DPRK Education EXPLAINED | School in North Korea & The Grand People's Study House

the education system in the dprk just like in many countries around the world is fully state funded education is compulsory in the country with students starting at the age of 6 and finishing school at 17. due to this compulsory education korea boasts a 99 literacy rate with most smaller towns and villages being home to primary and secondary schools on top of this early education there are hundreds of universities across the country many specializing in specific subjects and with the country so focused on building a self-reliant economy there are a lot of opportunities for adult education most famously the grand people's study house in the centre of pyongyang which we'll get to in a moment [Music] education starts at age six in the dprk prior to that pre-primary schools and kindergartens take children between the ages of 5 and 6. primary schools cater to students aged between 6 and 10 while secondary schools take children from 10 to 17. there are over 6 000 primary schools in the country a typical day in a dprk primary school would consist of subjects such as maths korean sports music and science followed by review sessions in the afternoon whilst driving around pyongyang it's hard to miss the mangyong day school children's palace in south kenya it's here and in other such school children's palaces around the country that children and young adults go to work on extracurricular activities alongside compulsory education most students are also part of the korean children's union during their time at school the children's union is modeled after other pioneer organizations in the former soviet union eastern bloc and other communist countries so when you see the famous videos of impressive korean children playing instruments at a remarkably young age it's likely that most of that education took place not in primary school but in one of these extracurricular [Music] centers [Music] once students leave school at 17 it's time for university for many students however university won't come immediately after high school with many choosing to join the army and then apply for university after becoming a party member you may have heard of the country's most prestigious institution kim il-sung university located just north of the taedong river the university was founded in 1946 and has since grown to encompass a multi-building campus many of the buildings catering to specific subjects however whilst kim il-sung university may be the most prestigious there are over 300 colleges and universities across the country many specializing in specific subjects other notable universities in pyongyang include the pyongyang university of foreign studies which has produced some of the dprk's top diplomats the pyongyang university of science and technology which welcomes foreign lecturers as well as domestic teachers focusing on the scitec industry and the kintec university of technology specializing in scientific education once students finish university that doesn't necessarily herald the end of their state-funded education great emphasis is placed on further education in the dprk since it's seen as a key to building a self-sufficient economy the grand people's study house or in-minds after many possible design iterations was constructed in 1982 on kimiosang square it's hard to miss the enormous green roof building at the heart of the nation's capital built in traditional korean style on the first floor there are four reading areas where visitors can read the works of the great leaders books on social sciences history sports foreign languages law philosophy and education in one of the first four reading areas locals can log on to the namsan homepage to check out the multimedia library [Music] also on the first floor two lecture theatres with a seating capacity of 400 each specializing in social sciences and natural sciences along with various other rooms including a conference center and a library [Music] the second floor houses eight reading rooms and another lecture theatre with a capacity of eight hundred there are also four periphery lecture rooms specializing in foreign languages and science and technology subjects heading up to the third floor there are another four reading rooms but what makes this floor special is the music appreciation area and a library dedicated to the works of the cheonggyong this group is primarily made up of koreans who were taken to japan during the second world war the chongyong is headquartered in tokyo and continues to have close relations with pyongyang hence the dedicated library the music appreciation room holds collections of songs from the dprk as well as from the rest of the world so if you're looking for your fix of oasis on tour in pyongyang this is the place to come [Music] [Applause] [Music] the fourth and fifth floors of the grand people's study house are dominated by storage areas which hold huge numbers of books papers and publications from across the country and around the world floor 4 has two reading areas while floor 5 comes equipped with a reading area and a music room although these floors are primarily dedicated to cataloging and storage all in all the grand people's study house is really the country's hub for adult education it's free for locals to enroll in classes borrow books or research inside the austere marble halls of the building on top of that the view from the balcony of the study house looks out over kimyosung square directly facing the jutse tower on the opposite side of the tadon river as with a lot of things in korea the reality of education isn't too different from the rest of the world the country has over 6 million students between the ages of 5 and 17 many of whom carry on to university before starting their careers just like in the rest of the world what isn't so common worldwide is the free access to adult education the grand people's study house in pyongyang is not only one of the city's most impressive buildings but perhaps one of its most impressive institutions [Music] thanks for watching we've just hit 4 000 subscribers on this channel which is absolutely incredible thank you to everyone who subscribed and supported the channel and please let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to cover in the dprk explained series [Music] thanks [Music] [Music] you

Channel: DPRK Explained

Views: 70,034

Keywords: North Korea, DPRK, DPRK EXPLAINED, Korea, NK, School, North Korea School, Pyongyang, North Korean School

Id: bCImG4uDfHs

Length: 7min 36sec (456 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 08 2021