The 7th Korea Queer Culture Festival (KQCF), or Mujigae ("Rainbow") 2006, will be held during 5/30-6/11.

Over 15 days, various events including a public forum, an art exhibition, a film festival, parties, and a street parade will be held in the Jongro, Sinchon (near Hongik University), and Itaewon districts of Seoul.

The only queer culture festival nationwide, the KQCF has grown from a modest event put together by a handful of Korean LGBT rights activists with little money to an increasingly visible and welcomed public festival sponsored by governmental or public organs such as the Arts Council Korea, Korean Film Council, and Korea Association of Film Art and Industry.

Of course, the visibility and acceptance of LGBT folks still have a long way to go in this sexually onservative country. Nevertheless, the KQCF has definitely contributed to the Korean public's awareness and understanding of the uniqueness, creativity, and vitality of their LGBT neighbors and friends.

Updates will be regularly posted here so mark your calendar and join the fun!

● Street Parade: Happy Together!
1) Time/date: 12:00 PM-6:00 PM, 6/10/2006 (Sat.)
2) Venues: Preliminary events - Jongmyo (Royal Ancestral Shrines) Park in Jongro4-ga
Parade - Jongmyo Part → Jongro Tower in Jongro2-ga → CitiBank in Gongpyeong-dong

Unlike most other events of the KQCF, the preliminary events and the street parade itself will be held in the open air so as to heighten participants’ pride, to provide an arena for the public to rethink diversity, and to make natural and happy communication possible through the medium of a festival.

The press conference will be held at 10:00 AM-11:00 AM on 6/10/2006 (Sun.) at iSHAP (Jongro).

- Part 1: Booth events and preliminary events (12:00 PM-4:00 PM)
Activities: Various queer organizations’ self-promotion, information provision, and activities
- Part 2: Street parade (4:00 PM-5:00 PM)
Activities: Various queer organizations’ and individuals’ street parade using parade cars
- Part 3: Congratulatory performance (5:00 PM-6:00 PM)
Activities: Various organizations’ and bands’ congratulatory speeches and performances

* Guidelines for a Parade Participants
- The street parade is a fun, exciting event that expresses sexual minorities’ pride and turns the street into an arena of carnivalesque liberation.
- The KQCF Organizing Committee is doing its best to prevent the unwanted outing of parade participants through photographing or videotaping.
- Participants are encouraged, if they wish, to use props such as face painting, masks, hats, and balloons not only to secure anonymity but also to enhance the dramatic effect.
- Participants who do not wish to be photographed or videotaped may obtain and wear a red ribbon from the Information Desk. They are encouraged to wear the ribbon on or near their faces and necks.

* Guidelines for Festival Participants
- The booths each sell or distribute information and items produced by respective queer organizations.
- In case representatives from queer organizations wish to photograph the street parade, they, too, must participate in the press conference and obtain an press card. The general public is cordially requested to refrain from photographing or videotaping parade participants so that they may participate fully and safely.

* Guidelines for Journalists/Reporters
- Journalists and reporters may not cover, photograph, or videotape any event related to the parade without prior approval from the Organizing Committee.
- Journalists and reporters wishing to cover, photograph, or videotape any event related to the parade must participate in the press conference, which will be held at 10:00 AM-11:00 AM on 6/10/2006 (Sun.)
at iSHAP in Jongro, and be issued press cards beforehand.
- After 1:00 PM, press cards will be issued from the Information Desk.
- Journalists and reporters may not cover, photograph, or videotape any individual wearing a red ribbon, which signifies that he or she wishes to remain anonymous.
- Unfortunately, public disclosure through photographs or video recording poses a very real threat to sexual minorities’ socioeconomic survival in Korea today. All journalists and reporters are appreciated for heir cooperation.

● Parties: Queer Paradise in Seoul!
1) Time/date: 8 PM and onward, 6/10/2006 (Sat.)
2) Venues: Jongro, Itaewon, and Sincheon (near Hongik University)

This year, KQCF parties will be held in multiple venues at the same time to give queer revellers more choice.
The motto, “Queer paradise in Seoul,” therefore is a de facto declaration of sexual minorities’ takeover of Seoul on the night of 6/10, when participating establishments will celebrate queer pride and host a variety of events right after the exhilarating street parade. So, how about starting the festivity with a drink or two in a bar in Jongro or Sincheon, to end in rapturous frenzy in a dance club in Itaewon? Paint the town red on the last night of Mujigae 2006!

