Rejoice
Gwangwhamun Square (광화문 in Korean) has been the center of Korean political life for centuries. It’s a place for Korean citizens to gather and exercise their freedoms of speech and assembly. So, political rallies are a common sight in the square on any given weekend.
On the weekend of October 26-27, a friend of mine was visiting Seoul, so I was showing him around during his short trip. I had assumed that the area around Gwangwhamun Square, which includes the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace, would be peaceful on a crisp Sunday afternoon in October — rallies are rarely held here on Sundays.
That assumption couldn’t have been more wrong. When I arrived at our meet-up spot at City Hall Station, I could already hear the echoes of screaming voices and worship songs echoing into the overcrowded subway station. There was definitely a rally in the square — larger and more spirited than I’ve experienced before.
It turned out that this demonstration was organized by several Christian groups to oppose expanding LGBT rights. Churchgoers came out in Seoul in their tens of thousands to oppose the Korean government’s decision to expand these rights. The scene was one of the most chaotic I’ve ever witnessed: in an open-air Sunday worship session, the churchgoers sang Christian worship songs with so much passion that I had to remind myself to take some photos. In-between the songs, pastors implored their congregations about the importance of standing against LGBT rights, while screaming and political slogans from a nearby conservative protest occasionally broke through.
Protests of any kind in Korea are characterized by the passion and enthusiasm of the participants. In my outsider’s opinion, it’s part of the way Koreans express their emotions. The rally on October 27 is something that will stick with me for a long time.
View the photos from October 27 in my Seoul photo gallery here.
The scene was one of the most chaotic I’ve ever witnessed: in an open-air Sunday worship session, the churchgoers sang Christian worship songs with so much passion that I had to remind myself to take some photos.
