US-style university hazing has caused a storm in South Korea after a photo showing new students being doused with alcohol went viral.

According to the , ¡°A group of students were shown lined up with hands politely clasped in front while an older-looking student poured makgeolli, milky fermented alcohol, over their bowed heads.¡±

It said that the drink appear to contained bits of ¡°unidentifiable filth¡±.

A spokesperson for Dong-a University, based in the southern city of Busan, told the newspaper that the initiation was administered by a football club in the university¡¯s chemical engineering department earlier this month.

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It imitated a Korean folk ritual that wards off bad luck and evil spirits, they said.

The university has vowed to investigate the entire department and to punish those responsible.

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A photo of the initiation emerged on Facebook, with the poster, who said he was the brother of one of those being initiated, asking whether the ritual was acceptable, reported the .

The incident drew a critical reaction online.

¡°We¡¯re in the 21st century, which should not tolerate things like this,¡± one student wrote, according to the paper. ¡°Look at the students. They¡¯re all looking down as if they were prison inmates. Do you believe that the students agreed to do this? I don¡¯t believe so.¡±

¡°I am not proud of my school at all. I wasn¡¯t aware this was happening at my school. I think this should be abolished,¡± another wrote.

The newspaper reported that such hazing is not uncommon in the country, and that last week a new student at another university had died drinking during a welcoming party with more senior students.

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david.matthews@tesglobal.com