As always, parties, held right after the street parade, may very well be the icing on the KQCF.
A space for the unlimited expression of our queer happiness and pride, the parties will allow us to shake ourselves free from the rampant discrimination and prejudice of daily life, to express ourselves creatively and jubilantly, and to share with our straight allies the dream of a world where difference does not equal discrimination.

* With one ticket, patrons can go to any of the participating queer establishments, including dance clubs, in Itaewon, Sincheon (near Hongik University), and Jongro. It’s a club day for queers!
* Participating establishments: 10 queer establishments in Jongro (Bar Friends, Bar Code, Gemini, Mino, The Box),
Itaewon (Del Disco, Beyond, Why Not?), and Sincheon (Lesbos, W)
* Surprise events will be held in the participating queer establishments.
* Each ticket costs 20,000 won. There are 4 coupons per ticket.
* There is a 10% discount for advance purchases. Patrons with the KQCF flyer will get a discount of 1.000 won at the door.
* Tickets may be purchased at the KQCF link below.
* Advance purchase method:
(1) Remit 18,000 won to the following bank account:
- Bank: Woori Bank
- Account number: 1006-201-222229
- Account holder: 퀴어 문화 축제 조직 위원회 (KQCF Organizing Committee)
(2) Leave the ticket purchaser’s name, e-mail account, and (cell) phone number on the confidential party reservation BBS at http://www.kqcf.org/zboard/write.php?id=mainparty_reserv&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on &select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=&mode=write&sn1=&divpage=1
(3) The programmer will send an e-mail after confirming the remittance/reservation.
* The 4 coupons included in each ticket can be used to enter participating queer establishments from 8 PM on 6/10
to the early morning of 6/11.
* Each coupon counts as 5,000 won. For three dance clubs in Itaewon with a cover charge
(Del Disco, Beyond, and Why Not?), the coupon will serve as a cover charge waiver.
For all other establishments, the coupon can be exchanged for one drink.
* Tickets will be sold both offline and online during the KQCF (-6/10). On 6/10, they will be sold at a booth
in Jongmyo Park and another designated location until 11:00 PM.
* The proceeds from ticket sales will be used to fund the KQCF.
* Shuttle Bus for Street Parade Participants
- After the street parade and the congratulatory events, shuttle buses will run from Jongro to both Sincheon
(near Hongik University) and Itaewon. Party tickets may be purchased on the buses, too.
- Shuttle bus hours: 7:00 PM - 1 bus to Itaewon and Sincheon, respectively
9:00 PM - 1 bus to Itaewon and Sincheon, respectively
- Shuttle bus stop: In front of Jogye-sa (Buddhist temple) in Jongro
- The bus hours are subject to change. Please double check during the post-parade congratulatory events.

● Open Forum: Express Yourself! Bravo, Queer Life!
1) Time/date: 5/30 (Tues.)-6/7/2006 (Fri.)
2) Venues: Jongro and Sincheon (near Hongik University)

Aimed at generating and combining private and public discourse in an open arena to enhance public awareness and participation, the open forum will address diverse topics including gay men’s lifestyles and sex, lesbians’ healthy and stress-free lives, and transgenders’ stories. At “Let Your Hair Down: Gay Talk,” gay men will get to chat and hear about concerns and conflicts in everyday life and their representative life patterns. At “The Night You Turn into a Sex Bomb,” gay men will have a chance to discuss anything and everything about sex including their views of sex, sex problems, and misconceptions about sex. At “Skin-Deep Beauty and Beauty Sleep,” gay men will talk about and get tips on skin care and cosmetics. As for lesbians, “No More Weakling Sisters!” will provide a stage for discussions on health issues such as dieting, quitting smoking/drinking, and safe sex. Most female sexual minorities suffer from tremendous stress in a heterosexist and patriarchal society. To help them to live free of care and anxiety, “Who ARE You?” will provide an opportunity for a group discussion on lesbians’ problems and daily lives, with the help of a professional counselor. “Health 101 for Trannies” will be a chat session on medical measures for various types of transgenders. Happiness starts from the moment we take pride in our lives. Join the open forum for hours of laughter and helpful information!

