Complaints after MMU Snowsports Society dress up in ‘Chinese rice farmer hats and kimonos’ for Taekwondo night

Students have complained after Manchester Metropolitan University Ski and Snowboard Club attended a Taekwondo fight night wearing "Chinese rice farmer hats and kimonos."

On November 23rd the university's Taekwondo team held their annual 'Fight Night' event, which sold out completely for the fourth year running.

The Ski and Snowboard Club, known as MMUFS, were pictured at the Taekwondo event in costumes deemed offensive by some other students present.

One student, that wishes to remain anonymous, told The Manchester Tab they had complained to Manchester Metropolitan University Students' Union. They said: "I got in touch and emailed the Students' Union three times, and my mate did too".

Amie Atkinson, President of the Students' Union, told The Manchester Tab: “We take inclusivity and diversity seriously and will be carrying out a full investigation.”

The university's Taekwondo team and organisers of the fight night event, told The Manchester Tab they were not aware of any reported incident and over 450 people were in attendance.

The Ski and Snowboard club, commonly known as MMUFS, did not respond to requests for comment.

A Facebook event set up by the society suggests they planned to follow the Taekwondo event with a 'Japanese Disco' event at The Bagel Shop, which offered free entry for anyone wearing a kimono. The society combined the two events into an "all things Japanese" themed night.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, which originated in the 1940s and 1950s after the conclusion of the Japanese occupation of Korea. The country was under colonial Japanese rule from 1910 – 1945.