SEOUL, June 13 (Reuters) – Thousands of people gathered in central Seoul on Saturday for an annual LGBTQ pride parade, while a conservative Christian group held a counter-rally nearby, organisers and police said.
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival has long drawn both supporters of LGBTQ rights and vocal opposition from conservative religious groups in South Korea, where same-sex marriage is not legally recognised and efforts to pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination law have repeatedly stalled.
The festival’s organising committee set up a stage and around 70 booths from 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) in central Seoul, with the main festival beginning in the afternoon.
“I hope this festival will help more LGBTQ couples who have been hiding come out, and one day will be able to get married,” said Jeon Young-je, a 28-year-old participant.
The parade, centrepiece of the event, started at 4 p.m. and was scheduled to proceed for about 3 km (1.9 miles), according to organisers and police.
“The biggest purpose of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival and the parade is visibility,” said Yang Sun-woo, chief organiser of the festival. “Taking part is a way of declaring that queer people are everywhere around you.”
A conservative Christian group held a counter-rally from the early afternoon, about 700 metres (800 yards) from the pride festival venue. The group said it also planned to march.
There were no clashes between the two gatherings reported as of 4:30 p.m.
A peak of around 15,000 people had gathered in the area for the rival events in the afternoon, according to real-time urban population data provided by the Seoul city administration.
(Reporting by Sebin Choi and Joyce Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue and Kim Coghill)
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