● Queer Film Festival: Queer Happy Point!
1) Dates: 6/6 (Tues.)-6/11/2006 (Sun.) (6 days)
2) Venue: Seoul Art Cinema (former Hollywood Cinema; http://www.cinematheque.seoul.kr)

2006 will go down as a year to remember for all queer film aficionados in Korea: no less than four queer movies have opened, a rare phenomenon considering that, on an average, queer movies are released less than once a year. Maison de Himiko, which addresses the daily lives of old gays and family reconciliation; Time to Leave (Le temps qui reste), which depicts the last days of a terminally ill gay man; Brokeback Mountain, which poignantly portrays the love affair between two cowboys in rural America in the 1960’s; and The King and the Clown, a partly gay-themed Korean movie. Especially noteworthy is The King and the Clown, which has been seen by over 10 million people nationwide, thus dispelling the myth that films dealing with homosexuality, male homosexuality in particular, are doomed to fail.

Film is a medium that leads us to take both flights of fancy and a cold, hard look at reality. In addition, it provides to many people solace that is otherwise unavailable in reality and in turn urges them to confront problems that they have evaded in everyday life. It is no longer rare to see sexual minorities in movies such as the unexpectedly popular The King and the Clown.

Nevertheless, many real-life sexual minorities are reluctant to see queer movies in theaters. This seeming contradiction stems from the way in which they are depicted on the silver screen and in which they communicate with other members of the audience. All too often, movies portray sexual minorities as “freaks” who are either excessively comical or solely driven by sexual desire rather than as human beings who proudly acknowledge their identities. Such representations lead most audience members to accept distorted images of sexual minorities as truthful. Moreover, many heterosexual members of the audience interrupt others’ viewing experience by jeering and guffawing at scenes that are poignant, even painful, to queer viewers.

Consequently, even in theaters, even as they try to forget harsh reality by seeing movies that portray their lives and loves, sexual minorities are not only excluded from even a modicum of happiness but also turned into laughing stocks. All of this is an unmistakable indicator of sexual minorities’ social status in Korea today. Sadly but ironically, the medium that queers choose to view?whether as entertainment or as art?in order to forget, however momentarily, the hardship of living as queers reminds them of their very position in society. Seeing queer movies therefore becomes an experience fraught with danger and heartache. Nor can sexual minorities pick and choose according to their tastes because only few queer movies are shown, and in select venues. Is it impossible, then, for Korean queers ever to see movies about themselves without feeling derided, threatened, or oppressed?

The queer film festival of the 7th KQCF aims at heightening sexual minorities’ happiness through the medium of cinema and ensuring their rights as members of the audience. Invariably, most of the works that have been selected are foreign movies. Nevertheless, the organizers of the queer film festival this year has carefully chosen films that not only are truly enjoyable for sexual minorities in Korea but also prompt the audience to ponder on the social role and responsibility of cinema. Through movies that provide entertainment, aesthetic pleasure, and social critique, the 7th KQCF will dare to speak of the happiness of self-confident queers in Korea today, for they, too, deserve to and can live happily and with dignity.

* Selections: 10 movies including Gay Sex in the 70’s (dir. Joseph Lovett, DV 6 mm, 72 mins., 2005, USA)
* Admission fee: 5,000 won per person

- Gay Sex in the 70’s (dir. Joseph Lovett, DV 6 mm, 72 mins., 2005, USA)
This film pays a steamy visit to the sexually charged post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS era when gay men enjoyed unprecedented sexual freedom. Hailed by critics and audiences alike, it focuses on New York City during 1969-1981, using remarkable present-day interviews with luminaries such as Larry Kramer and Tom Bianchi and stunning archival footage to take viewers back to the piers, trucks, Central Park rambles, back rooms, and baths. It was a time where sexual explosion replaced repression and fear, when shame became joy.

