Local Government Removes Ad Featuring LGBTQ+ Couple From Gangnam Billboard
Recently, a giant-screen ad for a queer dating app was removed by the local government merely four days after being put up.
The ad, which featured same-sex couples kissing and expressing affection, was set up along the streets of Nonhyeon-dong in Gangnam on August 26. According to reports, the advertisement contract called for it to be aired at least 100 times a day for a year.
But on August 30, KST, the ad was suspended at the request of the Gangnam Ward government. An official told the media that the suspension came as a response to the multiple complaints received by their office regarding the ad. The removal was done in accordance with the Outdoor Advertisement Act, which bans advertisements that can potentially hurt traditional customs with “obscene” content.
The dating app company expressed their frustration at this decision, explaining that they had to spend quite a fortune to receive the licensing contract for the app’s operation in South Korea. But given the treatment received by the ad, they feared that the project was a failure.
We had no idea that a project related to sexual minorities would be coldly treated like this in 2024.
— CEO of the dating app company
The LGBTQ+ community in South Korea has also strongly criticized the Gangnam-gu Ward office’s decision, calling the administration “regressive” and out of touch with today’s world.
The district office explains that it was carried out according to complaints, but in fact, it is a decision that reflects the view of the administrative agency,” adding, “The fact that LGBTQ-related content is unconditionally driven to ‘obscene’ and ‘decadence’ contains hateful eyes.
— Yang Eun Seok, Secretary General of Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee
