[Cover Story ‘Presidential Election’ #1]

How to Overcome Despair – The Planning and Execution of ‘GAY SUMMIT 300’

1.

On April 15, 2017, “2017 Presidential Election: GAY SUMMIT 300” was held in grand fashion at the Central Great Hall of Cheondogyo, located in front of Unhyeongung Palace near Jongno 3-ga.
 The Central Great Hall of Cheondogyo, completed in 1921 during the Japanese colonial period, is a representative example of modern Korean architecture, known for its dignified and elegant interior and exterior. Countless historic events in Korea’s modern and contemporary history have taken place there. In such a historically significant venue, an election-related event attended by sexual minorities was held.

The event ran for approximately three hours, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. A total of 203 people registered, and excluding dozens of staff members, 117 participants were seated at the round tables inside the venue. Every one of these 117 participants shared, at their respective tables, the hardships they have experienced living as sexual minorities and what they hope for from the next presidential candidates. The 20 facilitators assigned to each table typed participants’ remarks as faithfully as possible and delivered them to the agenda analysis team. A total of 235 individual opinions were submitted to the team. From these, the team extracted 621 keywords, which were presented in the form of a tag cloud. Based on this analysis, the team drafted a preliminary version of the “2017 Presidential Election Gay Community Demands.”

2.

Turning back the clock to January 14, 2017, at the LT meeting where Chingusai set its annual direction and plans, the steering committee made a key decision in preparation for the upcoming presidential election. Among Chingusai’s core tasks for 2017, the first priority was designated as the presidential election, and the project direction was defined as “popular and community-participatory intervention in the presidential election.” To develop concrete plans for this task, committee members held active meetings throughout February and March, during which several guiding principles were established. First, rather than framing participants around the identity of being “gay,” the event would target the gay community as a community. Second, instead of placing high expectations on existing politicians or “LGBT-friendly” policies, the goal would be to cultivate a minimal level of political desire and critical awareness within the gay community itself, including ourselves.

There was a clear reason for deliberately setting the bar “low” from the outset. On February 13, Moon Jae-in, then former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that he “does not support homosexuality” during a meeting with conservative Protestant leaders, sparking outrage among sexual minorities. On February 16, at a gender equality forum, a lesbian participant protested, asking, “I am a woman and a homosexual—can you cut my human rights in half?” The audience responded by shouting “Later,” effectively silencing her. In the lead-up to an election, sexual minorities were once again denied even minimal recognition as a policy constituency. Watching their existence be casually erased and traded away for religious votes naturally bred anger, despair, and disillusionment.

Amid these emotions, an emergency steering committee meeting of Chingusai held that very day finalized the core framework of the event: First, to gather 300 members of the gay community and conduct roundtable discussions on politics together. Second, to confirm the event once participation reached 200 people.

On March 10, the long-awaited decision by the Constitutional Court to uphold the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye was announced, officially removing her from office. Sexual minorities, who had proudly contributed to the months-long candlelight protests, shared their joy at a queer candlelight rally held in front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. With this momentum, the April 15 date for GAY SUMMIT 300 was finalized. Had Park not been removed, the early election—and this event—would not have been possible.

Two days before the event, the Military Human Rights Center revealed at a press conference that the Army Chief of Staff had ordered the identification and criminal prosecution of gay soldiers under Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act. The following day, KBS aired a malicious report, and a KBS social media manager posted hateful remarks such as “Are they filming porn?” and “Gross,” igniting further outrage. On the very day this news broke—exposing how merely being gay could lead to criminal punishment—the registration count for GAY SUMMIT 300 surpassed the 200-person threshold required to hold the event.

▲ Attorney Han Garam, who served as the moderator of GAY SUMMIT 300.

▲ Keyword statistics extracted from the roundtable discussions on the day of GAY SUMMIT 300.

3.

Participants in GAY SUMMIT 300 shared deeply personal stories about the pain of living as sexual minorities. At the same time, they spoke of the comfort, happiness, and joy found within the gay community. They identified shortcomings and needs at the levels of the state, broader society, the gay community, and individuals themselves. Their demands for presidential candidates encompassed nearly all major issues surrounding the gay community: an anti-discrimination law, same-sex marriage, conservative Protestant-led hatred, human rights education, LGBTQ political representation, repeal of Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act, and the reduction of stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Participants also actively proposed revisions to the draft “2017 Presidential Election Gay Community Demands.” Notable suggestions included:

1. Revising “gay community” to “queer community.”
2. Retaining language on the right to diverse family structures alongside same-sex marriage.
3. Adding “violence and hate crimes” to the section on LGBTQ+ oppression.
4. Explicitly stating that the government must adhere to the constitutional principle of separation of church and state in condemning conservative Protestant lobbying.
5. Adding the “military” as a specific sector requiring  human rights protections.
6. Setting a deadline by which all presidential candidates must respond to the demands.