- Adam & Steve (dir. Craig Chester, 35 mm, 99 mins., 2005, USA)
Set in New York, this film follows the romantic trajectory of two people struggling to make love work despite overwhelming odds. Having met in the 1980’s at a disastrous one-night stand, Adam and Steve don’t recognize each other when they meet again 15 years later. With the help of their best friends―formerly obese standup comic Rhonda and straight guy ladies’ man Michael―our protagonists fall in love only to realize, a year later, that they met before. Can they accept this and incorporate it into their current understanding of each other?

- Moritz (dir. Stefan Haupt, DV 6 mm, 87 mins., 2003, Switzerland)
A heartfelt, compelling all-ages offering, this film involves a gay couple who become guardians of Moritz, a sickly neighbor’s young son, which leads the homophobic villagers to harass this new family and the child’s abduction by his possessive grandmother. Though saddened, uptight careerist Ralph is relieved to be rid of the boy and the attendant problems, but he made a promise to Moritz’s mother, and his relationship with Andi could break down if he doesn’t stand up for what’s right and what Moritz himself wants: to live with his new, loving fathers.

- Tying the Knot (dir. Jim de Seve, 35 mm, 81 mins., 2004, USA)
Begun with the director’s personal question of staying together with his Indonesian lover in a country that doesn’t recognize their relationship, this film explores the meaning and role of marriage in American society through a fast-paced tour of personal stories, history, and legal and political fights around matrimony. It examines intimate tales of a rancher and a cop who have lost their life partners and are faced with losing pensions and farms. This compelling, call-to-arms movie unapologetically argues that gay marriage is an issue not of morality but of basic social justice.

- Robin’s Hood (dir. Sara Millman, DV 6 mm, 81 mins., 2005, USA)
A lesbian romance and adventure film about two young women who falls in love and embark on a crime spree. A disillusioned social worker living in the shadow of Sherwood Forest (Oakland, CA), Robin truly believes she can positively impact the world till frustrations at her job force her to rethink her life. A chance encounter entwines this luscious African-American bisexual with Brooklyn, a butch French mechanic who happens to be a thief. Adventures lurk around the corner when a life of justifiable crime and intense romance commences.

- The Journey (Sancharram) (dir. Ligy J. Pullappally, 35 mm, 105 mins., 2005, USA)
Young and beautiful Kiran is secretly in love with Delilah, her vivacious best friend. In their village in India, however, all girls are expected to marry―and only men of their parents’ choice. Kiran finds a chance to confess her love when Rajan, a neighbor, asks her to write love letters to Delilah on his behalf. Delilah soon realizes this and the two young women fall passionately in love. As their secret is found out by their families, however, the protagonists are threatened with the prospect of forced arranged marriage. The culmination, both tragic and triumphant, will move all viewers.

- Round Trip (dir. Shahar Rozen, DV 6 mm, 95 mins., 2005, Israel)
In this gripping story of personal and sexual rediscovery, Nurit, an Israeli bus driver falls in love with her new nanny. The two women and Nurit’s children together form a special family bond but must hide their relationship from the world around them. Beautifully executed, this moving drama tells a powerful tale against the backdrop of life in Tel Aviv. Naturalistic performances and a verite style lend a terrific sense of realism and immediacy as this dramatic story of a love between two women unfolds.

- Fucking Different! (dir., Kristian Petersen, et al., DV 6 mm, 90 mins., 2005, Germany)
This omnibus film was begun when 15 queer movie directors were asked to create shorts on their views of love and sex. This refreshing idea was given yet another twist: gay directors were to make works about lesbians and vice versa. The works gathered here ironically and provocatively subvert still existing prejudice and misconception between gay men and lesbians. Also included between shorts are witty quotes and collages. This delicious collection will amuse, titillate, and challenge straight, lesbian, and gay viewers alike.

