Discover North Korea from the comfort of your classroom – part 2

In 2018, Edventure Travel’s Director Billy Penfold travelled to North Korea. Join him on a firsthand look inside North Korea’s education system, where you’ll uncover Soviet-style uniforms and strict student-teacher relationships. 

Want more North Korea insights for your students? Be sure to check out part 1 of our North Korea series, which provides a snapshot of life in Pyongyang. 

During his tour of North Korea in 2018, Billy visited two local schools. The first was an elite school in Pyongyang for students of privileged families. The second was a middle school in a small town, one hour’s drive from the capital. 

While both school visits were carefully orchestrated, Billy says he gained an understanding of certain aspects of the education system. The limited resources of the second school, for example, were stark.  

‘Naturally, the teachers showcased their best classrooms, which were equipped with rear-projection monitors, basic tape recorders, a blackboard, colour TV and old computers running the Windows XP operating system. Other classrooms we passed had only tables and chairs,’ Billy says. 

Communist ideals are on display in every classroom. Photos revering North Korea’s communist leaders are pinned above blackboards, and students’ uniform red neckerchiefs show the legacy of Soviet influence. 

‘The red neckerchief was adopted initially by the Soviet Union in the early 1920s. While its design is borrowed from Boy Scouts’ neckties, its triangular shape reflects the three Soviet organisations of communism – Young Pioneers, Communist Youth League, and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. By wearing the scarf, students signify their strong bond to communism.’ 

Watching an English language class at the middle school, Billy saw just how rigid North Korea’s teacher-student relationships are. 

‘If a student wants to participate, they rapidly raise their hand, wait to be acknowledged by the teacher, stand to attention with a straight back, then practise their English in a loud, clear voice. When finished, students sit down abruptly.’ 

The pressure on students to demonstrate perfection echoed what Billy had seen at the Victory Day celebrations. From classroom to gymnasium, the atmosphere between students and teachers felt formal and tense. 

‘The students danced, performed music and played table tennis without any sense of genuine pleasure, creativity or emotion. Their actions seemed robotic. They appeared under so much pressure to perform to a high standard that they couldn’t enjoy what they were doing.’ 

Artwork in the school’s hallways balanced education with indoctrination. Posters of cute animals and healthy foods, typical of any junior school around the world, sat beside propaganda about North Korea’s nuclear weapons and military strength. In one hallway, a mural depicted graphic war scenes of US and South Korean soldiers committing atrocities against North Koreans. In another, US soldiers were shown being captured by North Korean soldiers. 

‘I asked our chaperone teachers, “Why do they show such graphic murals along the walls for young students to see?” The answer was, “So our students never forget the history.”’ says Billy. 

‘The question did not faze the teachers; it was a simple, matter-of-fact answer. One can only imagine the version of history students are taught, without access to alternative versions or perspectives.’ 

If you’re keen for your students to learn more about North Korea, be sure to check out our exciting incursions! Packed with case studies, photos and more, incursions are a great way to bring our expert knowledge of the world straight to your classroom.