These revisions were incorporated on the spot, and on April 15, the final “2017 Presidential Election Gay Community Demands” were completed and read aloud collectively by all participants, bringing GAY SUMMIT 300 to a close. After minor wording edits, the demands were officially sent to all presidential candidates on April 19.

4.

The first half of the year felt like a storm. A president was impeached; new presidential candidates made openly homophobic remarks; and innocent gay soldiers were interrogated and prosecuted simply for their identity. It was a time of profound exhaustion, soaked simultaneously in despair and hope.

I believe the way to overcome despair is to share it within a community—and through that community, regain the strength to live daily life and dream again. That conviction can collapse easily, and is sometimes dismissed as naïve. But on the day GAY SUMMIT 300 was held, the faces we recognized in one another, and the strength drawn from those faces, were undeniably real. At a time when voices insist that sexual minorities’ lives are trivial, illusory, and easily disposable, I hope that this genuine memory will remain with you for a long time. For the beginning of change may well start from one carefully shaped, shared memory.

2017.1.14. At the LT for the first half of 2017, Chingusai set one of its core priorities for the year as “a popular and community-participatory intervention in the presidential election.”
 2017.2.16. At an extraordinary meeting of Chingusai’s Steering Committee, a decision was made to hold a town-hall–style event related to the presidential election with 200–300 participants
  (1) to convene a gathering of 300 gay people to discuss politics /
  (2) to proceed with the event once participation reached 200.
 2017.2.24. 1st Presidential Election Planning Meeting: participation target decided as the “gay community.”
 2017.3.1. 2nd Presidential Election Planning Meeting.
 2017.3.7. 3rd Presidential Election Planning Meeting.
 2017.3.10. The Constitutional Court rules to uphold the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, confirming an early election for the 19th presidential race.
 2017.3.11. 4th Presidential Election Planning Meeting: event title finalized as “GAY SUMMIT 300,” teaser video approved.
 2017.3.15. 5th Presidential Election Planning Meeting.
 2017.3.16. 6th Presidential Election Planning Meeting (March Steering Committee meeting).
 2017.3.17. Release of the GAY SUMMIT 300 teaser video.
 2017.3.21. GAY SUMMIT 300 application page opens; registration begins.
 2017.3.22. 7th Presidential Election Planning Meeting.
 2017.3.23. GAY SUMMIT 300 registration surpasses 100 participants.
 2017.3.25. First Jongno promotional campaign for GAY SUMMIT 300 (held alongside Chingusai’s regular meeting).
 2017.3.27. 8th Presidential Election Planning Meeting.
 2017.3.29. Release of GAY SUMMIT 300 card news.
 2017.4.1. Completion of the official GAY SUMMIT 300 poster; second Jongno promotional campaign conducted.
 2017.4.5. 9th Presidential Election Planning Meeting.
 2017.4.7. 10th Presidential Election Planning Meeting; release of the first GAY SUMMIT 300 web promotional material (Han Garam) / third Jongno promotional campaign conducted.
 2017.4.8. Release of the second personal web promotional material for GAY SUMMIT 300 (Baek Paeng).
 2017.4.9. 11th Presidential Election Planning Meeting; facilitator orientation held.
 2017.4.12. Release of the third personal web promotional material for GAY SUMMIT 300 (Cha Sebin).
 2017.4.13. First meeting of the GAY SUMMIT 300 agenda analysis team.
 2017.4.14. Second meeting of the GAY SUMMIT 300 agenda analysis team / registration surpasses 200 participants.
 2017.4.15. Main GAY SUMMIT 300 event held; the 2017 Presidential Election Gay Community Platform finalized.
 2017.4.17. Official campaign period for the 19th presidential election begins.
 2017.4.18. GAY SUMMIT 300 article published in Hankyoreh 21.
 2017.4.19. GAY SUMMIT 300 articles published by Yonhap News, OhmyNews, and BEMINOR / the 2017 Presidential Election Gay Community Platform sent to each presidential candidate (Moon Jae-in, Hong Joon-pyo, Ahn Cheol-soo, Yoo Seong-min, Sim Sang-jung, Kim Seon-dong).

Chingusai / Teoul (터울)