Student backlash erupts as Dongduk Women's University weighs coed future

A hand-written poster urging the withdrawal of discussions on transitioning to a coeducational institution, put up by the student council Naran, is displayed at Dongduk Women's University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on Friday. (Instagram)

Dongduk Women's University, one of South Korea’s seven remaining women’s colleges, is weighing a possible shift to coeducation, a move igniting opposition among students who warn it could erode the institution’s mission of championing women’s empowerment and diminish women’s representation in society.

According to the student council Naran of Dongduk Women's University on Sunday, the university will soon initiate discussions on becoming a coeducational institution, with the first meeting scheduled to take place during the faculty meeting Tuesday.

The student council wrote in a statement, “We are wholly against the coeducational transition that contradicts the founding purpose of the university, which was established with the goal of empowering women.”

Students at Dongduk Women's University expressed concerns that transitioning to a coeducational system could marginalize female voices in a society where gender discrimination remains prevalent.

In their statement, the student council emphasized that a women's university “provides a safe space for discussions, free from the widespread discrimination and hostility toward women present in society.”

Dongduk Women's University alumna Shin said, "Why does a women's university have to become coed? The people who favor the change should first look up the true meaning behind the establishment of the university." The founding philosophy of Dongduk Women's University is driven by the principle of building a nation through the education of women.

The university administration claims that making the university coeducational is just one of several options being considered for the institution's future and that no final decision has been made.

“Going coed is merely a possibility, and nothing has been developed or decided yet. We will ensure thorough communication with students if any discussions progress,” a university official said, according to local reports.

This is not the first time women's universities have considered a possible plan to go coed.

In 2018, the then-president of Sungshin Women's University, Kim Ho-sung, mentioned the possibility of such a transition. In media interviews, he said he would soon initiate discussions on whether the school should become coeducational. He expressed concerns that the future of the women's university was not promising, as it could only admit women, representing just half of the country's student population.

Additionally, he noted that women face disadvantages in securing employment, which results in a relatively low employment rate for the school. However, as student protests intensified, Kim apologized and halted the initiative.

As of 2024, there are a total of seven four-year women's universities nationwide: Dongduk Women's University, Ewha Womans University, Sookmyung Women's University, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul Women's University, Duksung Women's University and Kwangju Women's University.