Anti-war demonstrations are now becoming more widespread especially among university students in Korea. These protests were initiated soon after the U.S. forged ahead with its war against Iraq, and the Korean government"s decision to dispatch Korean troops in support of the U.S. The demonstrations become widwspread when the majority of students were outraged by government indifference to their anti-war sentiment. The Anti-war Committee reported that over 80 percent of Korean citizens were against the war.

The Ewha Student Government Association (SGA) announced on March 24 that they could not support a war whose whole purpose as they saw it was simply to gain control of the petroleum industry in Iraq. The SGA also condemned the government"s hasty decision to support the war by dispatching non-combat troops.

The president of the Ewha SGA, Choe Ji-sun (French Language & Literature, 4) expressed her concerns about the war by stating, "Instead of coming up with swift resolutions not to send troops to the war zone, the politicians are busy considering whether to postpone the date of the final decision of the dispatchment or whether to increase the number of troops to be sent.

The government"s final decision on this matter is expected to be announced on April 2. However, Ewha along with Seoul National, Yonsei, and Korea and 12 other universities is now considering a plan to protest any decision to send troops by refusing to attend classes, starting from the first week of April. The SGA of the other university will implement this anti-war plan if over 50 percent of the student body votes to support it. At Ewha, the SGA decided to initiate the plan on April 3 and 4 without going through the voting process.

More plans for the anti-war movement are scheduled to be implemented soon. Ewha, Seoul National, Yonsei, and 13 other universities are planning to announce their final joint declaration regarding opposition to dispatching troops to Iraq sometime soon. The Ewha SGA is scheduled to attend a mass candle-light vigil in Jongno on April 4.
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