A Seoul university is mired in a sexual harassment scandal following a welcoming event for freshmen.
At the Sogang University event, attended by some 290 new students on Feb. 25, senior students of the institution used sexual terms to name some of the rooms the freshmen were staying in, it was revealed on Monday.
The name of one of the rooms translates to “touch even if it is small,” while that of another was written in a way that was similar to the Korean word for the female breast.
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| A poster used at the welcoming event marks a room as “touch even if it is small.” (Twitter) |
These rooms also had sexual or degrading rules for entering. One room demanded that the freshmen dance the provocative routine the girl group EXID used for their single “Up & Down.”
Another required those entering to smell the feet of the occupants and then voice their opinions on the smell.
Other rules included one requiring the youngest freshman present to sing with a senior student of the opposite sex, and imitating a popular comedy sketch while looking at a senior with a “deep gaze.”
As the details of the event and the controversy spread on the Internet, the university and the student association of the business school have apologized and promised countermeasures.
The university on Wednesday issued a statement saying that “stern measures” would be taken to prevent such incidents recurring.
“The situation will be reviewed closely to prevent such incidents recurring, and stern measures will be taken according to the results (of the review),” chief of the university’s student affairs Lee Sang-geun said in the statement.
As part of the follow-up measures, the university plans to strengthen sexual equality education and to review various related systems.
The student association of the business school also posted a public apology and promised to take preventive steps.
“(The association) will endeavor endlessly to reform the bad customs of the business school students’ society,” the student’s association said.
