Rory Kelly, left, and Kristen Pimley / Courtesy of Curtis File and Cassandra Talbot

Pride Month is almost over, but not before seven stand-up comics take to the stage at KYLDN Social Club in central Seoul's Gyeongnidan area this Friday. All seven are women and/or queer, and will be taking the stage on the theme "No Pride, Just Prejudice."

"'No Pride, Just Prejudice' is obviously a play on Jane Austen, but it also sums up how it feels to be gay in Korea sometimes when the powers that be would rather rent space to a hate group than a Pride parade," said Rory Kelly, the headlining comedian.

He was referring to last year, when the city barred the Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF) from taking place as usual in Seoul Plaza. Instead, the space was given to a Christian TV station that has been criticized for broadcasting anti-LGBTQ hate speech. The event, which was supposedly a festival for children, had barely any attendees.

All this happened under a "moderate conservative" mayor who the OECD declared a "Champion Mayor for Inclusive Growth" in recognition of his leading role in mitigating inequality under his policies to focus on the vulnerable — and who has also said he "can't agree with homosexuality."

The city government pulled the rug out from under the SQCF again this year, but this time it was decided to reserve the city square for a reading event not connected with any religious organizations.

What can you do in the face of so much absurdity? Probably the healthiest thing is to laugh.

"Last year, I walked in the Seoul Pride Parade, and it was sweltering hot. We kept getting screamed at by Christian protesters," said Kristen Pimley, host of the event and a producer of Stand Up Seoul. "They kept yelling, 'You're going to Hell!' I thought, 'It's July in Seoul. We're already here.'"

Kelly shared an amusing story about being accused of bigotry himself.

"I used to be part of a language exchange, and we were discussing what we would do if we were president," he said. "One of the participants said he would ban all gay people; I said I would ban all the homophobes. He said I was being intolerant."

It's exactly because of this kind of attitude that Korea can't have an anti-discrimination law, as bigots fear being outed for their prejudices.

Both Pimley and Kelly confirmed that they have been subjected to hatred by bigots, not just in the streets during the Pride Parade or in daily life, but also in connection with their comedy routines.

"I've been heckled for being gay before," Kelly said. "The best one was I told a joke about my boyfriend being my brother, and someone shouted, 'I don't wanna hear about gay shit!' He was fine with incest."

"I like to take screenshots of any hate comments and turn them into advertisements for shows," said Pimley, who has performed on comedy stages in nine countries so far. "My favorite was an anonymous man who commented on a lot of my social media posts, saying, 'Stop calling yourself a comedian. You are just an attractive white female; you have no talent. Your comedy is insufferable and embarrassing.' I was like, 'You think I'm attractive?' (heart emojis)"

She added that their upcoming show has not yet received any backlash, but if it were to, it clearly wouldn't faze her.

"I feel that if ultra-conservative religious groups are protesting you, it's a sign you're doing something right," she said.

Although it used to be claimed that Korea had no homosexuality, those days are long gone. These days, while it's impossible to deny the existence of sexual minorities throughout Korea's history, there are still haters who claim that it only exists because it is a foreign culture brought here by outsiders...outsiders like Kelly and Pimley?

They had harsh words for this notion.

"People who think of queerness as 'foreign' are never going to change their minds and frankly don't deserve to laugh," Kelly said.

"Love, understanding and acceptance are universal values," added Pimley.

There has been a lot of social debate over whether comedy has become too politically correct, and what jokes might go too far. But while Pimley isn't silencing or canceling anybody, she made it clear what she wants to see on stage.

"There's a big difference between pushing boundaries and perpetuating hate — and hate speech is rarely funny," she said. "As a producer, I'm trying to save the stage for voices that inspire and entertain."

"Hatred already has enough of a platform," Kelly added.

The poster for "No Pride, Just Prejudice" at KYLDN Social Club in Itaewon / Courtesy of Stand Up Seoul

"No Pride, Just Prejudice" starts this Friday at 9 p.m. Entry to KYLDN Social Club costs 15,000 won. The performers also include Jessica Lee, Alice Hong, Yobo, Sue Choe and Yena Choi.

Visit @standupseoul or @kyldnsocialclub on Instagram for more information.