- Brokeback Mountain (dir. Ang Lee, 35 mm, 133 mins., 2005, USA)
Based on Annie Proulx’s award-winning short story and set against the sweeping vistas of the Canadian Rockies, this raw, powerful epic recounts the romance between two young men, a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, who meet in the summer of 1963 sheepherding in the harsh, high grasslands of contemporary Wyoming and form an unorthodox yet lifelong bond that is by turns ecstatic, bitter, and conflicted and one whose complications, joys, and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love.

- Beautiful Boxer (dir. Ekachai Uekrongtham, DV 6 mm, 118 mins., 2003, Thailand)
Based on the real-life story of “Nong Toom” (Parinya Charoenphol), a former Thai kickboxer who underwent a sex reassignment surgery to become a successful model and film star, this charming, funny, and heartwarming film recounts her life from a young boy who liked to wear lipstick and flowers to her sensational career as a kickboxer whose specialty was the ancient Muaythai boxing, which she executed expertly and gracefully, and her eventual confrontation with her own gender identity.

● Event 1: Professor Douglas Sanders’ Lecture
- “LGBT Rights: Fights at the UN and in Asian Courts”
1) Time/date: 7:00 PM, 6/2/2006 (Fri.)
2) Venue: iSHAP (in Jongro)

Professor emeritus in the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia and an LL M professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, Professor Douglas Sanders will introduce and analyze in detail cases of the struggle for LGBT rights in various Asian countries including Japan (the Occur case), Korea (the Exzone case), Hong Kong, Fiji, the Philippines, and India.

For example, in Hong Kong, law was successfully revised before the city’s return to China to set the legal age for consensual homosexual acts at 21. William Roy Leung achieved this legal triumph with his own testimony that he had homosexual tendencies even before adolescence and with studies proving that the sexual orientation of most men and women is determined before adolescence.

Fiji illegalized homosexual acts on grounds that they were lewd, unnatural, and antithetical to the principles of the powerful conservatives in the upper rungs of society. Consequently, there was considerable debate on whether to include a clause legalizing homosexual acts in Fijian law. Nevertheless, Fijian courts ruled that homosexuality had to be legalized according to the Constitution and the United Nations agreement on human rights, which guaranteed liberty to all.

These cases show that standards regarding LGBT rights established by international organs such as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) can and do in fact affect courts throughout Asia. Building on this premise, the talk will explore possible alternative strategies for the LGBT rights movement by analyzing the fact that, when presented with the strong grounds of international law, various national courts cannot completely refuse to legalize homosexual acts.

* Discussants: Jeong Jeong-hun (non-profit public interest lawyers’ group Gong Gam, The Beautiful Foundation)
Han Chae-yun (Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Center)

● Event 2: Condom Cafe with PLWHA
1) Time/date: 8:00 PM-12:00 AM, 6/7 (Wed.) and 6/8/2006 (Thurs.)
2) Venue: Bar Friends (in Jongro)

Queer people suffer from society’s mistreatment and prejudice. PLWHA, too, suffer from abuse and bias. However, such prejudice and mistreatment are doubled for queer PLWHA.

What, then, of queer folks’ attitude toward queer PLWHA? Do they discriminate against PLWHA among their own kind? The answer is “no” because, for fear of discrimination, queer PLWHA do not even dare reveal their HIV+ status: disclosing that fact equals social death. This is the tragic reality of the queer community in Korea today. As a result, very few queer PLWHA have come out, a fact that in turn has aggravated Korean society’s prejudice against PLWHA in general.

Deeply troubled by this situation, Mujigae 2006, the only carnival and feast for queers in Korea, is organizing a party to which all queers are invited regardless of their HIV status. Unfortunately, due to harsh social reality, actual PLWHA will not reveal their faces and names. Nevertheless, hypothetical PLWHA created through education and training will serve to enlighten queer people, thus paving the way for a society where all queers can coexist openly and happily regardless of their HIV status.

* Program:
- Through a workshop and with help from iSHAP personnel, volunteers will learn to understand and to empathize with the daily lives and experiences of PLWHA.
- During Mujigae 2006, these volunteers, as hypothetical PLWHA, will engage in dialogue with festival participants in a designated queer business establishment to dispel prejudice and misunderstanding about PLWHA. The participants will be provided with a bottle of non-alcoholic/alcoholic beverage free of charge.