[CARD NEWS: Opinion] SNU, where violence works better than communication
1) Seoul National University (SNU) is one of the most prestigious colleges in Korea, where only the very best students can earn a place. However, a violent scuffle that does not befit the university’s reputation took place on campus on March 11.
2) During the scuffle, the students and faculty members sprayed a fire extinguisher and shot water from a fire hose at each other. The fight was fierce.
3) What possibly infuriated them so much that they acted like they were back in the old dictatorial days?
4) The student-university conflict began in 2007, when the school announced its plan to build a satellite campus.
5) SNU based the reason for building a second campus on strengthening industrial-academic cooperation. They argued that the future of the school lies in cooperation, citing a relationship between Silicon Valley and Stanford University.
6) The school’s plan, however, faced a harsh backlash from the students. They argued that the commercialization of the school would result in the collapse of public education.
7) In addition, the students criticized the university for not consulting with the student body before announcing the plan.
8) The school did not step back, however. They justified the disputed plan by arguing that cooperation between the college and industry is mandatory to develop promising innovative technology, such as drones, big data, and self-driving cars.
9) Instead, the college said the second campus will be operated mainly for graduate schools, not as a residential college. Nevertheless, this concession suggested by the school was not enough to ease the conflict.
10) Eventually, the university signed a contract to develop a campus outside of Seoul with the city government of Siheung, Gyeonggi, last August. When the agreement was announced, outraged students occupied the main building of the SNU campus in Gwanak District, southern Seoul. The conflict between the students and the university worsened as the school tried to take disciplinary action against the protesters.
11) The school officials’ attempts to disperse the protesting students eventually led to the violent scuffle on Saturday.
12) Daehak Sinmun, the university’s newspaper, published a blank front page Monday.
“We are publishing the front page blank in protest of the meddling of a former chief editor and professor and the university.”
13) The faculty treats the students only as subjects to expel, rather than trying to win over their minds.
The way the students stand against the school — occupying the school building overnight — is outdated as well.
The distance between them seems to be growing.
14) The nonsensical fight on Saturday led the conflict to its peak.
15) We take for granted that communication and the law reign over everything else in resolving conflict these days. However, the confrontation at SNU may prove that this is not always the case.
Korea’s road to being a truly advanced society is still long.
Directed by Lee Jeong-bong
Constructed by Kim Min-pyo
Designed by Bae Seok-yeong
Translated by Son Min-young
Edited by Jim Bulley
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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