What's behind the discrimination between campuses of the same Korean University

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NEWs GENERATION is a program hosted by Arirang TV covering Korea’s latest trends and current affairs from the perspective of those in their twenties and thirties (millennial and Gen Zers, dubbed the ‘MZ Generation’ in Korea). For all of my appearances, visit
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You're a student at George Mason University's Asian Campus here in Korea. Does that make you a branch campus student? Tell us a little bit more about your school and how you've decided to enroll at GMU's Korea campus.

Sure thing! George Mason University Korea is located in Songdo, Incheon, within the Incheon Global Campus, together with other universities from the United States and Europe.

The reason I chose to apply to Mason Korea is because our students receive the same degree and education as those at our main campus in Fairfax, Virginia.

As a Global Affairs major myself, I had always wanted to meet new people from across the world using and studying in English, and our growing student body coming from nearly 30 countries allow for exactly that to happen, all the while staying in Korea.

Our admissions process and standards, too, are completely identical and shared with the Fairfax Campus, and all of our students are in fact required to study for two semesters or longer in the US Campus.

Likewise, students admitted to our Fairfax Campus have the choice to study abroad here in Korea, and I think that creates an interesting dynamic for our university.

You heard our discussion so far. Were there any points you agreed with. Do you think there's some discrimination between main campus and branch campus students in the States? Did you experience any?

I think most of the conflicts between campuses come from Korea’s strict college entrance system and social standards on which university you were admitted into.

Many institutions of higher education in the States have many campuses through state university systems, for example, but these are in most cases regarded as separate and distinct universities.

I think Mason and the Incheon Global Campus is unique in that our campuses are considered no different from their home campuses, which is why I haven’t experienced discrimination of any kind for what campus I’m enrolled at.

Studying in a US university was also a breath of fresh air away from the highly competitive process for college admission in Korea, as George Mason University for one accepts nearly 90 percent of its undergraduate applicants.

Such a number might not make much sense for many of the highly selective universities in Korea, but I think it goes to show how much our university believes in inclusivity, which has been backed up by the numbers and rankings.

What do you think about this type of conflict? Do you agree that requiring branch campus students to clearly identify which campus they are from is needed? Or do you think that's a form of discrimination that needs to be nipped in the bud?

I do need to note that our extended campus system has worked so well for us because of the geographical distance between Korea and the United States, and as Korea has become an increasingly popular destination to study and travel for many.

The situation here is more complex since these campuses are all located in Korea, with most students preferring to study in Seoul, informally referred to as ‘in-Seoul’ (인서울).

As much as it would be nice to simply unify all of these campuses into one and treat them identically, I understand that this could create more problems than it would solve especially in Korea, where admissions standards are different, and all aspects of society are centralized around Seoul.

So, I do believe branch campus students do need to identify which campus they are from, but I also think Korea now is in a transitory period of sorts where people are just getting used to the idea of different universities or campuses under the same name.

Any suggestions you'd like to make to get rid of such conflict?

I do see the establishment of branch campuses in Korea as a positive step towards increasing student enrollment not only in Seoul but other regions, backed by the same rigid foundation and name as its main campuses.

Like I said, however, I think that Korea needs more time to get used to such an idea, and that the heart of the controversy lies more in how we view the role and importance of universities.

Especially when the country’s birth rate and student population has been hitting record lows, it’s now time for us to rethink the extreme credentialism and elitism prevalent within our society.