[Breaking News] The "Global Dongguk" brand is built on a foundation of sand.

Following our exposure of falsified partnerships in Canada and the UK, a comprehensive audit of Dongguk University's "Global Partners" list has revealed a systematic pattern of deception we are calling "Semantic Fraud."

From China to Oceania, from "Public Ivies" to the Russell Group, we have now identified 34 institutions that Dongguk claims as partners but who either deny the relationship entirely or restrict it so severely that calling it a "partnership" is misleading.

This is not just an administrative error. It is a cover-up.

What is "Semantic Fraud"?

Dongguk University appears to be exploiting the ambiguity between different types of academic agreements to inflate its global status:

1. The MOU Trap: Signing a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) — often just a "let's be friends" letter — and listing it as a full student exchange partnership.
2. Zombie Partnerships: Continuing to list universities as partners years after the agreement has expired (e.g., Wuhan University).
3. The "Departmental" Switch: A specific department (e.g., Engineering) has a small agreement, but Dongguk lists the entire university as a partner, misleading students from other majors.
4. Outright Fabrication: Listing universities that have no record of any agreement whatsoever.

1. The China Cluster: State Media Duped

Our investigation into Chinese partnerships revealed that even major institutions and state media have been misled.

The "Smoking Gun": Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT)

We received a direct reply from BIT's International Student Center regarding their status with Dongguk.

"您好！我是北京理工大学留学生中心[Name Redacted]。我校与东国大学已签署MOU。特此说明。" (Hello! This is [Name Redacted] from the BIT International Student Center. Our university has signed an MOU with Dongguk University. This is to clarify.)

The Catch: While they have an MOU, BIT does not list Dongguk on their official partner list for student exchange. Dongguk uses this "piece of paper" to claim a full partnership, deceiving students into thinking they can study there.

Wuhan University: Time Travel

Dongguk seems to be relying on a webpage from 2014 to claim a partnership with Wuhan University.

• 2014 Legacy Page: Lists Dongguk.
• 2024 Official Page: Dongguk is gone.

Above: The 2014 page Dongguk relies on.

Above: The reality in 2024.

Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU)

BFSU lists 13 Korean partners. Dongguk is not one of them. Yet, Dongguk claims them. ²⁵

Tsinghua University & China Daily

Even China Daily reported on a "MOU signing" between Tsinghua and Dongguk. But does Tsinghua's official exchange office recognize this as a university-wide partnership? The evidence suggests otherwise. State media should not be used to launder the reputation of a university that falsifies its international standing.

See our full analysis on X: https://x.com/Gender_Watchdog/status/2004549863296684193

Additional Chinese Universities

• Peking University: No Dongguk.
• Zhejiang University: No Dongguk. ⁴
• Harbin Institute of Technology: No Dongguk.

2. The Oceania Collapse: 85% Fake

Our audit of the Oceania region (Australia/New Zealand) was even more shocking. Of the 7 partners Dongguk claims:

• Confirmed Real: 1 (Charles Sturt University)
• Confirmed Fake/Missing: 5
• Likely Fake (Name Error): 1

That is an 85% failure rate.

The "University of West Sydney" Error

Dongguk lists a partner called "University of West Sydney." Fact Check: There is no such university in Australia. The correct name is "Western Sydney University." When a university doesn't even know the correct name of its alleged partner, it is a strong indicator that the partnership does not exist. The link provided by Dongguk leads to a 404 error.

Confirmed "No" from Oceania

• Victoria University of Wellington (NZ): Lists SNU, Korea Univ, but NO Dongguk. ²⁰
• University of Wollongong (AU): Lists SNU, Yonsei, but NO Dongguk. ²¹
• University of the Sunshine Coast (AU): NO Dongguk. ²²
• Swinburne University of Technology (AU): NO Dongguk. ²³
• Deakin University (AU): NO Dongguk. ²⁴

3. Global Top Tier: The Rejection Continues

The pattern repeats across the globe. Prestigious universities that Dongguk claims as partners do not list Dongguk.

• UCLA (USA): No. ¹
• UCSD (USA): No. ²
• University of Manchester (UK): No. ³
• Leiden University (Netherlands): No. ⁵
• Ghent University (Belgium): No. ⁶
• Freie Universität Berlin (Germany): No. ⁷
• University of Hamburg (Germany): No. ⁸
• Michigan State University (USA): No. ⁹
• University of Arizona (USA): No (Only SNU listed). ¹⁰
• University of Nottingham (UK): No. ¹¹

4. Caveats and Restrictions: The "Departmental" Switch

Dongguk often claims a university-wide partnership when the agreement is actually limited to a specific department or program.

