hankyoreh

a former junior in Korea University Business School

It was a snowy March 10. Kim Ye-seul, a junior in Korea University Business School, posted a long hand-written poster on the school bulletin board that began, “Today, I reject university.” Korean society was shocked that a young person would toss away such a prestigious university “in order to refrain from being chosen as a commodity, to choose to become a useless person.” Young people who have expressed their heartfelt agreement with her article provided encouragement to each other, and many of those who have prided themselves on being progressive intellectuals lamented their shame.

One month later, Kim has taken everything she was unable to say on the poster and published a book entitled, “Kim Ye-seul’s Declaration: Today I Quit University. No, I Reject It” (publisher: Neuringeoreum). She said she decided to release the book, despite the embarrassment, to let people know that her declaration was not an immature act by a young person but the result of three years of careful thought, and to create the opportunity to communicate with a greater number of people. The book spells out the concerns of the 24-year-old former student who decided to fight back against the false hope given at universities that, as she states, have been degraded into “certificate brokers.”

Kim, who entered university in 2004, began to have serious concerns about the universities of this age when she was confronted with Samsung during her junior year. In May of that year, she writes, Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee came to the university to receive an honorary doctorate in philosophy in return for donating the funds to build the university’s centennial hall (Samsung Hall). The students who opposed this were expelled from the university. The consensus at the university was that many thought that a new building should be prioritized over ethical considerations, while Chairman Lee said 100 thousand geniuses provide a living for the entire nation, so Kim began to wonder about who she was as a person.

Deciding to take some time off from school, she just then joined up with University Sharing Culture, a group aiming to create a community of people living together, and participated in activities such as a campaign to push for reform at Samsung and a campaign against war in support of peace.

Many people asked if it would be possible for her to address her concerns within the university. Kim said in response that the only thing she learned in school is that there is no such thing as a “free lunch.” The school pushed the philosophy that in order to secure economic stability and earn money, students need to sacrifice their youth, life and spirit. However, she said that earning 1.88 million Won rather than merely 880 thousand Won does not resolve the core problems of the university and capital.

Kim said she plans to serve as a researcher with Sharing Culture and fight against the “great enemy,” as she calls it, of the university and of capital. However, the university does not respond, like “a lazy dinosaur” (a term coined by Seoul National University Professor Han Jeong-suk), and the fortress walls of capital are still high and steep. Kim smiled, saying that as she wrote on her poster, they would have to wait to see who is stronger.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]