By Kim Tae-jong
As spring approaches and the new university semester opens, some freshmen may die tragic deaths from binge drinking forced upon them during various initiation or orientation sessions at campuses throughout the country.
To put an end to the ritual that has ended the lives of young students, the government has launched a campaign, signing agreements to work together with universities and parents to ultimately make campuses alcohol-free zones.
“How would a parent feel to lose a child after raising them for 20 years because of alcohol?” Health Minister Chin Soo-hee said Wednesday during a meeting with heads of university associations. “We should cultivate and promote healthy drinking habits from this year through vigorous preventive and educational measures to stop such tragedies.”
The ministry plans to hold various campaigns to educate students about the harmful effects of drinking and ban alcoholic beverage advertisements and other marketing promotions on campus in cooperation with universities.
It also asked schools to forbid students from drinking inside dormitories, classrooms, student assembly halls and student lounges.
“We are recommending universities to take assertive steps to make campuses free of alcohol. Though it has no legally binding force, we expect this campaign will help prevent binge-drinking-related deaths on campus,” a ministry official said.
But the move could be seen as harsh on students who believe they should be able to decide whether to drink and it’s not a matter for the authorities.
A few universities including Seoul National University (SNU) and Korea University, run bars within their campuses. And the Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, is considering a plan to open a bar in a dorm or student building.
Experts also warn that a “bad booze culture” prevails among university students in the name of fostering unity and solidarity between younger and older students.
“Korean society is too generous in regards to drinking,” said Na Chang-won, education team researcher at the Korean Alcohol Research Foundation (KARF). “But heavy and habitual drinking results in many problems. People can suffer from physical and emotional problems, and when they’re drunk, they are vulnerable to crimes.”
According to the institute’s survey, one out of every three male university students is a binge drinker who drinks heavily more than three times a week.
In its survey of 4,061 students from 63 universities, about 71 percent are categorized as binge drinkers.
“When a university student becomes a habitual drinker, it’s highly possible that he or she will stay that way even after graduation and they may suffer from the misuse or even the addiction of alcohol. In short, society as a whole will suffer from drinking problems if we don’t tackle the problem of students who drink too much first,” Na said.