Hundreds of department jackets — symbols of student identity — were laid out in protest before the main building. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The campus of Dongduk Women’s University erupted in protest on November 12 as hundreds of students occupied buildings and boycotted classes after discovering administrators had secretly discussed transforming the 74-year-old institution into a coeducational university.
The historic campus in Seoul’s Seongbuk district was blanketed with funeral wreaths bearing slogans like “Absolutely Oppose the Secretly Planned Conversion to Coeducation” and “Democratic Dongduk Is Dead.”
Red spray paint declaring “No to Coeducation” covered windows and pavements, while a statue of the university’s founder, Cho Dong-sik, was pelted with eggs and ketchup. Hundreds of department jackets — symbols of student identity — were laid out in protest before the main building.
“The university was founded on the spirit of ‘building the nation through women’s education,’” said Choi Hyun-ah, the student body president, addressing roughly 250 students at a press conference.
“They’re negating our founding principles under the pretext of declining enrollment.”
The crisis erupted after students learned on November 7 that plans to admit male students were included in “Vision 2040,” a development proposal for the university’s design and performing arts colleges.
The administration had not consulted with students before including the controversial measure, which many view as a response to South Korea’s declining college-age population.
A statue of the university’s founder, Cho Dong-sik, was pelted with eggs and ketchup. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“We’re concerned this could happen quietly, just like how they started admitting male international students to the Korean Language and Culture major without properly consulting students,” said a Korean Language major who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The protest has sparked solidarity from other women’s universities in Seoul. Students from Ewha Womans University and Seoul Women’s University joined the demonstration, their school jackets visible among the protesters.
Sungshin Women’s University, which recently decided to admit male international students to its International Studies department starting in 2025, has also expressed strong support for the movement.
“We will stand with Dongduk students to protect women’s right to education,” declared a Sungshin student during the rally.
The university administration responded with a statement from the president, insisting that coeducation was merely “one idea” under consideration and not a confirmed plan. “Converting to coeducation cannot be unilaterally pushed by the school administration.
Gathering opinions from and communicating with our community members is an essential process,” the statement read. It also warned of “severe consequences” for violent actions, including building occupation and destruction of facilities.
This is not the first time a South Korean women’s university has faced such controversy. Similar proposals at Duksung Women’s University in 2015 and Sungshin Women’s University in 2018 were withdrawn following fierce student opposition.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
