KR — Seoul. Following a petition from women all over South Korea that gathered 10,000 signatures within a day, including at least 1,000 from Sookmyung University, a transgender student has decided not to attend the women-only institution. The unnamed student was the first male individual to be admitted to a women-only university.

Sookmyung University was founded in 1906 and is Korea’s first national private women’s school. Its motto is ‘save our nation through women’s education’.

The reason is plain and simple: when Sookmyung University was founded in 1906, women couldn’t have a higher education. Empress Sunheon founded “Myungshin Girls’ School”, which became “women’s college” after Korean liberation from Japan and later obtained a status as “university”. — spark (@escarnito) February 11, 2020

The transgender student underwent “sex reassignment surgery” in Thailand last year and was legally recognized as a woman in October 2019. This legal recognition meant that the student was allowed to apply for admission to women’s universities. The student wrote the national college entrance exam in November, and subsequently received an offer of admission from the university.

Following accusations on Twitter of being “transphobic” for objecting to males in women-only spaces, Korean women decided to launch a petition, calling on women to support their right to women-only spaces.

여대 연합 성명문

[여성의 권리를 위협하는 성별변경에 반대한다] 남자가 법적으로 성별을 변경하고 여성의 공간에 침범하는 것을 막기 위한 연서명입니다.

이에 동참하실 분들은 타래 링크에서 서명에 동참해주시길 부탁드립니다. pic.twitter.com/YQSzqm8wDz — 숙명여자대학교 트랜스젠더남성 입학반대 TF팀 X (@smwuwomyn) February 6, 2020

Korean women launch petition asking that Sookmyung University remain women only

The petition has been supported by women from all of the women-only universities in Seoul (Duksung Women’s University, Dongduk Women’s University, Seoul Women’s University, Sungshin Women’s University, Sookmyung Women’s University, and Ewha Women’s University). In total, 21 feminist groups have supported the women at Sookmyung university.

Korean women all over the country coordinated a statement opposing men entering women's universities and that sex change shouldn't be legal. They gathered 10,000 signatures in 4 hours online.

Women also called the admissions office and made complaints.https://t.co/hENrcvJg0U — Women's Voices (@WomenReadWomen) February 11, 2020