"I am a parent of an SNU student"... Debate over 'SNU Family' Sticker

SNU Car Sticker Controversy
"Promotes Academic Elitism" vs "No Problem"

[Image source=Seoul National University Development Foundation website]

The Seoul National University Development Foundation is facing heated debate among netizens over stickers distributed to parents of SNU students.

On the 14th, the SNU Development Foundation's website displayed a banner stating, "We are sending SNU (the English abbreviation for Seoul National University) Family car stickers." The foundation explained, "We provide various news related to the university to SNU family members," and added, "If you enter your information through the application button below, we will send you an SNU Family sticker." When clicking the 'Apply' button, parents must enter their name, contact information, their enrolled child's name, admission year, and department.

[Image source=Won Jong-woo's Facebook]

The stickers sent as souvenirs feature the SNU emblem along with phrases such as "I'M MOM," "I'M DAD," "PROUD FAMILY," and "PROUD PARENT."

However, some netizens who saw these stickers criticized them for "promoting excessive academic elitism." Podcast host Won Jong-woo shared a photo of a car with the sticker on his Facebook that day, stating, "If someone attending SNU puts on the sticker, I have no intention of criticizing it. If you got in through your own hard work, it's understandable to be a bit proud in your youth. But when it comes to the official distribution of stickers for parents, family, mom, and dad, it can only be said that SNU is personally proving the low intellectual level of this society."

He continued, "The increasingly backward, classist vulgarity typical of developing countries, the mentality that makes children immature by boasting about being parents who raised adult SNU students without even realizing it, and the tackiness of the foundation's idea and execution in formalizing all of this without any sense of problem?everything perfectly reflects the current state of this country."

On the other hand, many expressed that there is no problem with the stickers. Netizens responded with comments such as, "Famous foreign universities also release a lot of university goods, so what's the issue?", "If you're a parent of an SNU student, isn't it something to be proud of?", and "They aren't harming anyone, so what's the problem?"

In fact, several universities in the U.S., including the University of Georgia, Penn State University, and Stanford University, sell similar car stickers for about 6,000 to 10,000 KRW. Notably, Harvard University, considered a prestigious U.S. university, sells T-shirts with phrases like ‘HARVARD MOM’ and ‘HARVARD GRANDMA’ for $26.99 (approximately 36,000 KRW) at the 'Harvard Shop.'