Seoul’s Pride parade takes place Saturday following months of wrangling after officials rejected an application from organizers to hold it at the usual spot in front of City Hall.
The annual event, which began 23 years ago as a gathering of a few dozen people, is expected to attract more than 100,000 people to the capital’s Euljiro business district. The location, at a major intersection that will be closed down for the festivities and march, is about a kilometer away from the usual spot in grassy Seoul Plaza, a symbolic location often used by unions and other groups for protests.
Both Pride organizers and a Christian group applied to host events on July 1 at City Hall, but municipal authorities gave permission to the Christian youth concert instead, saying that it was more family-friendly, despite the fact that Pride had taken place there since 2015. The organization hosting the concert, the Christian CTS Cultural Foundation, is linked to CTS broadcasting, which has made anti-gay remarks on-air.
