Students at Haeju Teachers College in South Hwanghae province faced disciplinary action for questioning content from a lecture about South Korean politics, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
“The college held a year-end lecture about South Korean public protests calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation. Several students received warnings for privately discussing unfamiliar concepts from the lecture,” a source in the province told Daily NK on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
According to the source, students attended a lecture about South Korea’s political situation on Dec. 4. While the lecture focused on daily protests against the Yoon administration, students became particularly curious when the speaker mentioned falling presidential approval ratings.<\/p>\n
After the lecture, small groups of students gathered to discuss what approval ratings meant, how they were measured, and why anyone would be allowed to assess a leader’s popularity. One student reported these discussions to the college’s Socialist Patriotic Youth League chapter, which escalated the matter to the college’s party committee.<\/p>\n
The party committee viewed the students’ questions about leadership approval ratings as challenging their authority. Several students were summoned for questioning by the college’s state security agent.<\/p>\n
“The students explained to the security agent that they were simply curious about the South Korean president’s approval rating and had no ulterior motives. Nevertheless, they were ordered to write self-criticism statements to prevent rumors from spreading,” the source said.<\/p>\n
“In their statements, the students expressed regret for making inappropriate comments and promised to maintain proper conduct during future lectures,” the source added.<\/p>\n
Following the incident, the college has completely banned students from discussing politics. However, some students continue to express frustration privately.<\/p>\n
“The lecturer brought up concepts we don’t understand, like the puppet state president’s approval rating. Why is it wrong to discuss what we learned?” one student reportedly said.<\/p>\n
The source noted that some students are criticizing authorities for exaggerating the incident to intimidate students and restrict their speech.<\/p>\n