"Coeducation Transition, Complacent and Superficial"
Full Student Vote Scheduled for the 20th

The protest by Dongduk Women's University students against the transition to coeducation has continued for the eighth day, with Choi Hyun-ah, the student council president, claiming that the school administration is unwilling to communicate with the students. She stated, "We requested dialogue multiple times, but they either ignored us or failed to provide proper answers."

On the 18th, Choi said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "On the 11th, I personally went to the department and secured a promise to meet at 5 p.m., but they did not show up." She added, "We were supposed to meet with three deans, but one was over 10 minutes late, and the others said they couldn't come because they were in a meeting." She continued, "Our student council said, 'We will wait. When will you come?' but the deans did not appear even after an hour, so the appointment was canceled."

Regarding the reasons students oppose the transition to coeducation, she explained, "We need to consider the role of a women's university. Hate crimes targeting women occur very frequently in our society, and it is difficult to see women fully recognized as individuals." Choi emphasized, "The founding philosophy of our university is to promote women's right to education. Implementing a restructuring that contradicts this philosophy in such a society is unreasonable, which is why students are angry and opposed."

Choi pointed out, "If the university administration truly proposed coeducation for the development of our university, they should have discussed it with the students first. There is an argument that this approach was taken due to the declining school-age population, but this is not a problem unique to our university. Pushing for coeducation is a complacent and superficial solution."

Students opposing the discussion to transition Dongduk Women's University to a coeducational system blocked the school gate and protested at the main building of Dongduk Women's University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News

When asked about criticism of the aggressive protest methods, she responded, "The student council had actually considered filibustering and picketing. It seems that the students' anxiety grew, leading to these actions."

Choi said, "About a month ago, professors said things like '200 male students will be admitted next year,' 'A lot will be admitted, so prepare yourselves,' and 'The school is preparing everything. It's definitely confirmed.' In this situation, the university administration's lukewarm attitude and failure to respond properly likely caused great anxiety among the students about the transition to coeducation."

She added, "The university administration also showed a lukewarm attitude and avoided communication with students during the academic system reform in March. Because the school is acting in such an undemocratic manner, the students seem to have decided that this cannot continue."

According to Choi, Dongduk Women's University students plan to conduct a general vote to gather the opinions of all students. She said, "The university administration has expressed skepticism, asking us, 'Are you sure this reflects the opinion of all students?' and continues to evade answers. We plan to collect the overall opinions of the students through a general vote around this Wednesday and present the results to the university administration once again."