"Why Do Fakes Come to the Yeonkojeon?" Persistent Discrimination and Hatred Against Regional Campuses

"Why Do Students at Branch Schools with Lower Scores Have Equal Rights?"
Branch School Students "Unfair Standards... Condemn Overt Discrimination"

At the representative autumn festival in university districts, the Goyeonjeon (Yonsei-Korea University Sports Competition), issues of discrimination and hatred between the main and branch campuses resurfaced, sparking controversy.

On the 7th, a post titled ‘Wonse-dae Joryeo-dae’ appeared on the free board of the university student community ‘Everytime,’ disparaging students from the two branch campuses.

‘Wonse-dae’ and ‘Joryeo-dae’ are derogatory nicknames referring to Yonsei University Mirae Campus in Wonju City and Korea University Sejong Campus in Jochiwon-eup, Sejong City, respectively.

The author, presumed to be a student at Yonsei University Seoul Sinchon Campus, blatantly belittled and mocked branch campus students in the post, saying, “Do you think you become authentic if you come to Goyeonjeon, take pictures, and post them on Instagram?”, “You are just knockoffs,” and “Idiots.”

On the anonymous board of ‘Gopas,’ an online community used by Korea University students and alumni, a post titled ‘Why do Sejong (Sejong Campus students) endure contempt and stubbornly take trains or buses to Seoul to attend Goyeonjeon?’ was also posted on the 5th.

Similarly, on the anonymous board of ‘Gopas,’ a post appeared on the 5th stating, ‘Why do Sejong (Sejong Campus students) endure contempt and stubbornly take trains or buses to Seoul to attend Goyeonjeon?’

On the 4th, the Sejong Campus Student Council, outraged by the blatant discrimination from Korea University Seoul Campus students, posted protest posters on both campuses, igniting further controversy.

Students cheering at the Goyeonjeon (Yonkojeon) match Photo by Yonhap News

In this poster, the Sejong Campus Student Council claimed that during the preparation of Korea University’s cheering festival ‘Ipsilenti’ last May, the Seoul Campus Student Council president referred to Sejong Campus students not as ‘fellow students’ but as ‘attendees.’

The Sejong Campus Student Council criticized this expression, saying, “It implies a refusal to recognize Sejong Campus students as fellow students,” and condemned the Seoul Campus Student Council and Central Operations Committee for rampant discrimination based on unreasonable standards.

The Sejong Campus Student Council pointed out that discrimination continued from Ipsilenti to the regular Goyeonjeon. They stated that “since the Seoul Campus Student Council contributed significantly to event preparation, they should enter the festival grounds first and have priority in seat allocation,” and that the Sejong Campus Student Council’s voting rights were not recognized due to lack of precedent.

This campus stratification is not a new issue. In 2021, when a Korea University Sejong Campus student, Mr. A, was appointed as an executive of the Seoul Campus Student Council Emergency Committee, his name and photo were exposed on online communities in a ‘doxxing’ campaign. Eventually, after a review of school regulations, the Emergency Committee nullified Mr. A’s appointment.

Regarding this, Professor Im Myung-ho of Dankook University’s Department of Psychology explained, “The standards of the younger generation in their 20s and 30s have become stricter than the ‘fairness’ that the older generation thought of,” adding, “They question and get angry, thinking, ‘I studied harder to get admitted, so why should branch campus students have equal rights?’”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.