[News Issue] High 'Geumnam Wall'... Duksung and Sungshin Women's Universities Also Attempted but Failed

Dongduk Women's University is facing strong student opposition as it is reportedly discussing a transition to a coeducational system. The student council stated in a press release on the 7th, "We have confirmed that the university administration plans to hold the first comprehensive discussion on Dongduk Women's University’s transition to coeducation," and declared, "We are completely opposed to the transition to coeducation." Students have strongly protested by taking off their school jackets and spreading them on the ground in a 'jacket protest,' refusing classes entirely, and spray-painting slogans such as "Firmly Oppose Transition to Coeducation" in red across the campus.

Yonhap News

Several other women's universities, besides Dongduk Women's University, have also attempted to transition to coeducation. In 2015, Duksung Women's University, under the leadership of Chair Professor Lee Won-bok who became president, proposed allowing male students to enroll during his term, but the plan was scrapped due to student opposition. At that time, former President Lee stated, "We must face the unavoidable reality of competition beyond gender," mentioning the transition to coeducation, but no progress was made afterward.

Sungshin Women's University, which faced student opposition in 2010 when it attempted to change its name to 'Sungshin University,' again considered changing its name in 2018 with the goal of transitioning to coeducation.

However, in a survey conducted by the Central Steering Committee, a student self-governing body at Sungshin Women's University, regarding the transition to coeducation, 96% (2,267 out of 2,360 respondents, including 1,935 current students, 245 on leave, and 180 alumni) voted against it, and subsequent discussions were halted.

Recently, Sungshin Women's University released the '2025 Academic Year Early Admission Special Foreign Student Transfer and New Enrollment Guidelines,' which the student council opposes, arguing that it would allow foreign male students to enroll in the university’s International Studies Department.

The reasons women's universities are pushing for a transition to coeducation include structural issues such as declining school-age populations due to low birth rates and decreasing university admissions, changes in the educational environment that are significantly different from the past when women faced educational inequality, and low employment rates at women's universities.

Currently, there are seven four-year women's universities remaining nationwide: Ewha, Sookmyung, Sungshin, Dongduk, Duksung, Seoul, and Gwangju Women's Universities.

Sangmyung Women's University changed its name to 'Sangmyung University' and became coeducational in 1996, and Busan Women's University transitioned to coeducation in 1997, changing its name to 'Shilla University.'