In the days of the Ewha Hak-dang, girls gathered to learn and share academic experiences. As the importance of specialization was realized, however, these girls were separated from each other into different deprtments, growing further apart with time. Over the years, each department has separated itself and portrayed a certain image to the rest of the university. Today, whether the students fit into the stereotype of their own departments or not, they are apt to be seen through the "colored glasses" that some still wear when looking at other students.

There are numerous rumors about each department that have circulated around campus for years. While there are a number of positive rumors­for example, the ones that claim that the students of the College of Art and Design are the most attractive­ there are many that are not so flattering. Some departments are said to consist of unattractive, uncultured students; students of other departments are questioned about their sexuality. Students in one major are known as strange and unnaturally outgoing, while students in another are rumored to have been accepted through monetary donations.

Strained relationships between departments of the same university is a common phenomenon in Korean universities because different criteria is used in selecting students for each department. This makes it more difficult for students to feel close to those in other departments: they are aware of the different academic abilities among students of other departments. Koreans put more emphasis on the name of the university they graduated from, and some feel slightly miffed that people of less academic abilities were able to get into the same school.
The general disapproval of the students in the Department of International Studies (DIS) in Ewha is a good example of this. The criteria that DIS uses in selecting students is different from that of other departments, especially in that the students are not required to take the National Scholastic Aptitude Test (NSAT); this is why other Ewhaians may feel that there is no way to measure the students intelligence, resulting in a consensus that DIS students do not belong. Another thing that shows how students are uncomfortable with those whom they think possess less academic ability than themselves is the fact that many of the rumors are targeted at the departments related to the arts or physical education, which also have requirements other than the admissions test when choosing students.

When asked about her feelings toward this lack of closeness between departments, Chu Hye-mi (Chinese Language & Literature, 2) replied, "I can see why some students may resent the fact that people who did not study as hard as they did got into the same university, but they need to understand that grades alone do not determine a person"s full potential. Just because students in one department have similar academic abilities, it does not mean that their personal traits are the same as well."

jiaryu@ewha.ac.kr
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