Education in North Korea

thumb|Mangyondae Schoolchildrens Palace in Pyongyang

Education in North Korea is universal and state-funded schooling by the government. As of 2021, UNESCO Institute for Statistics does not report any data for North Korea's literacy rates. Children in the DPRK go through one year of kindergarten, five years of primary education, and six years of secondary education, after which it is possible to attend university or technical college.

In 1988, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that North Korea had 35,000 preprimary, 60,000 primary, 111,000 secondary, 23,000 college and university, and 4,000 other postsecondary teachers.

History

Historical Korea

thumb|Children make the emblem of the [[Workers' Party of Korea as they practice for a torch march on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, 2012.]]

Formal education has played a central role in the social and cultural development of both traditional Korea and contemporary North Korea. During the Joseon Dynasty, the royal court established a system of schools that taught Confucian subjects in the provinces as well as in four central secondary schools in the capital. There was no state-supported system of primary education.

In 1959, "state-financed universal education" was introduced in all schools, in which instruction, educational facilities, textbooks, uniforms, and room and board are provided to students without charge. By 1967, nine years of education became compulsory. In 1975, the compulsory eleven-year education system, which includes one year of preschool education and ten years of primary and secondary education, was implemented. According to a 1983 speech given by Kim Il Sung to education ministers of Non-Aligned Movement countries in Pyongyang, universal, compulsory higher education was to be introduced "in the near future." At that time, students had no school expenses; the state paid for the education of almost half of at the time North Korea's population of 18.9 million.

Primary and secondary education

In the mid-1980s, there were 9,530 primary and secondary schools. After graduating from people's school, students enter either a regular secondary school or a special secondary school that concentrates on music, art, or foreign languages. These schools teach both their specialties and general subjects. The Mangyongdae Revolutionary Institute where the children of the North Korean elite are prepared for service as officers in the Korean People's Army is an important special school where modern training in economics and computers is stressed as is the Kang Pan-sok Revolutionary School.

In his 1977 Theses on Socialist Education, Kim Il Sung described the components of social education. In the Korean Children's Union and the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, young people learn the nature of collective and organizational life in North Korea. Some prepare for membership in the Korean Workers' Party. In students' and schoolchildren's halls and palaces, managed by the youth league central committee, young people participate in many extracurricular activities after school. Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, trains working level diplomats and trade officials, and Kim Hyong Jik University of Education trains teachers.

Choson Exchange, a non-profit organization founded by Harvard, Yale, Wharton School and Singaporean graduate students, also runs consulting and training programs in finance, business and economics with Kim Il Sung-university and the State Development Bank in North Korea. Their programs target North Koreans under the age of 40 and combine OpenCourseWare materials and on-site lectures to deliver year-round training.

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), which opened in 2010, is the country's only privately funded university. It is a joint venture institute of higher learning, founded, funded and operated by mostly Evangelical Christians from South Korea, China, and the United States. In recent years there have been more Europeans due to a US travel ban. The purpose of the university is to provide quality education with an international perspective. All teaching staff are foreign professors who teach in English, other than specific German and Chinese language classes. In 2019 it had 638 enrolled undergraduate and postgraduate students.

In addition, the Pyongyang Business School (평양국제경영학교) offers short courses given by foreign lecturers. It was founded by the Swiss government and helps teach students business management. Another economic educational institution is the Centre for the Study of the Capitalist System, established in 2000.

In July 2011, all universities in North Korea were closed after the Arab Spring caused the government to become concerned about the possibility of a similar popular uprising in North Korea.

The remote universities obtained media attention while encrypting lesson plans and communicating them by a method of a radio broadcasting in 2016.

Medical school

As of 2018, there were 11 medical schools in North Korea, including 10 private medical universities and 1 military medical university. Medical education is conducted over the course of six years following high school and consists of both conventional medicine and traditional Korean medicine.

Compared to foreign tourists, international students in North Korea, while still under state control, are granted opportunities allowing them to experience the country more comprehensively, such as freedom of movement within the city without being accompanied by minders, and the chance to live alongside local students. Unlike foreign tourists, international students are permitted to take the subway and taxis without guides or interpreters and are able to use the internet, providing they have access to foreign web sites.

International students at Kim Il Sung University live alongside specially trained and vetted local students called tongsuksaeng, who are ostensibly there to act as hosts and to teach the Korean language and culture. These individuals are tasked with spying on the international students by going through their belongings and tracking their movements.

Foreign students seeking to undertake postgraduate studies at Kim Il Sung University are required to provide their birth certificate, a letter of intent, their undergraduate certificate(s), a police certificate stating that the applicant does not have a criminal record in their home country, medical records certifying the applicant had a recent health examination, details of their financial background to show how they will be financing their education in North Korea, as well as a letter vouching for the applicant's Korean language ability.

Adult education

thumb|English lecture at the [[Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang]]

Because of the emphasis on the continued education of all members of society, adult or work-study education is actively supported. Practically everyone in the country participates in some educational activity, usually in the form of "small study groups."