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21 Aug, 2019
By, Wikipedia

Kim Il-sung University

Kim Il Sung University (Korean: 김일성종합대학) is a public university in Taesong, Pyongyang, North Korea. Founded on 1 October 1946, it is the first institution of higher learning in North Korea since its foundation.

The 15-hectare campus, along with the main academic buildings, contains 10 separate offices, 50 laboratories, libraries, museums, a printing press, an R&D center, dormitories, and a hospital. There is a large computer lab, but it has limited internet access. The university is named in honour of Kim Il Sung, the founding leader of North Korea.

Kim Il Sung University enrolls around 16,000 students, and provides courses in the fields of law, economics, humanities, and natural sciences. In the spring of 2017, Kim Il Sung University set up specialist Japanese language and literature courses. Undergraduate courses take between four and a half and five years for completion. The university also operates a graduate school for doctoral students.

History

On 25 May 1946 the Preparatory Committee was composed by the founding universities. In July 1946, the interim People's Committee of North Korea decided to establish a university (ordinance No. 40).

In 1948, four university faculties (Faculty of Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Medicine) were separated from Kim Il Sung University, to form Pyongyang University of Technology (currently Kim Chaek University of Technology), Wonsan University of Agriculture, Pyongyang Medical College, and the Pyongyang University of Architecture.

During the Korean War, the university was located at Baeksong-ri under Mount Jamo in Suncheon-gun, which was far from the centre of the city. By late 1955, the reconstruction of the main building on the Pyongyang campus was in progress and soon the university moved back to the centre of Pyongyang.

After the war, Kim Il Sung University became known as a hotbed of intellectual dissent. Academics supported more intellectual freedoms than Kim loyalists, and disadvantageous factions within the Workers' Party of Korea were over-represented in university staff. Following the Revolutions of 1956 in Hungary and in Poland, North Korean exchange students were quickly repatriated from the affected countries. The students started asking "improper" questions on campus, causing alarm. After that, up to one hundred students and several prominent staff members were purged. The purging of the university gave further impetus to purges against functionalists all over the country.

By the end of 1970s more than 50,000 students graduated from the university. In addition, the university was an important asset for the Korean People's Army to train its personnel. Since the 1970s, English courses have been taught at the university.

Until 2004, Pak Kwan-o, an authority on nuclear physics and current Chairman of the People's Committee of Pyongyang (synonymous with mayor), had been serving as the president for 17 years. According to the university's website, the current president is Kim Sung Chan since 2021.

In May 2010, Pyongyang Medical College, Sariwon Kye Ung Sang Agricultural College and Pyongyang Agricultural College became members of the Kim Il Sung University Council, however, those three institutions were later removed in October 2019.

According to Korean Central Television, North Korean students can take classes at and download lectures from Kim Il Sung University via the Mirae WiFi network, beginning in 2018.

International students

Kim Il Sung University first began admitting international students in 1995; as of 2019, about 5000 international students from 30 countries have studied at the university. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were estimated to be about 100 foreign students at Kim Il Sung University, the majority of whom were Chinese.

International students at Kim Il Sung University live alongside specially trained and vetted local students called tongsuksaeng, who are there to act as hosts and to teach the Korean language and culture. Tongsuksaeng are alleged to spy on international students.

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.

Departments

Social sciences

Finance
Foreign languages and Literature
Economics
History
Korean language and Literature
Law
Philosophy

Natural sciences

Chemistry
Electronics and Automation
Energy Science
Forest Science
Geography
Geo-environmental Science
Geology
Computer Science
Life Science
Materials Science
Mathematics
Mechanics
Physics

Others

Distance Education
Education

Notable alumni

Buildings at the Paeksong Revolutionary Site near Pyongsong, to which many students from Kim Il Sung University were moved during the Korean War, for reasons of safety.

An Kyong-ho, former Chief Director of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland
Kim Jong Il, former Supreme Leader of North Korea, attended 1960–1964
Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea since December 2011, may have attended 2002–2007.
Kim Pyong-il, half-brother of Kim Jong Il and ambassador to Czech Republic
Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, said to have studied Computer Technology alongside Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota's daughter, Kim Eun-gyon.
Kyong Won-ha, nuclear scientist
Andrei Lankov, Kookmin University professor and former Australian National University lecturer, attended as an exchange student in 1985 from Leningrad State University, Institute of Oriental Studies.
Rüdiger Frank, Professor for East Asian Economy and Society, attended as an exchange student in 1991/1992.
Paek Nam-sun, former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sin Son-ho, previous Permanent Representative of North Korea to the United Nations
Zhang Dejiang, former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and former member of Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Ri Sol-ju, first lady of North Korea and wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Thae Jong-su, North Korean politician

References

^ Professor, Kim Sung Chan The President of Kim Il Sung University and the Minister of Higher Education.
^ University, Kim Il Sung (2016). "Ryongnamsan". Kim Il Sung University. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
^ York, Rob (12 December 2014). "Kim Il Sung University has new website". NK News. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
^ 김일성종합대학.
^ "E-Library". Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^ Wingfield-Hayes, Rupert (4 May 2016). "A rare look inside North Korea's Kim Il Sung University". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
^ "Kim Il Sung University". Young Pioneer Tours. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
^ "Prestigious Pyongyang university now running specialist Japanese language and literature courses". The Japan Times. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
^ Brief History of Kim Il Sung University
^ Tanigawa, Ryuichi; Seo, Dongchun (2021). "Architecture teachers during the early days of North Korea: Between liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the establishment of a socialist state". Japan Architectural Review. 4: 155–167. doi:10.1002/2475-8876.12202.
^ Lankov 2002, p. 96.
^ Lankov 2002, p. 97.
^ ["北 평양시장 경질...전 김일성대 총장 박관오씨 새로 임명 [North, Replaced the Mayor of Pyongyang... New mayor is Pak Kwan O, Former President of Kim Il Sung University]," Donga Ilbo, 5 April 2007, www.donga.com]
^ Ji, Dagyum (14 November 2018). Hotham, Oliver (ed.). "Smartphone-capable WiFi on show at Pyongyang IT exhibition, state TV reveals". NK News. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. North Korean students can also take courses from Kim Il Sung University and Kim Chaek University of Technology, take exams, and download lectures.
^ "Kim Il-sung University sets new procedures for international students". YouTube. Korea Now. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
^ Lau, Joyce (27 August 2021). "Inside a North Korean University". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
^ Sigley, Alek (April 2020). "'You think Trump will save you?': my nine days detained by North Korea's secret police". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
^ Winn, Patrick (26 February 2019). "Twitter and Cocoa Puffs: The surprising life of a student at North Korea's top university". The World. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^ Haddou, Rashid; Winsor, Morgan. "Inside North Korea: What life for a rare foreign student in Pyongyang reveals about the reclusive country". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^ "University Structure". Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^ "The President of Kim Il Sung University - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY". Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^ Choe Sang-Hun and Martin Fackler (14 June 2009). "North Korea's Heir Apparent Remains a Mystery". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
^ Kim, Song-A (9 May 2007). "Photos of Kim Jong Il's Brother, Kim Pyong Il and Recent Visits". Daily NK. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
^ Kim Hee-Jin (19 March 2014). "Abductee's daughter is favorite of Kim's sister". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
^ "Thae Jong Su (T'ae Cho'ng-su)". North Korea Leadership Watch. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.

Works cited

Lankov, Andrei N. (2002). "Kim Takes Control: The 'Great Purge' in North Korea, 1956-1960". Korean Studies. 26 (1): 87–119. doi:10.1353/ks.2002.0010. ISSN 1529-1529. S2CID 153356279.