Sulli’s College Classmates Share Fondest Memories Of Seeing Her On Campus
In a past interview, Sulli once said that she most regretted not going to college. And to change that, she went to sit it on lectures given at Duksung Women’s University — quenching that thirst for learning and experiencing that average university student life. Though she was not enrolled as a full time student, Sulli was warmly welcomed on campus.
Since her passing on October 14, 2019, her classmates who “had the honor” of meeting and getting to know her cautiously shared online their fondest memories of Sulli on campus. Such accounts of Sulli having been a diligent student are now leaving her classmates deeply missing the beloved friend.
Duksung Women’s University students pointed out that Sulli came by the school to attend various lectures, not as a one time thing, but with a dedicated effort to expand her knowledge. To accommodate Sulli’s desire to learn, classmates agreed to respect Sulli’s privacy and space, by not taking pictures or asking for autographs. Thanks to her classmates’ undivided effort to treat her as one of them, Sulli got to fully immerse herself in campus life, like an average twenty-something year old college student.
All the students who knew Sulli promised to treat her like an average student. We didn’t take pictures or her and we acted like she was simply one of us.
— Anonymous Student
Because her classmates wholeheartedly practiced not discussing Sulli openly, the larger public had little to no awareness of Sulli being so active on campus. While Sulli did share a few pictures of herself at Duksung Women’s University, the public did not think she was so involved in taking classes and participating in lectures. Most netizens commented, upon reading the students’ shared memories, that they had no idea that Sulli spent so much time at Duksung Women’s University. In fact, even fellow students on campus didn’t know all too well where Sulli was or what she was doing either. Her classmates tried their best to treat Sulli as “some college girl” and not a celebrity.
The first semester Sulli was on campus, none of us even knew what classes she sat in on. It wouldn’t have been difficult to find out, but we wanted to treat her like a student and not a celebrity. So we respected her privacy and let her have that average college life. Like, it turned out that one of my friends saw her everyday in class for a whole semester — but she never ever mentioned Sulli to me. She later shared that she and Sulli took a communications class together. The class required her to do presentations and participate in discussions; And Sulli was entirely ‘Student A’ in that class, nothing more.
— Anonymous Student
As her classmates cope with the news of Sulli’s death, they continue to remember Sulli by looking back on her presence on campus and appreciating what that meant for both Sulli and them. Under Sulli’s Instagram posts taken on campus, classmates who miss her dearly are leaving heartfelt messages wishing her eternal peace.
Dearest Sulli, the campus is starting to be colored with autumn foliage now. I wish you were here to see it. I hope you at least took with you the memories you made on our campus last semester. It is more than enough to us if you found any happiness at our school. Wherever you are, love and be loved to your heart’s desire. We love you Sulli, please be happy.
— Instagram User @5tand_k
Meanwhile, Koreans, grasping with how detrimental of a place the internet has become for everyone, are working on eliminating the hate culture rampant in the Korean society. Petitions have been started and bills have been proposed — all in an effort to save beautiful souls from losing their lives to the evil that is “anonymous online haters”.
