Duksung Women’s University is currently facing opposition from its community members due to its plans to discontinue the German Literature and French Literature departments. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Duksung Women’s University is currently facing opposition from its community members due to its plans to discontinue the German Literature and French Literature departments starting from the academic year 2025.
The decision, primarily based on the departments’ waning popularity, has sparked fears of accelerating the crisis in humanities, as similar closures at other universities have followed suit.
On February 20, a committee comprising students, faculty, and alumni from the affected departments, named the Democratic Duksung Emergency Response Committee, staged a protest at the university’s Jongno campus in Seoul.
The demonstrators, holding placards with messages like “Stop the unprincipled academic administration” and “Condemn the arbitrary closure of the French Literature major,” demanded a meeting with the chairman of the university’s board.
The protest was a response to an announcement made by Duksung Women’s University President Kim Gun-hee on February 2, revealing plans not to admit new students to these departments from 2025, as part of a revision to the university’s regulations.
The university cites declining student numbers as a reason for the closures, arguing that it hampers the normal operation of these majors.
Furthermore, the university has put forward several reasons for the closures, including the need for a proactive response to the existential crisis facing universities in the capital region, adapting to changes in higher education environments and policies due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the necessity for modernization and advancement of academic disciplines centered on educational demand.
The university cites declining student numbers as a reason for the closures. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Despite a previous attempt to close these departments last June, which was ultimately rejected by the university’s council in July, the university has once again put forward a similar proposal.
The council rejected the latest proposal on February 19, but the emergency response committee alleges that the university is still trying to push through the closures regardless of the council’s decision.
An official from the Duksung Educational Foundation clarified to the committee that the day’s board meeting agenda did not include the department closures.
The official emphasized that the president holds all administrative authority regarding changes to the university regulations, and the foundation can only exercise its power when matters are officially brought to the table.
A faculty member from the German Literature department expressed concerns that if their department were to close, it might set a precedent for other universities, potentially leading to a domino effect of diminishing humanities disciplines.
The sense of crisis in the humanities is growing, underscored by a statement from the deans of national humanities colleges last month.
They protested the Ministry of Education’s plan to expand admissions without declaring majors, fearing it would lead to students flocking to a few popular majors, further undermining foundational disciplines.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
