Korea’s Student Protest Culture Waning

University student councils are once again gaining attention ever since the unique career of Hwang Na-yeol, 30, who was elected to lead Seoul National University’s (SNU) student council on April 12, has been made known. Hwang, a former independent band member who vowed realistic promises, won the election over other student activist candidates that chanted gigantic promises.

Non-activists were also elected in the elections of most other universities.

One likely explanation for this is that the post-ideology that started to speed up since a few years ago has increasingly been gaining speed and strength. Most university fraternities do not fall far off from such a phenomenon.

Students are much more interested in curricular activities related to employment or other university activities than in political and ideological issues.

Also visible this year is that the university students’ interest in student council is plunging so sharply that it is even difficult to assemble a council.

In November of last year, SNU could not assemble a student council because it failed to meet the regulation that “the voter turnout should surpass 50 percent during student council elections.” Afterwards, it held another election in April 4 of this year, and after extending the election period, it barely passed the regulation with a final 50.6 percent of voter turnout.

The Korea University Student Council also passed through a similar fate when last year’s student council elections were nullified because of low voting rate, and barely met the voting rate criteria through re-elections. The final voter turnout was 52.7 percent, but since the university authorities do not recognize the votes of Korea University College of Health Sciences sophomores and juniors, the actual official voting rate dropped to 51.1 percent. In the case of University of Seoul and Dongguk University, student council elections were nullified because of low voting rates, and spent one year without a student council.

In such aspects there are views that university students are not interested at all in the student council election itself, regardless of ideological pursuit or realistic promises.

Yonsei University Psychology Professor Hwang Sang-min analyzed, “Students are expressing their opinions in political interests and individual issues by being pro or con. University students that organize themselves and hang out those with similar interests have no reason to have interest in the student council organization.”

Alternatives—

Although there are no clear fixed directions, some are moving to find a third alternative that is neither activist nor non-activist. In case of Hanyang University, since 2001, with the slogan “Glorious Revolution,” the student council has self-proclaimed itself to be non-activist and has continued so for five years.

Hanyang University Student Council Chairman Shin Jae-ung, 23, explained, “In the beginning, we started off as non-activists that opposed the Korea University Students Union, but the current council is neither activist nor non-activist. The main factor is that we receive the support of students, we engage in social volunteer work and we improve campus welfare based on the trust built with the existing council.”

Konkuk University Student Council Executive Committee Chairman Sohn Seok-ho, 26, predicted, “If the first generation student activists purpose was political struggle, the second generation focused in campus problems. The following third generation student council will communicate with students and after solving campus problems, it will deal with political issues related with students.”

SNU Sociology Professor Song Ho-keun commented, “The reason voter turnout is dropping, and election forms are diversifying, is because the characteristic nowadays of students who focus on self-development and character-building does not lead to mass activist movements. It seems that the identities of small groups and mass movements cannot find common ground.”

Se-Jin Jung mint4a@donga.com