September 3, 2025

Executive Summary

What we initially believed was bureaucratic delay has revealed itself as something far more sinister: a coordinated institutional protection racket spanning two countries, multiple government agencies, and dozens of universities. After 146 days of evidence-backed outreach about falsified partnerships and student safety risks, the pattern of silence is too systematic to be coincidental—it's strategic institutional self-preservation at the expense of student safety.

The 146-Day Timeline of Institutional Abandonment

April 10, 2025: We notified seven Korean government agencies about Dongguk University's falsified Canadian partnerships and sexual violence risks (X.com thread: documented evidence). Complete silence for 146 days.

April 27, 2025: Canadian Embassy in Seoul and Global Affairs Canada notified with concrete evidence. 128 days of silence.

April 5-6, 2025: Canadian universities directly contacted about being falsely listed as Dongguk partners. Only one responded—asking not to be named to media.

August 27, 2025: Final outreach to university administrations with 72-hour right of reply. Silence.

August 30, 2025: Direct appeals to student unions after administrative non-response. Silence.

September 2, 2025: Final 24-hour notice before publication. Silence.

Today: Dongguk University's fraudulent partnership listings remain unchanged. Korean government agencies maintain silence. Canadian officials refuse to issue student advisories despite documented risks.

What 146 Days of Silence Reveals

Cross-Border Institutional Coordination

The simultaneous silence from Korean government agencies, Canadian diplomatic missions, and Canadian universities reveals coordination that transcends bureaucratic inefficiency. When institutions across different countries, legal systems, and languages all adopt identical strategies of non-response, it indicates active communication and alignment—not passive neglect.

Evidence of Coordination:

  • Korean Ministry of Education: 146 days of silence
  • Canadian Embassy Seoul: 128 days of silence
  • University of British Columbia: Months of silence despite clear evidence they're falsely listed
  • Toronto Metropolitan University: Complete non-response
  • Mount Allison University: Only an automated out-of-office reply
  • Centennial College: No acknowledgment

This isn't bureaucratic delay—it's systematic suppression (X.com thread: partnership fraud evidence).

The "One University" Exception Proves the Rule

Exactly one Canadian university responded to our outreach, confirming they have no partnership with Dongguk University. However, they immediately requested "not to be mentioned to journalists or media." This response is revealing:

  1. They knew the partnership claim was false (confirming our evidence)
  2. They feared media attention (recognizing reputational risk)
  3. They sought anonymity (avoiding accountability while protecting colleagues)

This university's response proves that all institutions received and understood our evidence. Their colleagues' silence is therefore willful, not ignorant.

Buddhist University Betraying Buddhist Principles

Dongguk University claims Buddhist affiliation, yet their actions fundamentally contradict core Buddhist teachings:

Right Speech (Samma Vaca): Buddhism explicitly prohibits false speech. Dongguk has maintained false partnership listings for 146+ days despite knowing they're fraudulent.

Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva): Buddhism prohibits earning through deception. Dongguk uses false partnerships to attract international students and potentially secure government funding.

Compassion (Karuna): Buddhist compassion demands protecting the vulnerable. Dongguk's all-male film faculty and dissolved Women's Student Council abandon vulnerable students.

Truth (Sacca): Buddhism's foundational commitment to truth is abandoned in favor of institutional reputation management.

The 146-day timeline represents 146 days of a Buddhist institution choosing deception over dharma. Our comprehensive analysis details this Triple Betrayal of Buddhist University principles in Preventing Sexual Violence and Buddhist Ethics: Open Letter to the Faculty of Buddhism at Dongguk University and Buddhist University Turns Blind Eye to Sexual Violence Risk.

The Mechanics of Institutional Protection

Stage 1: Ignore and Hope It Disappears

All institutions adopted identical strategies: complete non-response, hoping advocacy efforts would lose momentum or funding.

Stage 2: Coordinate Silence Across Borders

When ignoring failed, institutions aligned on maintaining silence. The coordination across Korean government agencies, Canadian diplomatic missions, and Canadian universities suggests active communication and strategy alignment.

Stage 3: Protect the Network at All Costs

The one responding university's request for anonymity reveals the final stage: even institutions confirming our evidence prioritize protecting their institutional network over student safety.

Government Complicity: The Diplomatic Cover-Up

Canadian Government Abandonment

Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian Embassy in Seoul received concrete evidence 128 days ago, including:

  • Falsified partnership documentation
  • Korean government data showing 61.5% sexual violence rates in arts programs
  • University correspondence confirming partnerships don't exist
  • Student safety implications for Fall 2025 exchanges

Their response: Complete silence and no student advisory (X.com thread: Canadian government accountability).

This follows a documented pattern where Canadian diplomatic missions fail to protect citizens from institutional exploitation abroad, as evidenced in cases like the Medium investigation into Canadian government failures in Asia. When pressed about the sexual violence crisis in Korean universities, a Canadian diplomat dismissed it as a "sensitive matter" (X.com)—diplomatic code for issues too inconvenient to address.

Business “Hospitality” and Exposure Risk

Independent documentation indicates that elements of Korean corporate hospitality have historically included expectations of sexual entertainment in certain settings. See: Save My Seoul timestamps — 24:40 "prostitution is culture," 30:20 "hosting (sexual entertainment)," 30:33 "corporate slush funds": Save My Seoul on Vimeo (removed from Civl).

