A controversy erupted recently over NalgaeDandae, a group of ambassadors for Dankook University (DKU). In September, several students posted negative reviews about the content of the ‘Ddokdanbal’, a YouTube channel for NalgaeDandae, on Everytime, a college student community discussion board. As a result, the length of time ambassadors serve NalgaeDandae and the videos they produce have become the objects of controversy.

▲ The statement of DKU's Public Relations Department about NalgaeDandae controversey in Everytime, the student community (Photo from Everytime)

    It is not the first time NalgaeDandae has faced criticism over its content. In March, the group was condemned for focusing on the publicity of individual ambassadors rather than school content on their Youtube channel. The group responded by saying, “We tried to make content for everyone to enjoy, not just students of DKU. We try to do both.” However, they ran into criticism once again for not reflecting the feedback. The main points of dispute are the direction of content for the channel, the two-term system of appointment for the panel and the qualifications of the members. Of these, the most prominent point of discontent was the system of two consecutive terms. With the launch of NalgaeDandae’s two term policy, the number of possible new student ambassadors decreased. The student body was unaware of the change in policy until it was already in place. As a result, better qualified students were barred from selection because there were no open slots for them to fill. Moreover, the ability of ambassadors to make quality videos and emcee live content is lacking. DKU’s public relations (PR) team, the department that manage NalgaeDandae, responded to the criticism with an official statement stating, while it is true the number of new ambassadors decreased because of the consecutive term system, the policy was implemented to address problems in the transfer of duties and a lack of long-term promotion strategies. The department agreed that more students should be provided opportunities to represent the university as student ambassadors, and stated they will announce a new number for the team soon. They also said the plan to deliver more effective content for school promotion via ‘Danggul Live’, will be solved by installing a prompter for use during recording and doing two or more rehearsals prior to production.

▲ There were some controversies about videos in DKU's YouTube channel called 'Ddokdanbal' (Screenshot from Ddokdanbal YouTube channel)

    The Dankook Herald (DKH) surveyed students of Dankook University (Dankookians) about the controversies over NalgaeDandae. They asked respondents if they had watched the videos at the center of controversy. 87.9% of students answered yes, while 12.1% said that they had not seen them. Many anonymous Dankookians who watched the videos commented that it would have been better to make more professional videos using good skills and content. One Dankookian said, "I understand their intention to share interesting episodes, but the title of the video was too provocative to use as an official video. NalgaeDandae should be more cautious in uploading such content because it is an officially recognized representative channel for the school." Another student complained about their professionalism. "It was a bit disappointing when the host did not seem to be acquainted with the script for the live show. I don’t know the exact reason for this but, from the viewer's perspective, the ambassador was unprofessional and lacked a passion for their task. In future, please be more professional when representing our university.” The DKH also asked Dankookians what type of content they would like to see on the Youtube channel. "Much of the videos now posted on the official channel seem to be way too private. The aim of a school ambassador is to promote the university to people who do not know about DKU. Therefore, it would be better to reduce the number of private content episodes and add videos introducing events on school grounds," said one student. Overall Dankookians were looking for videos introducing school clubs and events that have been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so that students who started their undergrad in '20 and '21 would be aware of their existence.

    The DKH interviewed DKU’s Public Relations (PR) Department to better understand their position and learn more about their future plans for the group. "We selected new members at the end of each term but, this system had 2 big problems. The first one is the adaptability of new members. It took new recruits a long time to adapt to the job, so projects were being delayed,” said the representative. They added, “the second problem was that projects run by previous members were being dropped by new members in favor of different ones. So for these reasons, from the 13^th term onwards, a two-term system was introduced and we had to evaluate sedulously each applicant. Moreover, from 14^th term onwards, it was difficult to educate and recruit members because of COVID19. The two-term system solved the problem, despite objections from the student body.” Acknowledging student complaints, the PR department promised they will review the problems associated with the 14th term. They also acknowledged student complaints about the YouTube productions such as an absence of planning ability, inappropriate concepts, the use of a provocative thumbnail and an overall lack of skills. They said, "We will more than double check the content in order to make sure it improves the image of DKU through YouTube for the rest of the period.“ As for the future, the PR department said the policy for selection of members for the 15^th term panel will be announced in a post in late October or early November. They also promised to review published content that is deemed provocative and misleading and will delete the controversial videos and post an apology. They added, "We will manage the content according to the feedback we receive. Moreover, from now on, we will produce content that focuses on university promotion."

   The controversy over postings by NalgaeDandae on their official YouTube channel have now been vetted by all sides. The future looks promising if the PR department follows through on their pledge to change. We look forward to a brighter future ahead.