• Lund University (Sweden): Faculty of Engineering (LTH) only. No Humanities. ¹²
• University of Oslo (Norway): Humanities Bachelor only. ¹³
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA): Research collaboration only, no student exchange. ¹⁴
• National Taiwan University (Taiwan): 3 Colleges only, not university-wide.

5. Japan Audit: More Rejections

• Ritsumeikan University: No. ¹⁷
• Ritsumeikan APU: No. ¹⁶
• Kansai University: Basic agreement only, no exchange. ¹⁸
• Tohoku University: College of Liberal Arts only. ¹⁹

The Walls Are Closing In: International Legal Escalation

Dongguk's strategy of silence is failing as international partners escalate our inquiries into formal legal and regulatory matters.

1. Canada (UBC): Regulatory Intervention After UBC initially delayed, the BC Information & Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) intervened, ordering a response. This proves that "ghosting" inquiries triggers regulatory oversight.

2. UK (University of Southampton): Voluntary FOI Escalation In a significant move, the University of Southampton voluntarily forwarded our inquiry to their Freedom of Information office (Ref: F-25-0507). They are not treating this as a simple email query; they are treating it as a formal legal matter.

3. China (BIT): The "Semantic" Confession Beijing Institute of Technology didn't just ignore us. They replied to confirm the exact mechanism of the fraud: "We have an MOU" (the paper) but "No Partnership" (the reality).

The message to Dongguk is clear: You can hide from students, but you cannot hide from the Freedom of Information Acts of the UK and Canada, nor the internal audits of Chinese state universities.

Evidence Downloads (Redacted for Privacy)

Transparency is key. We are releasing redacted FOI responses confirming the lack of partnerships.

1. Southampton FOI Response and UBC FOI Response: Download via Proton Drive

2. Anonymous Canadian University's email response: View on X (Twitter)

Unredacted versions available to credentialed press, journalists, ranking organizations, and government officials upon request.

The Media Response: A "Limited Hangout"

Immediately after we exposed Dongguk University's falsified partnerships in China—specifically tagging The Korea Times in our public inquiry—the media outlet published an article titled "China delists 15 Korean universities from recognized overseas institutions." ²⁷

This timing is suspicious. It appears to be a classic "Limited Hangout" strategy.

• The Strategy: Admit to a general, systemic problem (China delisting Korean universities) to distract from the specific, fraudulent behavior of one institution (Dongguk University falsifying partnerships).
• The Reality: By framing this as a broad diplomatic issue, they attempt to provide cover for Dongguk's specific lies. The issue is not merely that China "delisted" Dongguk; the issue is that Dongguk claimed partnerships that never existed in the first place.

We see through this attempt to control the narrative. The "China Crisis" is real, but it is being weaponized as a shield to protect Dongguk from accountability for its own "Semantic Fraud."

우리가 @koreatimescokr 를 태그하여 동국대의 중국 파트너십 위조를 지적하자마자, 그들은 "중국이 한국 대학들을 퇴출시키고 있다"는 기사를 냈습니다.

이것은 '꼬리 자르기(Limited Hangout)'입니다. 자신들이 홍보한 동국대의 구체적인 사기를 덮기 위해, 일반적인 위기론으로 물타기를 하는… https://t.co/hkO7AtR55a

— Gender Watchdog (@Gender_Watchdog) December 31, 2025

The Coupang Parallel: Cover-Up Culture

South Korea is currently in an uproar over Coupang, the e-commerce giant, for hiding a massive data breach to protect its stock price and U.S. investors. ²⁶

Dongguk University is following the exact same playbook.

• Coupang: Hid data leaks to protect stock price.
• Dongguk: Hides fake partnerships to protect university rankings.

In both cases, the institution prioritizes its external image over the rights and safety of its stakeholders (customers/students).

The Consequences: Delisting and Lawsuits

This is not a victimless crime.

1. Ranking Delisting (The KAIST Precedent): KAIST was recently excluded from the QS World University Rankings for manipulating survey data. Dongguk's falsification of dozens of international partnerships—a key metric for "International Outlook"—is a far more severe violation. We are submitting this evidence to QS, THE, and ARWU. Dongguk faces the real risk of being delisted.

