PHOTOS: Activists take to streets to mark World Environment Day

SEOUL, June 5 (AJU PRESS) - Gwanghwamun Square, at the heart of Seoul, turned into a stage for environmental activism on Wednesday.

Marking World Environment Day, Green Korea United, a prominent environmental organization, staged a guerrilla street performance titled "Symbiosis," calling for legal personhood for animals, plants and the natural environment.

By bestowing legal rights upon cherished natural habitats and threatened wildlife, a stronger foundation can be laid for the safe coexistence between humans and non-humans, they argued.

Five professional dancers, joined by engaged citizens, took to the square to embody the rights of five emblematic animals through their movements: the long-tailed goral of Mt. Seorak, the white porpoise of the Geumgang River, the swan goose of the Nakdonggang River, the black-faced spoonbill of Saemangeum, and the soft coral of Jeju Island.

Participants crawl on all fours across a crosswalk during the performance at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno Seoul on June 5 2024 AJU PRESS Park Jong-hyeok — Participants crawl on all fours across a crosswalk during an environmental performance at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno, Seoul, on June 5, 2024. AJU PRESS Park Jong-hyeok

Green Korea United members perform guerrilla street performance Symbiosis expressing animal rights through body movements at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno Seoul on June 5 2024 AJU PRESS Park Jong-hyeok — Green Korea United members perform a guerrilla street performance calling for animal rights at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno. Seoul. on June 5 2024 AJU PRESS Park Jong-hyeok

Participants in the performance hold up a banner that reads Now is the time for us to coexist with everything around us AJU PRESS Park Jong-hyeok — Participants hold up a banner that reads, "Now is the time for us to coexist with everything around us," during an environmental performance at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno, Seoul, on June 5, 2024. AJU PRESS Park Jong-hyeok

Park Jong-hyeok qkrwhdgur2164@ajupress.com