Controversy Over 'Forced Collection' of Graduation Gift Fees at a University Department in Gwangju

Citizen Group for a Society Without Academic Credentials "Ministry of Education, Improve Senior-Junior Hierarchical Culture"

Screenshot of the department's open chat room. Photo by Citizens' Group for a Society Without Academic Discrimination

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] Allegations have been raised that the student council of the Department of Early Childhood Education at a university in Gwangju is forcibly collecting money from underclassmen for the purpose of providing graduation gifts.

According to the Citizens' Group for a Society Without Academic Elitism on the 2nd, the student council of the Department of Early Childhood Education at the said university collected set amounts of money depending on the grade level: 35,000 KRW from first-year students, 10,000 KRW from second-year students, and 5,000 KRW from third-year students.

Until now, the student council had been collecting cash from underclassmen to provide gold rings as graduation gifts, but since the sudden increase in gold prices in 2019, they have changed to providing cash instead and have continued the forced collection.

In response, the citizens' group stated, "Many underclassmen in the department claim that the fundraising for graduation gifts is a bad custom."

Furthermore, they added, "Some students have appealed to the president of the Early Childhood Education student association and the department head to help prevent the inheritance of this bad custom, but it is known that these appeals have been ignored."

The citizens' group pointed out, "Forced fundraising for graduation gifts is an absurdity arising from the hierarchical culture between seniors and juniors, which has been corrected in most universities. However, in some schools, dissatisfaction such as 'Isn't it enough to just pay and not receive anything?' remains as a seed of conflict, sustaining this bad custom."

They continued, "Forced fundraising for graduation gifts is a clear human rights violation as it suppresses the autonomy of the vulnerable based on grade-level hierarchy. If such bad customs persist, it seems necessary to inspect and improve the senior-junior hierarchical culture across universities nationwide."

The citizens' group urged the Ministry of Education, saying, "Schools are places that nurture citizens who uphold democracy. The education authorities should feel a strong sense of responsibility regarding the situation where bad customs that undermine democracy are roaming schools," and called for a full investigation into forced fundraising for graduation gifts and supervision related to the issue at the said university.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.