[Lost Ground in Humanities] ① Duksung Women's University German and French Departments Facing Closure... Warning Signs of Humanities Collapse

No Freshmen Assigned to German and French Departments Starting Next Year
Controversy Over University Decision Process Fuels Campus Conflict

Editor's NotePure humanities are gradually losing their place in universities, once called 'ivory towers' for their dedication to academic research. Recently, Duksung Women's University in Seoul shocked many by simultaneously abolishing its German and French language departments. This is analyzed as a result of the university's transformation into a 'job training academy,' declining school-age population, and financial difficulties. Asia Economy examines the reality of the decline of humanities in universities and seeks solutions over two installments.

"None of the students' opinions were reflected. I worry this is just the beginning."

On the afternoon of the 25th of last month, I visited Duksung Women's University in Dobong-gu, Seoul. Students, busy preparing for midterm exams, hurried across the campus carrying heavy backpacks. A banner reading "Strongly Oppose the Abolition of German and French Departments" hung desolately on the wall next to the entrance of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, visible among the students.

A banner reading "Strongly Oppose the Abolition of Dokbulmun" is hung on the wall of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences building at Duksung Women's University.
[Photo by Sim Seong-a]

The board of trustees of Duksung Academy announced on the 23rd of last month that starting from the 2025 academic year, no new students will be admitted to the Department of German Language and Literature and the Department of French Language and Literature. Accordingly, both departments are effectively on the path to abolition. Students enrolling next year, including those in the Division of Liberal Arts, will not be able to choose German or French departments. A Duksung Women's University official explained, "Based on the university's major evaluation criteria, the two lowest-ranked departments were abolished comprehensively," adding, "The school is preparing self-help measures for its long-term survival and development."

Students in the College of Global Convergence, which includes the German and French departments, choose their major departments in their second year. The school explained that applications to the German and French departments have been extremely low. In fact, this year, only 2 students applied to the German department and 8 to the French department.

According to the school, the university can abolish the two departments with the lowest scores based on its own major evaluation criteria. The evaluation comprehensively considers faculty and department performance, dropout rates, the number of students choosing to deepen their major, and the number of students transferring to other schools. The official said, "The Division of Liberal Arts system started in 2020, but these two departments continued to have no demand," and added, "We considered whether a small university like Duksung Women's University could continue to maintain such departments."

Students are strongly opposing this school policy. The French Department Student Council held a meeting with the president but only received a unilateral notice of the 'abolition of the French department,' making communication impossible. They publicly posted a statement last year. The president of the French Language and Literature Student Council explained, "The meeting ended with the president's unilateral explanation that 'students are consumers, and the school changes according to consumer demands.'"

A student is passing by a large poster attached to one side of the wall of the student union building in March by the Duksung Women's University Minju Duksung Emergency Response Committee.
[Photo by Seongah Sim]

Jo Nayeon, a third-year French department student (21), said, "I found my aptitude and planned my career while taking French classes, but hearing about the department's abolition lowered my motivation and left me very confused," adding, "It is French and German departments now, but won't other unpopular departments be abolished later?"

Students from other departments, who can only watch the situation unfold, also expressed negative reactions. Lee Jung-yoon, a social sciences student (25), said, "University is not just a place for employment but a place for study," and added, "I cannot understand the hasty abolition of language departments like this." Yoon (21) also said, "Financial difficulties are just an excuse."

Kim Geon-hee, president of Duksung Women's University, announced amendments to the school regulations in June last year and February this year, including plans not to admit new students to the two departments. Both announcements were rejected by the University Council, which deliberates and advises on university operations, but about a month later, on the 26th of last month, the same amendment was announced again. Eventually, at the University Council meeting held on the 5th of this month, it was approved with 7 votes in favor and 5 against.

A professor from the College of Humanities at Duksung Women's University lamented, "It is anti-democratic to vote three times on the same issue without discarding it despite two rejections," adding, "Duksung Women's University's catchphrase is 'Democratic Duksung,' but it has become 'Anti-democratic Duksung.'" He criticized, "It's like a peddler selling 'humanities products' that don't sell by switching to other products," and said, "Academic disciplines at universities should not become commodities sold like merchandise."

Experts point out that the Duksung Women's University German and French department case could be a decisive signal for the abolition of humanities departments. A professor from the College of Humanities at Duksung Women's University warned, "Duksung Women's University is a university with over 100 years of history," and added, "A university like this abolishing the German and French departments without any safeguards will act as a nationwide signal that 'humanities can be eliminated.'"