Over 85% of students at women's university in Seoul oppose coeducational transition, survey finds
Published: 09 Dec. 2025, 11:09
![The entrance to Dongduk Women's University's Centennial Memorial Hall in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, is covered in signs and paint protesting the university discussing changing into a coeducational institution on Dec. 3, 2024. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/09/7a31eb9a-e878-4961-a179-b32c55c9caad.jpg)
The entrance to Dongduk Women's University's Centennial Memorial Hall in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, is covered in signs and paint protesting the university discussing changing into a coeducational institution on Dec. 3, 2024. [NEWS1]
A majority of students at Dongduk Women’s University voted against transitioning the school to a coeducational institution, according to the results of a student survey organized by the student council.
The student council announced Tuesday that 85.7 percent of respondents opposed the proposed shift to coeducation in a vote titled “8,000 Dongduk Students’ Opinion Survey on Coeducation.”
The vote was held offline from Dec. 3 to 8, closing at 7:30 p.m. on the final day. The turnout was 50.4 percent, meeting the required threshold for validity.
Of the 3,470 students who participated, 2,975 voted against the change, while 280 were in favor. Another 147 abstained, and 68 ballots were invalid.
The student council plans to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday in front of the university’s main gate, calling on the administration to reflect student opinion in discussions on coeducation. The council also intends to submit the vote results to the school afterward.
In a statement posted on its website Monday, the university described the current process — which weighs the opinions of professors, students, staff and alumni at an equal ratio — as “a democratic attempt to ensure all members of the university community can participate equally in shaping opinions during the coeducation discussion.”
The school also criticized some students for questioning the legitimacy of the process or expressing dissent through alternative means simply because the final recommendations differed from their own views, saying such actions failed to respect mutual agreements.
Dongduk Women’s University is scheduled to hold a briefing session on its development plans at 2 p.m. on Dec. 15, an event previously announced by President Kim Myung-ae when she released a public statement on coeducation earlier this month.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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