Dongduk Women's University Raises Tuition for First Time in 14 Years... "Unrelated to Campus Incident"

Tuition Increases Confirmed at 32 Universities Including Dongduk Women's University
"Can't Hold Out Any Longer" - 120 Universities Discuss Tuition Hikes

It has been revealed that 32 universities nationwide have confirmed tuition fee increases, with Dongduk Women's University also deciding to raise fees for the first time in 14 years.

According to Dongduk Women's University on the 24th, the university held a tuition review committee meeting on the 21st and decided to raise undergraduate tuition fees by 4.2% this year. Dongduk Women's University had frozen tuition fees from 2015 until last year. Since the tuition was increased in 2011 and then reduced from 2012 to 2014, this increase is effectively the first in 14 years.

It has been reported that 32 universities nationwide have confirmed tuition fee increases, and Dongduk Women's University has also decided to raise fees for the first time in 14 years. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Regarding this decision, Dongduk Women's University stated that, like other universities, it was made considering the inflation rate and is unrelated to the students' opposition to the transition to coeducation, which involved acts such as 'lacquer painting' that damaged campus facilities. A university official said, "The restoration costs will be addressed after the investigation results on the damage are released, and we will decide on measures such as civil lawsuits."

Earlier, around November last year, Dongduk Women's University experienced internal turmoil due to student protests against the transition to coeducation, including school occupation and 'lacquer painting' demonstrations. The conflict within the university was temporarily resolved when the school and students agreed to promote the 'Coeducation Transition Public Deliberation Committee.' However, legal disputes are still ongoing, as the university has filed complaints against some students for damaging campus facilities.

Meanwhile, according to data released by the Korea Council of Private University Presidents (KCPUP) on the 23rd, a total of 32 universities have raised tuition fees for the 2025 academic year as of that day. Among them, 27 are private universities and 5 are national or public universities. Unlike last year, when all 26 universities that decided to raise tuition were private, this year, Gyeongin National University of Education, Daegu National University of Education, Busan National University of Education, Gwangju National University of Education, and Jinju National University of Education have also decided to increase tuition fees. In particular, Busan National University of Education raised tuition by 5.49%, the legal maximum increase set by the Ministry of Education this year, showing the highest increase rate among universities that have raised tuition so far.

On the morning of the 8th, a large poster urging the withdrawal of tuition fee increases, written by a current student, was posted at the main gate of Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. While major universities in Seoul are considering tuition hikes due to financial difficulties, Yonsei University proposed a plan to increase undergraduate and graduate tuition fees by 5.49% and foreign student tuition by 7% at the second tuition review committee meeting. Yonhap News

As of this day, 29 universities have decided to freeze tuition fees this year, including 21 national/public universities and 8 private universities. The KCPUP explained that many of the approximately 120 universities that have not yet decided on tuition fees are currently discussing increases. If many universities considering tuition hikes confirm their decisions, the government's policy of freezing tuition fees, which has been in place since 2009, is expected to fail this year. In the past three years, the number of universities that raised tuition fees was 6 in 2022, 17 in 2023, and 26 in 2024.