After the Gangnam Station murder case in May, there has been a growing debate about 'misogyny' in Korean Society. Indeed, the gender conflict has both deepened online and offline. The people of Korea are divided over the case: one point of view is "the murder was committed by a misogynist" and the other is "the murder was simply wanton murder". Either way, a solid fact to come out of the murder case is that women are weaker than men in our society. Women are vulnerable physically and in the very social structure of Korea. This fact is also reflected in universities across the land.

Gender gap (Provided by iStock)

Women, the Weak of Our Society

   In Korea, it is women who are most likely to be the victims of violent crime. According to the 2013 victim analysis released by the Korean Women's Development Institute, 84.7 % ( 28,920) of the 34,126 victims of violent crime, such as murder, robbery, rape and arson, are female. In 1995, female victims stood at 29.9 % (2,377) of 7,947 total victims. But this figure increased to 71.25 % (6,245) of 8,765 total victims in 2000. Clearly, the number of female victims is increasing while the number of male victims is decreasing.

  These figures are a damning indictment of Korea’s gender gap. South Korea ranks 115 out of 145 countries with regards to gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2015. First overall in gender equality was Iceland, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden and Ireland. Korea is not too different from Qatar (122nd), Saudi Arabia (134th), and Iran (141st), which are well known nations for having an abysmal record of women's right. The WEF’s overall ranking took into consideration a country’s economic participation and opportunity (125th), educational attainment (102nd), health and survival (79th) and political empowerment (101st), when it came to gender. In contrast, Korea ranked 17th out of 187 countries in the 2015 Human Development Index (HDI) rankings published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The gender gap reflects the present gender equality status quo in our country.

Gender Discrimination in University (Provided by Voices of Youth)

Women's Social Status in University

   Universities have long served as a seat of learning about the promotion of gender equality, but it appears this particular function began to atrophy in the new millennium. Universities are for thinking seriously about social issues and desirable social goals, so we have to question the reasons for the persisting gender discrimination. There has been much controversy over sexist remarks made by professors. In May, a professor who gave an online class in Marriage and Role of Parents', in Soonchunhyang University, made the following sexist remarks:  women are often raped because they wear revealing outfits and many women hope to become Cinderella and deliberately crash into foreign cars in the hope of meeting a rich man. This certain professor even headed the Women's Medical Association in that area. Students said that they were worried about raising an objection because it may have led to grade inflation. In addition, sexual discrimination lecture material was used in a Hanyang University online class, in April, and a Psychology class professor at the Korea National University of Arts made controversial gender-based comments. Under the current law, universities are obliged to run courses on preventative education for gender-based violence for all professors, teaching staff and students at least once a year. However, the participation rate is around 20 to 30 percent, as such courses have no legal binding force, and many officials say they're struggling to encourage professors to participate.

   There is also much controversy regarding gender discrimination amongst the student body. Computer engineering students at Chonbuk National University were crucified when they promoted their pub, at their university festival, by using a lewd poster of an Idol stars suggestively flashing her body. Indeed, they were almost accused by the star’s talent agency. Such thoughtless acts can lead to the objectification of a women's body and thus devalue women. Meanwhile, last June, a student put up a huge poster (called dejabo) denouncing sexual harassment, with an eight person group chat, in Korea University. According to the poster, they said very mean things about their classmate’s appearance using slang words and shared surreptitious snapshots taken of women in the subway. This chat group lasted for a year and their dialogue reached 700 sheets of papers. This chat group became controversial because 30 females were and the group participants demonstrated a warped view of gender politics. Though the university said it would set up an investigative committee to determine if university rules had been breached,, the findings of this committee have yet to published. In addition, Korea University has been castigated for its lack of action following the gang rape of medical students.

Lack of Female Student Government Participation

   The lack of female representatives could narrow the various viewpoints of a student government when discussing the public commitment of a student council. As western gender equality started from the suffrage movement, women's participation in politics is necessary for gender equality. If the trend of women having lower levels of involvement in student government continues, sexism will be hard to solve. Indeed, female candidates in university are so few. Even if women run for student executive positions, a president is usually a man and a vice-president a women. In the case of Inha University, the president of the 'College of Natural Sciences’(six departments), 'College of Education’ (six departments), 'Arts & Sports’ (four departments), 'College of Information Technology & Engineering’ (four departments), 'College of Social Sciences’ (three departments), 'College of Medicine’ (two departments), 'College of Business Administration’ (two departments), 'College of Economics and International Trade’ (two departments) are men in all departments. Additionally, 94%( fifteen departments) of the 'College of Engineering', 75%( three departments) of the 'College of Human Ecology', 67% ( six departments) of the 'College of Humanities' are men. Thus, male students become president of the students' union in most of departments. ‘The reason for this is because gender equality consciousness is behind system,' said Shin Gyeonga, a professor of sociology at Hallym University. Considering the fact that women's college entrance rate is higher than for men, the groundwork for a female president is being prepared. However, there will be many difficulties for some in accepting a woman as president as  male officers are taken for granted.

(Provided by Voice of Teen India)

The Inha Times met Dr. Ko Jeongae, a counselor at the Gender Equality Center of Student Counseling, to investigate our school’s gender equality policies. Our university keeps this information private.

The Inha Times (IT) : What does the Gender Equality Center do?

Ko Jeongae : Our main task is to prevent university students from becoming victims or perpetrators of sexual violence. And we also try, at universities, to establish a mature culture and equal educational environment through victim protection and counseling and perpetrator prevention educational activities. To this end, we have our own regulations about dealing with sexual harassment and sexual violence, and support the reporting of incidents through a fair process.

IT : What are you doing at the Center to prevent sexual discrimination by members of university?

Ko Jeongae : Preventive discipline is an annual legal duty and the Center is obligated to report to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Ministry of Education. It is also considered in a University's Evaluation. In addition, establishing and operating a gender equality center in all universities is a duty. In such centers, preventative education programs for students are conducted on a yearly basis. In addition, university employees are instructed more than two times a year and professors more than three times a year.

IT : What can we do to eliminate sexual discrimination in university?

Ko Jeongae : It is necessary to break the distorted viewpoint of transferring responsibility to the victim. For example, the reason the crime happened is girls gadding about at night or being scantily dressed. Don't hesitate to confess of being sexually assaulted. Also, if your friend has been assaulted, you should empathize with her/him and reinforce that it is 'not your fault'.

A university is a place for intellectuals; thus, it is high time that such sexual discrimination practices were brought to an end. An earnest discussion about gender equality must start.

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