총학생회와 학생운동
<#322 Special Report_Sub1>
“General Student Council Should Listen to Students’ Voices”
By Kim Hae-in and Jo Hye-min, Cub-Reporters
The Chonnam Tribune interviewed Cho Jung-kwan (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy) about the brief history of student unions at Korean universities and how they can improve the situation regarding ordinary students having no interest in the activities of the organizations. - Ed.
According to Professor Cho Jung-kwan, General Student Councils (GSC) at Korean universities is a vital part of the history of Korea’s democracy. The 4·19 Revolution was a turning point of the student movement in the country. Students actualized democracy by putting it into action. In the 1960s, student associations presented a progressive character. As they took more action in 1970s, the Yushin (Revitalizing Reform) systems during the time oppressed the student movement. The GSC turned as the Student National Defense Corps (SNDC), became a tool of the government. During the Fifth Republic of Korea, they still remained as SNDC and the government let them go free. The Government, however, pressured the organizations indirectly by forcing the university presidents to pressure their students.
Also Professor Cho said that back in 1983, the government decided to release the pressure over students and under the appeasement policy, the councils got their liberty in 1984. As the organizations were stabilized, students picked the General Student Council’s president using a direct election system, through which students can elect their representatives on their own terms. 1987 was the peak time for the General Student Councils of Korean universities. During the June 10 Civil Uprising of that year, every university General Student Council at universities collaborated with each other, with no political support, focusing only on continuously protesting against the despotic government.
However, the student movement failed owing to their unwavering struggle for democracy without any finite goals since the times had changed. The student union associations addressed communistic ideas, but their opinion was very different from the mainstream of Korean politics. For example, communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapsed between 1988 and 1990. Following that, many different communistic points of view came among student movement organizations, and their last passionate activity was an action for the unification of North and South Korea but they failed again because there was not any support from opposition parties’.
Nowadays, there is an invisible wall between the GSC and ordinary students at Korean universities. Since the GSC members lost their vision, its appeal to students has been restricted. As a result, students’ interest in the GSC has withered away. Professor Cho advised, therefore, they should change their way to communicate with other students, listen to their voices and the needs of different colleges at the university.
김해인/조혜민 수습기자
tribune@cnumedia.com