Pride in Seoul

During June, I was able to make it to a handful of Pride events—The Seoul Pride Expo at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), The Seoul Queer Culture Festival, and a drag show at featuring a variety of incredible performers, including a personal favorite of mine, Hurricane Kimchi!

The Seoul Pride Expo was very fun, and it was right down the street from me, so I ended up going both days it was hosted. They had multiple performers and talks (that I unfortunately didn’t attend because my Korean is not that advanced yet) in one section of DDP, and an artist alley in another! Most of my time was spent in the artist alley, where I spent a dollar amount that was above what I initially budgeted for. Just know that I love supporting independent queer artists!

I also had an incredible time at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. I ran into various people I had met at prior events, and realized I had more things in common with a few acquaintances from Yonsei than I initially thought. The antics of the counter protesters, for as annoying as they were, were so ridiculous that all we could do from the crowd was laugh. How are you going to come to a pride parade dressed in SNSD’s “Genie” stage outfits and the Village People's “Y.M.C.A.”? And we aren’t supposed to chuckle?

Lastly, if you like drag shows—or have never been to one and would like to change that during your semester abroad—I recommend going to Uplift in Yongsan! The drag show I attended may have been for Pride Month specifically, but Uplift is a year-round queer-friendly space with a great community of people.

Remember: No amount of hate and prejudice held toward those of us who live and love outside of cisheteronormative boundaries will stop us from existing. Happy Pride!

*Note: These are very few of the pictures I have, but out of respect for those who may not want their faces posted anywhere, these are the ones that made the cut!