"Exposing the Reality of Violent Protesters"... Dongduk Women's University 'Anti-Protest Student Team' Emerges

"Violent Protesters Incite Students" Claim

As the protests against the 'engineering conversion' by Dongduk Women's University students intensify, voices opposing the protests from other students are also emerging, suggesting that the confusion is likely to deepen.

On the 19th, a YouTube channel titled 'Dongduk Women's University Anti-Violence Protest Student Team' was created. They claim to be current students of Dongduk Women's University and stated, "We will expose the true nature of the violent protestors at Dongduk Women's University."

Students continuing the protest against the engineering conversion at Dongduk Women's University. Photo by Yonhap News

In the video, they said, "The protestors treat school destruction, class disruption, and infringement of personal rights as if they are no big deal," and "They are inciting students to join the protests under the pretext of making memories." They also presented screenshots of posts from the anonymous university community 'Everytime' (Eta) secret board as evidence.

According to the disclosed post, one protest participant encouraged joining the protest by saying, "You can think of it as doing everything like chatting endlessly with classmates, studying, reading books, and eating snacks while occupying the school."

It has been reported that some current students opposing the Dongduk Women's University occupation protest have launched a YouTube channel. YouTube capture

Meanwhile, they also claimed, "They (the protestors) are blocking other campus members from entering while occupying the school. To enter the campus, one must present a staff ID or student ID," and "They themselves wear hats and masks."

They further pointed out, "They are having delivery food parties and eating and playing with sponsored goods, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation." They emphasized, "The school is not protecting us," and urged, "Please listen to the voices of other students suffering under the protestors' control."

On the other hand, the day before, Dongduk Women's University announced a tough stance against some students continuing the school occupation protests. The university posted on its homepage, stating, "The serious issue in this incident is that the actions of the leading protest students are too extreme and violent," and warned, "Disrupting classes is a serious criminal act. Violence can never be justified, and the school will respond strictly to this incident."

YouTube screenshot

Earlier, Dongduk Women's University also disclosed specific estimates that damages of up to 5.4 billion KRW have occurred on campus. However, it is reported that discussions are still ongoing regarding whether to use this data in civil lawsuits or other legal actions.

Meanwhile, at the end of last month, the university headquarters held a meeting to establish a development plan, during which some opinions about converting to a coeducational system as a solution to difficulties in recruiting new students were reportedly raised.

As this news spread, fierce opposition arose among students. Eventually, some students formed protest groups, occupied school buildings, and began sit-in demonstrations.