On June 26, Dongseong-ro, Daegu’s busiest downtown street, bustled all day with citizens participating in the Daegu Queer Cultural Festival, and with another group of citizens protesting against the festival.
Formed earlier this month, the Daegu Council for Healthy Society mobilized some 2,000 citizens to rally on this day at the National Debt Repayment Movement Park in Jung-gu, Daegu, and later held a parade (photo) warning about damages from homosexuality and sexual contact between males, and its close connection with AIDS.
Rev. Kim Jong-won of Gyeongsan Jungang Church delivered a message at the rally, saying, “In order to prevent the misconception that Protestants are against queers, we have decided to join forces with civil society from this year. In the long run, when we carry out campaigns and cultural events, we’ll focus on raising public awareness about issues related to homosexuality.” After the rally, the group held an additional commemorative event for the Month of Patriots and an advocacy event pointing out the negative aspects of homosexuality. There were testimonies from North Korean defectors, and a video presentation and lectures on the effects of AIDS and on the controversial parts of the anti-discrimination bill.
Event organizer Park Seong-geun (secretary general of the Daegu Council) said, “Their (the Queer Cultural Festival sponsors’) logic of human rights, opposition to hatred, and protection of sexual minorities sounds like there’s something to it, but when you deeply ponder on it you realize the logic is fake and is only being used to justify immoral sexual behavior… I will endeavor to the end to persuade people of the fact that escaping from homosexuality is a true human right.”
Citizens participating in the Daegu Council’s events rallied with hand-held pickets that read: “We will never pay for AIDS medicines with citizens’ tax money” and “Let’s stop tax money losses due to the full funding of AIDS treatment.” Some 1,500 youth of Daegu Dongshin Church (Rev. Gwon Seong-su) distributed to citizens pamphlets made by the Institute for Homosexuality and AIDS Prevention.
Mr. Lee Myeong-no (40) said, “We should proactively spread the word to Daegu citizens about how harmful homosexuality is to the entire society.” Mr. Jeong X (41) said, “I don’t understand how a dirty event like this was able to be named a ‘cultural festival.’ Daegu Queer Festival is nothing but a vulgar sex expo… Our Jung-gu District Office of Daegu and the police should act strongly in this case so that such cheap events will never again take place in a public area like Dongseong-ro.”
Daegu is the only place besides Seoul that a queer cultural festival has been held in Korea.
Article and photo by reporters Paek Sang-hyun & Choi Il-yeong (100sh@kmib.co.kr), from Daegu
Full Story in Korean:
“대구 퀴어축제, 문화행사 아닌 저급한 性 박람회”: 지방서 유일한 동성애 행사 열려
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“Queer festival in Daegu was more like a vulgar sex expo than a cultural event”
2016-06-28 15:55
