South Korean capital celebrates 1st Pride parade in 3 years
Source: Associated Press
South Korean capital celebrates 1st Pride parade in 3 years
By KIM TONG-HYUNG
July 16, 2022
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Thousands of gay rights supporters marched under heavy police guard in the South Korean capital on Saturday as they celebrated the city’s first major Pride parade in three years after a COVID-19 hiatus.
Police were on alert because church-backed counterprotesters rallied in nearby streets, highlighting the tensions surrounding the rights of sexual minorities in the deeply conservative country. There were no significant scuffles or disruptions as of Saturday afternoon.
Revelers wearing or waving rainbow banners cheered during speeches and swayed to music from a stage in front of city hall at the Seoul Queer Parade. They later formed a queue of umbrellas as they marched toward a downtown business district amid drizzling rain, calling for laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Police established perimeters to separate them from conservative Christian protesters, also numbering in the thousands, who marched in nearby streets. They held up banners and chanted slogans opposing homosexuality as their leader shouted prayers into a microphone pleading that God “save the Republic of Korea from anti-discrimination legislation.”
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-religion-seoul-gay-rights-62c5af0171ef743468ebf460722462a3
South Korean police officers walk during the 23rd Seoul Queer Parade in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, July 16, 2022. Thousands of gay rights supporters celebrated under a heavy police guard in the South Korean capital on Saturday as they marked the city’s first Pride parade in three years after a COVID-19 hiatus. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A protester holds a sign as he kneels down in front of parade trucks before a parade as a part of the 23rd Seoul Queer Culture Festival which is held from from July 15 to July 31, in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, July 16, 2022. Thousands of gay rights supporters marched under a heavy police guard in the South Korean capital on Saturday as they celebrated the city's first Pride parade in three years after a COVID-19 hiatus. The flag on the truck reads " The 23rd Seoul Queer Parade." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)