PRIDE--SEOUL

On Saturday afternoon I joined our friend Nancy Kim in downtown Seoul, to walk in the Gay Pride Parade. The rain was pelting down, but the air was warm. I carried my new green umbrella and wore my Tassie Parks water-resistant jacket. The crowd at the mustering point—Berlin Square (where there’s a large chunk of the Berlin Wall—who knew?)—was wet and boisterous. Singer-dancers performed on a flatbed to loud music, only heads and arms visible above the crowd milling about in raincoats or under umbrellas.

The Seoul Parade is 11 years old this year. It’s a small event compared to Toronto, its route a short loop around several blocks and back to the starting point, The street it travels is normally closed to traffic on weekends but the cross-streets are not and so the parade slowed and then stopped for the lights at a wide and busy intersection—when we finally surged ahead we crossed through an alley created by young women holding a great string of balloons on one side and a stretch of rope on the other. Initially Nancy and I followed a float with two fabulous wigged and lamee-bustiered dancers on it—then we dropped back to walk behind the Amnesty International banner, where “Love is a human right!” was being chanted. Towards the end of the walk a small fleet of “Dykes on Bikes”—mostly Caucasian—came up behind us, addiing a bit of lively ruckus.

The Parade doesn’t command a huge turnout of watchers—though numbers have been increasing year by year. Yesterday the crowd was thin, likely because of weather. Most people were there to walk rather than watch, and I wasn’t the only Caucasian by a long shot. In spite of 11 years of parades, the situation for gays and lesbians here is complicated. For instance, Nancy told me all the people she knew who were walking in the parade were straight; her gay friends can’t yet risk being seen publicly. Families feel it’s a terrible disgrace if someone comes out. There is a gay nightlife section here, however. And after the parade city officials or celebrities like Hong Seok Chun make speeches about diversity and rights—in Korean, so we didn’t stay to listen.