Fiery Hong Kong student protests evoke memory of South Korea’s own 1987 June Struggle

As violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters raged across Hong Kong university campuses this week, some South Koreans were reminded of the fiery student-led protests that took place on their own soil three decades ago.

More than 2,000 students at Yonsei University, one of the country’s top universities, fought with police on campus in 1987 to protest against military strongman Chun Doo-hwan and call for democracy.

Known as the June Struggle, or June Democracy Movement of 1987, the demonstrations in Seoul continued for nearly a month and led to the death of Lee Han-yeol, who was hit and killed by a tear-gas canister.

The protests finally ended on June 29, 1987, when presidential hopeful Roh Tae-woo promised to amend the constitution to accede to the protesters’ eight demands: holding direct elections for a president; allowing free candidature and fair elections; restoring freedom of the press; establishing social reforms; ensuring human rights and the right of habeas corpus; increasing local and education autonomy; enabling political dialogue and compromise; and granting amnesty to political prisoners.

Australia issues guidelines for universities on foreign meddling amid China fears

As the protests enter their sixth month in Hong Kong, side-by-side photo comparisons of Yonsei University and Chinese University’s smoky protests have gone viral on social media.

Oh Jae-ha, a 26-year-old Yonsei University sociology student and member of the school’s labour union, said Hong Kong’s protests reminded him of Korea’s.

“We fought for democracy in the past during the June Struggle,” he said, adding that like in Korea, corruption and inequality were at the root of Hong Kong’s issues.

“South Koreans also fight this battle [against inequality] at home, so we feel encouraged when we hear about the efforts of Hong Kong protesters. Our support for Hong Kong grows every day.”

Zhang Yu Xuan, a 23-year-old mainland Chinese student on exchange at Korea University, said many South Korean students at his school had noticed parallels between the two movements.

“Korean students relate to the Hong Kong issue because of their own history of democratisation,” said Zhang, who supports the demonstrations.

Stay or go? Hong Kong’s international students pack their bags amid protest chaos

Such sentiments are why South Korean students from institutions including Yonsei University, Korea University and Hanyang University have been hanging up posters of the viral images along with slogans in support of Hong Kong’s protests.

But the posters have also led to mounting tensions between Korean students and mainland Chinese peers over Lennon Walls and pro-Hong Kong posters and slogans mounted around campus.

Zhang, who has filmed clashes and seen posters removed by Chinese students at Korea University, said the rising support for Hong Kong students had led to an increasingly polarised campus.

“Mainland Chinese students are forming their own groups against Hongkongers and pro-Hong Kong students … while many Korean students see them as a threat to their own democracy,” he said.

Meanwhile, South Korean police were investigating Chinese-speaking students at Yonsei University who allegedly ripped down banners with slogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong”, according to local reports.

A university’s spokesperson told the Post: “Posters do not require stamps or special approval as long as they are non-commercial.”

Lee Jun-hyung, a Yonsei University student in his early 20s, said there were other ways Chinese students could voice their disapproval.

“The people who stripped down the posters were wrong … the content was not offensive and the people in Hong Kong are fighting for democracy, which is a good thing,” he said.

But the issue has also cast a negative light on mainland Chinese people in South Korea, and those like Zhang worry they could all be painted with the same brush.

‘Hatred too deep-rooted’: Hong Kong university turns into a battleground

In one video Zhang shared with the Post, a group of three Chinese students accuse a Korean student of hitting them near the school’s Lennon Wall.

“Many Korean students see Chinese people as supporters of authoritarianism. This is a new sentiment in my opinion,” he said. “But there are some mainland Chinese students who support Hong Kong, they’re just afraid to speak up.”

At Hanyang University this week, UPI reported clashes between Chinese students who warned local students not to “interfere in Chinese affairs”. The Chinese students retaliated against the school’s Lennon Wall by posting notes that read “Long live Kim Jong-un”, and “Dokdo belongs to Japan”.

Additional reporting by David Lee