Uni's use of stars' photos for butts sparks row

Life-size photos of Suzy and Seolhyun used for collecting cigarette butts at Yonsei University campus, Seoul. / Screen capture from onlie community

By Bahk Eun-ji

Yonsei University is under fire for using life-size photos of female K-pop stars over bins that collect cigarette butts.

The singers are Miss A’s Suzy and AOA’s Seolhyun.

Text on the bins reads, “I like Suzy♥” and “I like Seolhyun♥.”

Student criticism flared soon after the photo boards were installed. Some in the school’s web community said: “Why do those female stars have to become sexualized just for collecting cigarette butts?” Others said it was just for fun.

A student identified as Hwang, who insisted he set up the boards, said he did it as part of project for a subject he is taking.

“I used the stars’ photo boards for attracting smokers to smoke in the smoking area,” he said on the university’s official Facebook page Thursday. “It is a short-term project, so I need to attract students’ attention quickly.”