While we are not alleging specific misconduct by Canadian officials, the prolonged non‑action by the Canadian Embassy in Seoul on credible sexual‑violence risks at Dongguk—combined with this known business‑culture context—raises reasonable questions about compromised judgment and conflict‑of‑interest vulnerabilities. If hospitality ever crossed into sexual entertainment, that would implicate officials in sex‑trafficking risks under Canadian and international law.

Korean Government Institutional Capture

Seven Korean government agencies have maintained silence for 146 days despite receiving evidence of:

  • IEQAS certification fraud (institutions maintaining certification despite falsified partnerships)
  • Potential misuse of public funds (partnerships used for government funding applications)
  • Sexual violence risk documentation (KWDI 2020 research showing extreme rates in arts programs)
  • International diplomatic implications (Canadian university denials)

The Korean government's Study Korea 300K Project creates perverse incentives to ignore safety issues in favor of enrollment targets. The extent of their suppression efforts extended to systematic surveillance of our advocacy efforts (X.com thread: documented surveillance pattern).

The Price of Institutional Protection

Students Pay the Ultimate Cost

While institutions protect each other, students face:

  • Fraudulent partnership information affecting exchange decisions
  • Undisclosed sexual violence risks in arts programs (61.5% rate for women)
  • No safety advisories despite documented evidence
  • Vulnerability to exploitation in unmonitored programs

International Education System Corruption

The 146-day silence reveals systematic corruption in international education:

  • IEQAS certification proves meaningless (maintained despite falsified partnerships)
  • Partnership verification is non-existent across institutions
  • Student safety is subordinated to institutional reputation
  • Government oversight is captured by institutional interests
  • Industry exploitation patterns mirror institutional dynamics (X.com thread: Hanni's testimony on K-pop exploitation)

The Epstein Parallel: Elite Protection Networks

The systematic silence mirrors elite protection networks seen in cases like Jeffrey Epstein, where:

  • Multiple institutions coordinated to suppress information
  • Cross-border coordination protected predatory behavior
  • Reputation management prioritized over victim protection
  • Elite networks maintained silence through mutual benefit

The same dynamics protecting sexual predators in elite networks are protecting institutional predators in international education. These patterns echo historical precedents where institutional coordination enabled systematic sexual violence (X.com thread: WW2 sexual slavery parallels analysis).

APEC 2025: The Perfect Storm

As APEC 2025 convenes in Korea through October, this institutional protection racket faces its greatest test. With diplomatic delegations in-country and media attention on Korea's international education ambitions, the 146-day silence becomes a liability rather than an asset.

The coordination that protected institutions for 146 days now exposes them to greater scrutiny and accountability.

Recommendations: Breaking the Protection Racket

For Students and Families

  • Never trust IEQAS certification as a safety guarantee
  • Independently verify all partnership claims
  • Demand transparency from home institutions about partner vetting
  • Seek alternative programs in countries with functional oversight

For Media and Investigators

  • Follow the silence patterns to map institutional coordination
  • Investigate funding mechanisms that incentivize partnership fraud
  • Document diplomatic failures in student protection
  • Expose the Buddhist hypocrisy at religiously-affiliated institutions

For Government Oversight

  • Independent audits of all IEQAS-certified institutions
  • Financial penalties for partnership fraud
  • Diplomatic consequences for governments enabling exploitation
  • Student safety requirements for international agreements

Conclusion: The End of Plausible Deniability

After 146 days, no institution can claim ignorance. The evidence has been provided, the risks documented, and the coordination exposed. What we're witnessing isn't bureaucratic failure—it's systematic institutional capture where:

  • Korean government agencies protect enrollment targets over student safety
  • Canadian diplomatic missions protect institutional relationships over citizen welfare
  • Universities across borders protect each other over student welfare
  • A Buddhist institution chooses deception over dharma

The 146-day silence is the evidence. The coordination is the crime. The students are paying the price.

This institutional protection racket has now been exposed. The question is whether international education stakeholders will continue enabling it, or finally prioritize student safety over institutional comfort.

The world is watching. The students are waiting. And 146 days of silence speaks louder than any words these institutions might finally find.

Canadian travel advisories: no warnings

As of 2025-09-03 21:00 ET, Canada’s official advisories contain no warnings specific to Korean university partnership fraud or the academic sexual‑violence crisis documented by KWDI 2020 and recent Xiaohongshu testimonies.

Context: KWDI 2020 shows 61.5% of women in arts/culture programs experience sexual violence, and victims have publicly testified in our Xiaohongshu documentation: Viral Xiaohongshu Post Exposes Dongguk University Sexual Violence Crisis

Documentation:

Partner page archives (UBC vs Dongguk)

Contact: genderwatchdog@proton.me

Next steps

  • File FOI (FIPPA/RTIPPA) requests to confirm/deny Dongguk partnerships at the five Canadian universities listed on Dongguk’s partner page — University of British Columbia, University of Manitoba, Toronto Metropolitan University, Centennial College, and Mount Allison University (2015–present): agreements, amendments, and any communications about listings/delistings.
  • File ATIP to Global Affairs Canada for records mentioning Dongguk partnerships and student‑safety risks (Apr 2025–present).
  • Publish all responses and archives; amend findings in real‑time on our blog and evidence repository.
  • Notify all institutions listed by Dongguk with a standardized evidence brief and right‑of‑reply window.