On Thursday July 28th, 2016, students at Ewha Women’s University started to demonstrate against the school. All arguments stemmed from the school’s ‘Future Life University‘, a college established for people in the labour force with highschool diplomas. Ewha Women’s University plans to establish two new school-related businesses: ‘New Media Industry (Producing media content)’ and ‘Wellness Industry (Health, Nutrition and Beauty)’, and the government has promised to support their foundation with subsidies. According to Ewha, the new direction for the school is “fair”, considering today’s social trend. However, Ewha did not fully disclose its plans to students in advance, so they had no voice in the decision. Students said, “The school failed to reflect student body opinion. It is only looking to earn money.” Students also claim the new direction induces academic factionalism. However, the crucial reason behind the demonstration is that the school abused its power and suppressed student opinion. Students do not want the new direction and have demanded Ewha abolish its plan for the ‘Future Life University’ college. They are also demanding the resignation of Ewha President, Choe Gyeonghui. On Tuesday August 3rd, Ewha President announced the school would drop its plan to establish ‘Future Life University’. Students are pleased, but they are still calling for the president’s resignation. It was a difficult path students took, but they never gave up and voiced their opinions strongly and loudly.
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