‘We’d rather perish’: protests roil South Korean women’s university over plan to admit male students | South Korea

Spray paint and protest banners cover the walls and sidewalks of Dongduk Women’s University in Seoul. “We would rather perish than open our doors” reads one slogan. Starting November 11, students staged a sit-in, initially occupying the main building and blocking access to classroom buildings on campus, forcing classes to move online and a planned job fair to be canceled.

The outcry was sparked by plans for some faculties to admit male students, but has since turned into a wider clash over the future of women-only spaces in a country struggling with gender equality.

“The university’s unilateral decision, made without the participation of the students who actually study and live here, left us with no choice but to raise our voices,” said a member of Dongduk’s student council, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In South Korea, women’s universities were established in the early 20th century as one of the only ways to higher education for women in a strictly patriarchal society.

Today, they are seen by some as vital institutions for nurturing female talent in a country that remains heavily male-dominated. South Korea ranks 94th out of 146 countries for gender equality, according to The World Economic Forum. women just hold 20% of the parliamentary seats and make up only 7.3% of the management staff in the 500 largest companies in the country.

Yoonkyeong Nah, a professor of cultural anthropology at Yonsei University, says that more broadly, “The protests reflect how young Korean women feel insecure in public spaces,” citing the spread of illegal filmingstalking and digital sex crimes, including the latest an epidemic of deep fake pornography.

“Although providing safe spaces is not the main goal of women’s universities, students are protesting to preserve what they see as a safe learning environment – this reveals wider problems in Korean society,” says Nah.

The reverse reaction

The discontent began after students discovered that the university administration was discussing plans to convert the design and performing arts departments into co-educational ones.

Administrators insist it was only co-ed a proposal is being discussed – citing practical needs for male actors in the performing arts and long-term competitiveness concerns.

On Thursday, a partial agreement saw classes resume after the university agreed to temporarily suspend discussions about co-education, but Monday’s meeting between student leaders and university administrators it is reported ended without a resolution, with students refusing to end their occupation of the main building until co-educational plans were fully withdrawn.

In a statement then university president Kim Myung-ae warned of “decisive action” against what she described as illegal protests that violated educational rights.

As the weeks passed, the dispute increasingly became a political battleground.

Han Dong-hun, leader of the ruling conservative party, announced this “Instigators of violent incidents” should be held responsible for property damage, while Lee Joon-seok, another prominent lawmaker who often clashes with women’s groups, criticized the protests as “uncivilized“.

Head of a state human resources agency suggested “screens out” the university’s graduates during recruitment rounds and declares that he would “never accept” a daughter-in-law from the institution.

In response, opposition politicians accused the Conservatives of weaponizing the protests to deflect from their own political problems. including charges for interference in the election nomination. Former MP Jang Hye-young condemned what she called “women-bashing” tactics and warned that they only “make life harder for all women in South Korea.”

“Stop using us,” Choi Hyun-ah, Dongduk’s student council president, said in a recent interview with local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun. “Those who portray this as a conflict between the sexes are simply using the students to justify their own views.”

In a later statement, the council said politicians and other officials “failed to see the nature and context of the situation, dismissing us simply as ‘troublemakers’.”

The protests also sparked a strong anti-feminist backlash online.

The anti-feminist “men’s rights” group New Men’s Solidarity has weighed. The group’s leader, recently convicted of defaming a feminist activist, threatened to reveal the personal information of “troublemakers” online, sparking safety concerns.

A female YouTuber with more than 60,000 followers who voiced support for the protesters was forced to close her account after allegedly facing sexual harassment and attempts to impersonate her.

In the background demographic crisis

The dispute also reflects deeper structural challenges posed by South Korea’s changing demographics, said Kyuseok Kim, a higher education expert and scholar.

Enrollment of students in higher education has sunk 18% to 3 million students in the last decade as the country already low birth rate continues to decline, forcing some institutions to potentially close departments or close completely.

“Universities face a precarious balancing act: preserving their identity while implementing the changes needed to secure their future,” says Kim. “Even legacy institutions are being forced to rethink their identities amid unprecedented demographic pressures.”

After students voted overwhelmingly last week in support of the protests, Choi Hyun-ah, the president of the student council said: “Today we created history in our struggle for a democratic Dongduk.

“The existence of women’s universities is for the advancement of women’s educational rights; moving to co-education would mean there’s no reason for us to exist at all.’