Statement by 69 Women's Organizations Including Korean Women's Associations United
"Stop 'Demonizing' Students... Do Not Distort the Essence"
On the afternoon of the 20th, as news spread that Dongduk Women's University was discussing a transition to engineering, students continued their protest. Students at Dongduk Women's University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, held a general student meeting on the campus sports field and conducted a vote for and against the 'transition of Dongduk Women's University to engineering.' Photo by Yonhap News
Students of Dongduk Women's University have sparked a response from women's organizations regarding their protest against the transition to coeducation.
Sixty-nine women's organizations, including the Korean Women's Associations United, Korea Women's Hotline, and Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, issued a joint statement the previous day, saying, "The political circles, media, and corporations framing Dongduk Women's University students' protests as 'illegal' and 'damaging' and 'demonizing' the students reflect the sexist perspectives and attitudes that prove misogyny still exists in our society." They emphasized, "Sexist and misogynistic behaviors must stop immediately."
The organizations pointed out, "Statements such as 'We absolutely do not want daughters-in-law from this university,' 'Exclusion of female university graduates from hiring,' and '5.4 billion won in protest damages' are spreading through politicians, corporations, media, and various online communities," criticizing that "this erases the various contexts and situations surrounding the transition to coeducation, distorts the essence of the issue, and approves and reinforces the undemocratic behavior of the school that does not recognize students as equal members of the school community."
Addressing Dongduk Women's University, the groups stated, "Instead of reflecting on and reconsidering the students' legitimate concerns, the university still fails to recognize the core of the problem. What is particularly serious is that the school shamelessly engages in actions that should never occur in a democratic educational community, such as filing claims for damages against students and applying for injunctions to prohibit interference with work."
They continued, "If opinion gathering was not conducted democratically, discussions must start over from the beginning. The responsibility lies entirely with the school. The school must humbly accept the students' concerns and demands and engage in dialogue. Furthermore, political circles and the media must immediately stop expressing hatred based on sexism and misogyny."
On the morning of the 12th, when the discussion about Dongduk Women's University's transition to coeducation became known, jackets and jumpers were left on the Dongduk Women's University campus in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, as a form of protest. Photo by Yonhap News
Current students of Dongduk Women's University have been conducting an occupation protest since the 11th, claiming that the university is pushing for coeducation without student consent. On the 21st, during the second meeting between the student representatives and department heads, both sides reached an agreement and lifted the occupation of buildings except for the main building. However, on the 25th, the third meeting ended without finding common ground, escalating the conflict again. Dongduk Women's University claims that the damages from this protest amount to at least 2.4 billion won and up to 5.4 billion won.
Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker from the Reform New Party, wrote on his social media on the 14th that the Dongduk Women's University protest was "simply uncivilized," and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, posted that "those who instigated the violent incidents must be held legally responsible." Lee Woo-young, director of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, posted on social media that he wanted to exclude students from Dongduk Women's University from hiring but deleted the post after the controversy grew.
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