of this month to June 18th.
On May 1st, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s event, “Reading at Seoul Plaza” will be held at Seoul Plaza. Organizations such as the organizing committee, Seoul Metropolitan Library, and the youth cultural event organizers in the Protestant community have reportedly discussed the issue of using Seoul Plaza, but no schedule adjustments were made.
Last year, the Queer Festival organizing committee’s request to use Seoul Plaza on July 1st was denied, while permission was granted for CTS Cultural Foundation, a Christian organization, to hold a “Youth Recovery Concert” at the plaza. The committee moved the event to Euljiro-2-ga.
stopn@yna.co.kr