2. Class Action Lawsuit: Students pay tuition for a "Global University." If that global infrastructure is fake, it is Consumer Fraud. Students have grounds for a class-action lawsuit for the return of tuition fees and damages for the devaluation of their degree.

3. IEQAS Decertification: The Ministry of Education's IEQAS (International Education Quality Assurance System) certification relies on accurate data. Dongguk's failure to update its partner list for over 260 days—despite our reports—suggests they know that correcting it would cost them their certification.

260 Days of Silence

We reported the first falsified Canadian partnership to the Korean Ministry of Education on April 10, 2025. It has been over 260 days.

• The Ministry has done nothing.
• Dongguk has updated nothing.

The silence is deafening. But the evidence is now undeniable.

We demand an immediate investigation by the Ministry of Education and a full audit by all global ranking organizations.

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Gender Watchdog is an advocacy group dedicated to exposing institutional corruption and sexual violence in higher education.

References

1. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "International Collaboration." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.global.ucla.edu/collaboration ¹
2. University of California, San Diego (UCSD). "Global Initiatives Database." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://ucsd.adv-pub.moveonca.com/database-report-page/ ²
3. University of Manchester. "Study Abroad Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/international/study-abroad-exchange/partners/ ³
4. Zhejiang University. "Global Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.zju.edu.cn/english/Asia/list.htm ⁴
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6. Ghent University. "Bilateral Agreements." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.ugent.be/en/ghentuniv/mission/internationalisation/eu-funding/bilateral.htm ⁶
7. Freie Universität Berlin. "Partner Network." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/international/network/partners/index.html ⁷
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10. University of Arizona. "Visitor Programs." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://arizona.via-trm.com/visitor-programs-v2 ¹⁰
11. University of Nottingham. "Study Abroad Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/currentstudents/study-abroad/international-exchange/study-abroad-by-country/asia.aspx ¹¹
12. Lund University. "Exchange Destinations." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://saas.solenovo.fi/move/destinationSearch/9408490 ¹²
13. University of Oslo. "Exchange Agreements." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.uio.no/english/studies/exchange/agreements/asia/ ¹³
14. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "International Partnerships." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://international.illinois.edu/ ¹⁴
15. Kochi University. "International Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.kochi-u.ac.jp/international/study-abroad/schools/university/southkorea/dongguk.html ¹⁵
16. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. "Partner Universities." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://en.apu.ac.jp/abroad/search-university/ ¹⁶
17. Ritsumeikan University. "Partner Institutions." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/skp/resources/partners/ ¹⁷
18. Kansai University. "International Agreements." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.kansai-u.ac.jp/Kokusai/english/department/agreement.php ¹⁸
19. Tohoku University. "Global Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://web.tohoku.ac.jp/ged/partners?lang=en ¹⁹
20. Victoria University of Wellington. "Exchange Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/student-exchange/partner-universities#/?regions=Asia ²⁰
21. University of Wollongong. "International Linkages." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.uow.edu.au/about/global-presence/international-linkages/ ²¹
22. University of the Sunshine Coast. "International Partnerships." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.unisc.edu.au/international/international-partnerships ²²
23. Swinburne University of Technology. "Partner Universities." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.swinburne.edu.au/life-at-swinburne/study-abroad-exchange/studying-a-semester-abroad/partner-universities/ ²³
24. Deakin University. "Exchange Partners." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://www.deakin.edu.au/international-students/study-abroad-and-exchange/exchange-partners ²⁴
25. Beijing Foreign Studies University. "Partner Universities." Accessed December 30, 2025. https://internationalen.bfsu.edu.cn/info/1260/1766.htm ²⁵
26. Choi Hyun-ju and Noh Yu-rim. "Coupang follows 'U.S. playbook' for aftermath of data leak, prioritizing investors over customers." Korea JoongAng Daily, December 30, 2025. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-12-30/business/industry/Coupang-follows-US-playbook-for-aftermath-of-data-leak-prioritizing-investors-over-customers/2489262 ²⁶
27. Lee Hae-rin. "China delists 15 Korean universities from recognized overseas institutions." The Korea Times, December 30, 2025. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20251230/china-delists-15-korean-universities-from-recognized-overseas-institutions ²⁷