Hong Seok-cheon, Yoo Jeong-su, Park Chang-jin and Other Figures Take the Stage as ‘6th Pride Gala’ Wraps Up!

The 6th Pride Gala, hosted by the nonprofit Singnaneun Center (Chairman Kim Jo-gwang-soo), was held with great success on May 22 (Fri) at the Grand Ballroom of the FKI Hall in Yeouido, Seoul.

At this event, held in commemoration of ‘IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia),’ major figures from the political, business, diplomatic, and cultural-arts circles attended, and a rich program—from forums and awards to congratulatory performances and a dinner banquet—filled the night with solidarity for a society without discrimination.

The event’s keynote remarks were delivered by three speakers spanning the fields of politics and diplomacy, economic and industry affairs, and civil society and academia. Representing France—where, amid the turbulence of the French Revolution in 1791, it was the first in the world to decriminalize homosexuality and where it proved the value of equality to the world by legalizing same-sex marriage in 2013—Ambassador Philippe Verte to South Korea took the stage. This year also marked the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, and his attendance added special significance to the event.

Representing HP Printing Korea, which has been with the Pride Gala for four years running this year, Managing Director Mun Ji-won delivered in place of the remarks by CEO Kim Kwang-seok. He conveyed the message that the core value ‘Inclusion,’ which HP has practiced for a long time, is not about giving special consideration to someone. It is about creating an environment where each person is respected for their own distinct identity.

Finally, Son Jang-wook, Chairman of the Korea Association of HIV/AIDS, who unveiled a new vision—‘From Survival to Dignity’—ahead of the organization’s 20th founding anniversary next year, stepped up to the podium. His remarks—saying that the association’s gaze, once focused on people fighting viruses, is now turning to the lives of those hidden behind that struggle—became a moment in which, right here, he testified directly on how medical and scientific truths can become a shield for human rights.

At the Pride Awards ceremony, the highlight of the event, the Anti-Discrimination Law Making Coalition was selected as the prestigious winning organization. The recognition came for its achievements in consistently pushing for comprehensive enactment of anti-discrimination laws—spanning roughly 20 years since the formation of the Anti-Discrimination Joint Action in 2007—through activities such as equality parades, the nationwide Equality Bus, the 100,000 Petition Action titled ‘100,000 Actions,’ and hunger strikes in front of the National Assembly.

Those who came to the event venue for the award included people who helped build the coalition together, such as Jang Ye-jeong, standing executive committee chair of the Anti-Discrimination Law Making Coalition, Jin Eun-seon of the Association for the Empathizing of Disabled Women, Lee Jong-geol, co-representative of Chingu-sai, a Korean gay rights advocacy group, Daeyong of Sarangbang for Human Rights Activism, Jang Gil-wan, an executive committee member of the Lawyers’ Meeting for a Democratic Society, and Park Han-hee, a former executive committee member of Rainbow Action. They took the stage on behalf of 173 member organizations. The award presenters included Hong Seok-cheon, a broadcaster and winner of the 5th Pride Award, who personally handed off the baton of the award, adding a special meaning to the moment.

In remarks upon receiving the award, Jang Ye-jeong, standing executive committee chair, noted that this year is exactly the 20th anniversary since the National Human Rights Commission issued its recommendation for an anti-discrimination law. He said the movement began out of the urgent circumstances in which the Ministry of Justice submitted a bill after deleting seven categories of grounds for discrimination, including sexual orientation, and that this is the reason the LGBTQ+ movement and the campaign to enact an anti-discrimination law can never be separated. Near the end of his remarks, he remembered colleagues who had passed away earlier. He said it was an award received together with the late Im Bora, a pastor who was part of the team that won the 2nd Pride Award, and the late Byun Hee-soo, a Sergeant who was the namesake of the Byun Hee-soo Foundation, whose establishment license was finally approved this year.

“We’ve walked across the country, we’ve cut off even our hunger strikes, and we’ve shouted even in the plaza where more than 1 million people gathered, but the enactment of the anti-discrimination law still cannot go beyond ‘later.’” He added that despite that, he found hope and will move forward, pointing to the voices that never stopped in the plaza and the coming outs from LGBTQ+ individuals that have been hotter than ever. “Please stay with us until the day the anti-discrimination law finally passes the National Assembly’s plenary session,” he said in his final remarks, and attendees responded with loud applause.

