South Korean, Chinese students face off over Hong Kong protests

'BROTHERS'

China's embassy in South Korea said it regretted "emotional conflicts" between the students but it was "natural and sensible" for Chinese students to display anger towards efforts to hurt their country's sovereignty and distort facts.

A coalition of students supporting the Hong Kong protests criticised the embassy, saying it facilitated the Chinese students' attempts to undermine democracy, and called for a protest next week to raise awareness of the issue.

"I have a room-mate from mainland China and we don't talk about politics because we'd argue," said Huang Shun Yi, a Taiwanese student at Hanyang University.

"But for me, Hong Kong and Taiwan are like brothers, and I want to help."

At Seoul National University, students have created their own "Lennon Walls" - mosaics of Post-it notes named after the John Lennon Wall in communist-controlled Prague in the 1980s - which have appeared in Hong Kong.

Most notes called for support for Hong Kong's freedom but some were not so enthusiastic. "Hong Kong is part of China," one read.

Kim Dong-yoon, 23, a student at Korea University said Hong Kong's protesters needed international support.

"We young people might seem uninterested in politics but we have pride in the principles of democracy," Kim said.