Progressive activists rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in central Seoul on 2026-03-01, calling for the United States and Israel to stop their attacks on Iran, according to the supplied Korea JoongAng Daily report. The protest took place on March 1 Independence Movement Day, giving the demonstration a historical backdrop that sharpened its political symbolism.
Around 20 activists, carrying “Hands Off Iran” cards, chanted criticism of U.S. and Israeli policy. The civic group People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said in a statement that Washington and Jerusalem should halt what it called illegal aggression against a sovereign state. That language placed the protest firmly in the anti-war camp and linked it to international law arguments as well as to moral opposition to the strikes.
The report also shows that Seoul was not politically uniform on the day. Separate conservative groups gathered near Seoul Station and marched toward the Korea Press Center, condemning President Lee Jae Myung’s administration and, in some cases, voicing support for the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The coexistence of those rallies turns the day into a snapshot of divided public opinion rather than a single-message event.
Police responded by bolstering security around key diplomatic sites, including the Iranian Embassy and the residence of the Israeli ambassador. The packet says about 20 additional officers were deployed near the Iranian mission and that counterterror precautions were strengthened in surrounding areas. That detail shows authorities were treating the demonstrations as politically sensitive even if they remained peaceful.
The evidence supplied here does not report arrests, injuries or direct confrontations between the rival groups. It also does not specify a turnout figure for the U.S. Embassy protest beyond the approximate 20 activists in the progressive gathering. What it does support is a clear picture of a city where the Iran war was intersecting with domestic politics and national memory on a commemorative public holiday.
The choice of location and date mattered. March 1 is associated with Korea’s independence movement, so protesters on all sides were tying present-day politics to a day of historical symbolism. That made the protests more than routine foreign-policy demonstrations; they became part of a national conversation about sovereignty, alliances and the meaning of public resistance.
For readers, the essential fact is straightforward: on March 1 in Seoul, anti-war activists gathered at the U.S. Embassy to oppose the strikes on Iran, while police prepared for wider political activity elsewhere in the city.