After the awards ceremony, a special segment was arranged. For the past several years, Singnaneun Center has worked closely with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to expand HIV/AIDS prevention and efforts to end prejudice against people living with infections, as well as to expand PrEP support programs. Last year, it received an award from the director of the agency in recognition of its contributions on World AIDS Day. This day served as a chance to return that appreciation. In front of the group, Kim Jo-gwang-soo, chairman of the Singnaneun Center, personally delivered a letter of appreciation to Yoo Jeong-hee, deputy director of the AIDS Management Division at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Yoo Jeong-hee said, “From 2019 to now, I am deeply moved and pay my respects for the Pride Gala’s activities, which have taken on the issue of ‘dignity’ for our society while confronting prejudice and discrimination,” adding, “The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency will do its best by making the flexibility and expertise of the private sector the core partners in policy, in order to create an environment where every individual can be respected as they are and can access opportunities for prevention and treatment without discrimination.”

In a special talk session, Yu Jeong-su, representative of GLOW SEOUL, who has changed the city’s streetscapes through projects such as ‘Cheong Su-dang’ in Ikseon-dong, Seoul, and ‘Umuljip’ in Changsine-dong, took the stage. Called an expert in ‘urban regeneration’—a practice that revitalizes an entire commercial district by breathing unique narratives into deteriorating alleys beyond simple interior design—he unraveled the values of inclusion and solidarity in the language of space planning.

Speaking at the event, Yu Jeong-su emphasized, “Through the examples of various projects, including Ikseon-dong, the key to making a space come alive is not its flashy exterior. It lies in the stories the space holds and the welcoming attitude it offers.” He explained that designing inclusive spaces ultimately means allowing more people’s stories to be carried. He then delivered a message—received with loud applause—that “repeatedly creating places that welcome particular individuals, like the Pride Gala, across society is the way to change the world in the most continuous and powerful manner.”

Also, the forum held ahead of the main event continued in-depth, on-the-ground conversations aimed at spreading HIV prevention and PrEP, this year under the theme ‘HIV and PrEP stories crossing over Itaewon and Jongno, and dating apps.’ The session was moderated by Kim Tae-hyung, professor in the Department of Infectious Medicine at Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital. As a clinical expert who has treated vulnerable groups for HIV infection for years, and with a deep understanding of both the medical field and the community, he guided the forum, which was shaped as a three-dimensional discussion where policy, the field, and the community meet in one place.

Panelists included Park Jeong-geun, representative who runs the Glam Lounge, Frost, and Bistro Mex in Itaewon, Seoul; Cheon Jeong-nam, representative who has continued operating the queer bar ‘Friends’ in Jongno; and Baek Moon-seong, representative who runs the global LGBTQ+ dating app ‘Hiseey.’ They vividly shared the realities of HIV and PrEP as seen from their respective workplaces.

At the opening performance, pianist Jo Jae-hyuk and Collegium Musicum Seoul played works by French Baroque composers Lully and Rameau, setting the tone for the start of the event. Under the theme ‘Moments When Love and Identity Danced Beneath the Masks of the Court,’ they expressed traces of love and identity that had not been erased even in an oppressive era through music, drawing a big response.

During the dinner banquet, City Park Trio presented a jazz performance commemorating Freddie Mercury, the leader of the band Queen, which marked the 35th anniversary of his death this year. Jazz vocalist ASH AHN, pianist Kim Moo-won, jazz musician Simon, guitarist Kim Jae-yoon, bassist Joo Ji-ho, and drummer Kang Jeong-hye delivered a stage that reinterpreted Queen’s representative songs such as ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ as jazz, raising the atmosphere on site.

In his welcoming remarks, Kim Jo-gwang-soo said, “As the Pride Gala continues from year to year, it is gradually expanding and carrying more stories. What matters is not how far we’ve come, but how far we will go.” He added, “A society without discrimination does not come on its own. It becomes possible only when our choices and actions, and our unrelenting determination, accumulate.” “In this place today, no one needs to explain themselves. I hope you can be respected just as you are and celebrate together. Each and every one of you is Pride,” he said, and attendees responded with loud applause.

Meanwhile, Singnaneun Center is a nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ culture and arts that began on Sept. 7, 2013, with congratulatory funds collected from ‘The Inevitable Wedding of Kim Jo-gwang-soo and Kim Seung-hwan,’ Korea’s first publicly recognized same-sex wedding. Each year, it organizes major LGBTQ+ culture and arts events—such as the Seoul International Pride Film Festival and Pride Expo—where more than 10,000 people participate, and it works to improve social awareness of LGBTQ+ rights and HIV/AIDS.

The Pride Gala is an annual event that selects and honors individuals and organizations that contributed over the course of the year to promoting LGBTQ+ rights and breaking down prejudice against HIV/AIDS, and it consists of performances and a dinner reception to celebrate the winners. Taking the gala format, held each year in major cities worldwide such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in the United States, Paris and Cannes in France, Hong Kong, Toronto in Canada, and Dusseldorf in Germany, it was introduced in Korea, and this year marks its sixth edition.