Student stages a one-person protest for education reform

To fix the problems she sees in South Korea's school system, one student has taken it upon her own shoulders to make the problems apparent to all, even if she stands alone. ��

Earlier this year on April 17, 17-year-old Kim Da Un withdrew from her high school for a distinctive reason: to stage a protest.�

Starting on May 1, Kim stood in�front of her former school in Jinju, where she held a picket sign. She then made her way towards Gyeongsang National University's campus, where she chanted, "I just need to be first in my class, to have a 'I need to go to a good college' mindset, and have an education that'll set me up for a better life, with an institution of a test that decides how my life will be... Who is this system for? It should be abolished!" She also added, "I accuse schools as well as all of Korea of this intrusive education which creates problems for students while contradicting itself with comments on creative talents."�

Kim also posted photos on her Facebook page of her one-person protest as well as her own thoughts of citizens' reactions.�

Despite her recent actions, she remained grounded in the probability of her protest goals. "A one-person protest cannot change anything. Even if you hate the reality you cannot change, I hate living not doing anything, and so I'm staging my small form of resistance," she stated. ��

Kim also bemoaned her perspective on the oppression of students in the classroom. "The school watches and interferes with the clothes, hair, shoes, bag, accessories, and even the privacy of its students to turn us into studying machines," she stated. When asked if she was thinking of stopping her one-person protest, she responded, "Because a one-person demonstration has the right to express, the picket will continue to be raised to express the usual feelings towards the problems of South Korea's educational institutions, or the wishes for a change in narrative."�

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