The 17th Annual Korea Queer Culture Festival takes the slogan ‘QUEER I AM’ and kicked off with a colourful parade of flag-waving and dancing.

Some 2,000 police were deployed along the parade route as hundreds of Christians turned out to protest the event. Some laid down in the road to disrupt the march and were removed by police.

The pride march comes less than a month after a landmark court decision ruled against a homosexual couple's same-sex marriage.

While homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea the country remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity.

The Korea Queer Film Festival will take place from June 16 to 19.

More footage from Reuters can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5eT6YwhpY