By Jung Min-ho
Earlier this week, a college student lost consciousness after being forced to drink a bowl of poktanju, a mixture of soju and beer, at a welcoming party for freshmen in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.
Drinking poktanju is a freshman hazing ritual at her school in North Gyeongsang Province.
After she passed out, a participant called police and she was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where she recovered quickly. But not everyone is as lucky as she was.
According to the Korea Public Health Association, at least one college student has died every year since 2006 in a binge-drinking incident.
The research organization noted that 8.2 percent of male and 28.3 percent of female college students have an alcohol problem.
And the culture of heavy drinking often leads students to sexual crimes.
During their three-day freshman orientation in February, Sogang Business School students were forced to smell the feet of their senior students, and women were forced to perform a “sexy dance.”
Many students complained that it was simply hazing under the guise of orientation. Some said it was tantamount to sexual violence against teenage girls, who just graduated from high schools.
Hazing is illegal, but it is treated lightly. It also tends to be underreported because victims are afraid to speak out in fear of becoming ostracized in their small communities.
The disturbing party could have remained unknown to outside world. But one female student revealed it by writing a post on the school’s Facebook page, which was accompanied by some pictures.
Lee Sang-geun, dean of Sogang University, said he will soon come up with preventive measures. He added that students responsible for disturbances at the party will be punished accordingly.
The business school’s student union also said it will work hard to fix the “wrong practices conducted under the name of culture.”
According to the Ministry of Education, complaints about such practices on campus have risen recently.
So the ministry issued a statement to all colleges on Monday to encourage them to work hard and fix these issues.
“We have received many complaints that freshman students are forced to attend school programs,” the ministry said.
Hazing cases in the United States spurred some universities to consider curbing or even banning them.
In 2011, months after a student died in a hazing incident, Cornell University decided to forbid fraternity pledging altogether. That was a day after Princeton University banned its fraternities from recruiting first-year students.