Participation of Pride Parade Discussed
Participation of Pride Parade Discussed
  • Reporter Lee Mi-yeon
  • 승인 2019.06.13 13:29
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The 20th Seoul Queer Culture Festival was held on June 1, in central Seoul, the biggest gathering for the LGBTQ community in South Korea since it began in 2000. Some 80,000 people gathered in Seoul Plaza in front of the Seoul City Hall to take part in the annual get together. They paraded 4.5 kilometers from Seoul Plaza to Euljuro through Gwanghwamun for the first time. The parade, which is referred to as the Pride Parade in English, began with “Rainbow Riders” on motorcycles taking the lead, followed by 11 parade cars. Although there were concerns that this year’s festivities would see counter-protests, there were no major conflicts. “We want to show everyone that sexual minorities are here, living among us,” Kang Myeong-jin, head of the organizing committee said. “We are aware that there are people who oppose us, but we believe that it is important to form an environment where everyone lives in harmony and peace.”At the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, student councils of many universities are taking part in parades for solidarity and supporting sexual minorities. Student Union of POSTECH has also been participating in the parade for two years. In order to decide participation in the parade, Student ∙ Minority Human Rights Council (MODAM) proposed to the 11th Steering Committee a proposal to discuss whether Student Union of POSTECH participates in the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. On this issue, Student Union of Muenjae Undergraduate Studies posted a link to the Google Drive with relevant data through class leaders to gather opinions from Muenjae undergraduates. However, some pointed out that the data were biased based on the objection of the participation and criticized for failing to maintain neutrality. POSTECH LGBTAIQ+ (LINQ), MODAM, and a Muenjae undergraduate student posted a hand-written poster condemning the immature process of Muenjae Undergraduate Studies’ opinion gathering and Muenjae Undergraduate Studies also posted a hand-written poster in the campus. In response to this issue, the 2019 academic year 3th Student Council were held to discuss the Student Union of POSTECH participation in the Seoul Queer Culture Festival and raised Student Referendum. Student Referendum was withdrawn with 15 in favor, 1 against, and 2 abstentions on the withdrawal of the proposal. The agenda for the Student Council’s participation in the parade was voted down with 8 in favor, 2 against, and 8 abstentions. At this year’s Seoul Queer Culture Festival, Female Student Union, MODAM, LINQ, and POSTECH Feminism (POFE) attended. Reporter Lee Mi-yeonmylee0031@postech.ac.kr
▲The 3th Student Council were held on May 24

The 20th Seoul Queer Culture Festival was held on June 1, in central Seoul, the biggest gathering for the LGBTQ community in South Korea since it began in 2000. Some 80,000 people gathered in Seoul Plaza in front of the Seoul City Hall to take part in the annual get together. They paraded 4.5 kilometers from Seoul Plaza to Euljuro through Gwanghwamun for the first time. The parade, which is referred to as the Pride Parade in English, began with “Rainbow Riders” on motorcycles taking the lead, followed by 11 parade cars. Although there were concerns that this year’s festivities would see counter-protests, there were no major conflicts. 
“We want to show everyone that sexual minorities are here, living among us,” Kang Myeong-jin, head of the organizing committee said. “We are aware that there are people who oppose us, but we believe that it is important to form an environment where everyone lives in harmony and peace.”

At the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, student councils of many universities are taking part in parades for solidarity and supporting sexual minorities. Student Union of POSTECH has also been participating in the parade for two years. In order to decide participation in the parade, Student ∙ Minority Human Rights Council (MODAM) proposed to the 11th Steering Committee a proposal to discuss whether Student Union of POSTECH participates in the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. On this issue, Student Union of Muenjae Undergraduate Studies posted a link to the Google Drive with relevant data through class leaders to gather opinions from Muenjae undergraduates. However, some pointed out that the data were biased based on the objection of the participation and criticized for failing to maintain neutrality. POSTECH LGBTAIQ+ (LINQ), MODAM, and a Muenjae undergraduate student posted a hand-written poster condemning the immature process of Muenjae Undergraduate Studies’ opinion gathering and Muenjae Undergraduate Studies also posted a hand-written poster in the campus. In response to this issue, the 2019 academic year 3th Student Council were held to discuss the Student Union of POSTECH participation in the Seoul Queer Culture Festival and raised Student Referendum. Student Referendum was withdrawn with 15 in favor, 1 against, and 2 abstentions on the withdrawal of the proposal. The agenda for the Student Council’s participation in the parade was voted down with 8 in favor, 2 against, and 8 abstentions. 
At this year’s Seoul Queer Culture Festival, Female Student Union, MODAM, LINQ, and POSTECH Feminism (POFE) attended.