Korea University's Sejong Campus student union says it faced discrimination in Yonsei-Korea games

Students from Yonsei and Korea University are sporting their school pride ahead of the annual Yonsei-Korea Games that kicks off on Friday, but those at the universities' branch campuses say discrimination lingers within.

Korea University students cheer for their school at a baseball match during the Korea-Yonsei games last year hosted by Korea University. [YONHAP]

Students from Yonsei and Korea University are sporting their school pride ahead of the annual Yonsei-Korea Games that kicks off on Friday, but those at the universities' branch campuses say discrimination lingers within.

The Yonsei-Korea games will take place on Friday and Saturday, with the two universities going head to head in ice hockey, basketball, baseball, rugby and soccer.

The games aren't just any ordinary sports event, with the schools' famous rivalry. The universities have gone against each other since their first soccer match in 1927, adding four other sports to the list of games later.

The annual derby is referred to as either Yeonkojeon or Koyeonjeon, with Yonsei students calling it Yeonkojeon to put their university first and Korea University students calling it Koyeonjeon to put their university first. This year's is officially called Yeonkojeon because Yonsei is the hosting university.

Despite students from both universities high in anticipation to cheer for their schools, Korea University's Sejong Campus student representatives say their students have been discriminated against. Korea University's Seoul campus in Anam-dong, northern Seoul, is considered its main campus, while the Sejong Campus in Sejong is considered a branch campus.

The student union of Korea University's Sejong Campus uploaded a statement on its Instagram page on Tuesday, saying they were barred from participating in the preparation of official events by those at the Seoul Campus.

According to the statement, the Sejong Campus's student union representatives attended a meeting with representatives from organizations such as the Seoul Campus student union, task force members of the annual games and the graduate school student union on Aug. 13 to discuss how to arrange seats for each match.

Each department at Yonsei and Korea University is allocated a different number of tickets depending on the department's size and other factors, with students entering a random draw to win them. Tickets aren't needed for rugby and football matches, but seats are divided based on the department they are enrolled in to ensure students stay together.

The Sejong Campus student union representatives said they were not allowed to cast their vote at the meeting in its statement on Instagram.

"The Seoul Campus student union said it will not recognize our right to vote because there has been no precedent for that," it said. "They then decided to allocate much fewer seats for [Sejong Campus] students for the baseball match and said seats for the Goyang Stadium [where rugby and football matches are held] will be allocated based on how much the representatives contributed to the planning of the games, which has never been the case."

The Sejong Campus student union said it couldn't contribute as much as it wanted to since some matters were decided in advance by those at the Seoul Campus. They were informed about it at the very end.

The statement added that discrimination also existed during the university's annual Ipselenti festival, with seating arrangements and order of entry also decided by the Seoul Campus in a meeting it wasn't informed of.

The Sejong Campus student union says it has gotten no response from the Seoul Campus student union since uploading the statement.

Tension between the two campuses has existed for a long time.

Although Sejong Campus students can choose a second major on the university's Seoul Campus, the two are considered separate institutions, with different admission processes and separate curricula.

"Tension has always existed, and I think it's a complicated thing that sort of comes from both sides," Choi, a Korea University graduate, said.

"There are some students at the Sejong Campus who intentionally hide the fact that they went to a branch campus because they want to look like an Anam Campus graduate, and then there are those from Anam that just send blatant hate toward the entire Sejong Campus thinking all the students are like that."

The Sejong Campus student union urged the university to step in regarding the tension between the campuses.

"Since May, we mentioned the underlying discrimination between campuses at official meetings," the statement said. "Even though the university president and head of the student affairs said they will keep an eye on the issue with great interest, there's still discrimination between the campuses."

"We ask for the actual practical measures to be put into action."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]