Fictional Partnerships & Title IX Failures at Dongguk University – Now Under Global Review
30 Jan, 2025
Dongguk University in Seoul, long regarded as Korea's top graduate school for film, operates a Master's program in Digital Media and Contents that presents serious structural risk factors for sexual violence:
- The faculty is entirely male
- The program shares its building with commercial film entities such as Sidus FNH
- In 2018, Dongguk abolished its Women's Student Council during the height of the MeToo movement
- There are no visible independent mechanisms for reporting sexual violence
Despite these red flags, Dongguk continues to promote international exchange programs with multiple institutions worldwide — including several Canadian and U.S. universities — via its official website:
👉 https://www.dongguk.edu/eng/page/554
🕵️♀️ Archived April 8, 2025:
📎 Web Archive Link
🔻 Dongguk's only official response to date was:
"For what purpose did you send the e-mail? Is it for suggestion or reporting?"
This reply, sent by Dongguk's Global Student Team, was not escalated to any legal, ethics, or Title IX-equivalent office. It suggests dismissiveness, not diligence.
🎭 Broader Risks: Gender Equity & Institutional Transparency
According to research by the Korean Women's Development Institute, graduate programs in the arts — especially those tied to the film industry — exhibit some of the highest rates of sexual violence in Korean higher education.
📄 Study: "University Students in the Culture and Arts after the MeToo Movement"
Key patterns include:
- Structural silencing of survivors
- Lack of independent reporting systems
- High prevalence of retaliation or reputational threats
- Power held exclusively by male faculty in career-determining contexts
❓ Open Questions for the Public and Partner Schools
- Are international students being placed into high-risk environments under the guise of "prestige"?
- Why do some schools appear on partner lists without active agreements?
- What obligations do sending institutions have when host environments are structurally unsafe?
🧾 The following institutions have acknowledged receipt and are reviewing Dongguk University's standing as an academic partner or rankings candidate (Updated)
Some universities listed by Dongguk have begun responding to inquiries.
🇨🇦 Canadian Institution:
"We do not have a student exchange agreement with Dongguk University. As a result, please DO NOT include our institution in the article and when you communicate with any journalists or media."
🇺🇸 U.S. University:
"Greetings,
Thank you for making us aware of this situation. We are undergoing a review of all of our exchange partners and will take this into consideration and will reach out to our partners at Dongguk accordingly.
Please do not quote me in any articles or further emails. Thank you.
Best,"
🇺🇸 U.S. University (Respondent 2):
"Thank you for your email. We will discuss this internally. Please remove me from further communications.
Thank you."
🇺🇸 U.S. University (Respondent 3):
"Hello, Thank you for your email. We have sent this to the people that need to see it, and rest assured, they are taking care of it. Thank you, and please let me know if there's any other way I can help. Best,"
🏛️ Global Evaluator (Ranking Organization):
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We've forwarded this to our management for their attention."
(Redacted reply, April 13, 2025)
The organization clarified that it does not comment on individual institutions outside the context of its public ranking methodologies.
Screenshots of email responses: Email Screenshots
More responses will be added as they arrive. All quoted messages are redacted to protect the identities of university officials and in accordance with the institutions' requests.