At the beginning of this year, one of the women's universities in Korea declared that it would change to a coeducational university. Many students in that university objected to that plan, but the university registrar carried through with its decision. The university registrar insisted women's universities couldn't maintain their existence in the future. Do you think it is reasonable? Is it true that women's universities don't have competitive power in the future? I don't think so. Women's universities do have competitive power like the coeducational universities, and have many advantages for women. I will explain the many advantages in the light of my past experiences.
        In fact, I didn't like women's universities before I entered the university. In my high school days, I wanted to go to a coeducational university. I had been in a girl's junior high school and a girl's high school for six years, and I thought it was enough for me to be in a girl's school for six years. I thought life at a women's university for another four years wouldn't be interesting. I had never had a chance to have a male friend at the junior high school and high school. Therefore I wanted to have many male friends. Besides, I thought it would be better for me to get a job after graduating from a coeducational university. However, I failed the specialized selection process in the coeducational university which I applied to, and I couldn't help entering Ewha Woman's University. At first, I was disappointed with Ewha, but I found women's universities have many advantages, and I thought women, who are accustomed to our patriarchal system, had better be in women's universities to develop a new view of society.
        First, women's universities offer many opportunities for women to participate in public affairs. The presidents of women's universities are women, and all committees are composed of women. On the other hand, the coeducational universities seem to limit women's participation in many school events. As a matter of course, the coeducational universities don't limit women's participation on purpose. However, there have been no female presidents at the coeducational universities in Korea. Women in the coeducational universities are passive. For instance, when students make plans for MT ("membership training," i.e., a class trip), women in women's universities take part in making the plans, investigation of the MT place, and managing all the events, while women in the coeducational universities are usually excluded from making plans, and simply join the events that men make plans for, and prepare food for fellow students.
        Second, women's universities produce a liberal atmosphere. One of my female friends, who is a student of a coeducational university, told me that her male classmates looked at her stragely when she wore a mini-skirt, and even during the examination periods, she couldn't wear comfortable clothes. She told me that her behavior had to be restricted, because she was conscious of the gaze of her male classmates. On the other hand, female students in women's universities are free in action. They do not need to care about their fellow students' eyes. In my case, when I wear shorts, I do not need to care about my friends' eyes. We can do anything without worrying about others' eyes.
        Third, and what I consider most important, is that women's universities offer many opportunities of self-awareness to women students. There have been many unseen discriminative conventions against women in Korea, and many women are accustomed to those conventions unconsciously. The opinion of the old generation about women's universities is that they are simply training centers for good mothers and wives, and from this standpoint, many of our parents and teachers sent us to women's universities. However, women students have been awakened to our society in our days at women's universities. Most of all, women realize their positions in society while we go to women's universities. Through the chances to know those things, we can reflect on ourselves, and plan what we will do as women in the Korean society. From this aspect, it is no wonder that many of the active and famous women in professional fields are graduates of women's universities. For example, my school has produced many female judges, lawyers, certified public accountants, and government officers. The only female director of a conglomerate in Korea graduated from my school. In terms of the percentages of employment, female students of women's universities are in a better position than female students of coeducational universities. For example, the percentage of employment of female students in one department of one of the famous coeducational universities is 22.5%, while the percentage of employment of students in some departments of my school is 34.7%. It is important for the women in professional fields to learn professional knowledge, but if they don't have chances to develop self-awareness before they become professional women, they may be people who have only skills, so that they can never be called professional women in a true sense.
        In summary, women's universities have many advantages for women, so they help women to be able to contribute to social welfare. Especially my school, Ewha Woman's University, has rendered great services to upgrade women's status in society and to expand the opportunity of women for social activities and employment. Many of my friends were disappointed with our university at first, but they have come to know our university lives will be useful for their future lives. Now I am satisfied with my university, and I am very proud of being a student of Ewha Woman's University.