The rapid globalization of education since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s appears to have been different and unequal from country to country, and this is true for socialist countries, too. North Korea, considered the world’s most closed ...
The rapid globalization of education since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s appears to have been different and unequal from country to country, and this is true for socialist countries, too. North Korea, considered the world’s most closed society, has also been influenced by the globalization of education and has been changing its higher education policies according to global trends since the 2000s. This study identifies the aspects, characteristics, and main causes of such changes. North Korea’s official literature has been analyzed to reveal what trends officials have perceived and adapted, and the conceptual framework for the globalization of education by Park et al. (2008) has been applied to describe North Korea’s changes. Interviews were conducted with North Korean refugees as well as others familiar with North Korean higher education institutions, and the characteristics and primary causes of changes in North Korean higher education policies have been analyzed by comparing them with the policies of other socialist countries.
In articles in Kyoyook Shinmun (Education Newspaper), the discourse related to North Korean education and global trends was analyzed to be divided into four periods. The first phase was 2009-2011, when Kim Jong-il began to emphasize becoming a “global educational powerhouse” and issued a slogan to Kim Il-sung University: “Plant the feet firmly on our land and look out over the world.” The second phase was 2012-2015, when the “injunction” to catch up with global trends in educational development came after Kim Jong-il’s death and concrete achievements began to take shape.
The third phase was 2016-2017, as articles related to global trends decreased in light of North Korea becoming further isolated from the international community following its fourth to sixth nuclear tests and a “Self-strengthening First” line came into focus. The fourth phase was 2018-2019, when articles on global trends increased amid North Korea’s attempted diplomatic negotiations with South Korea and the United States. The role of teachers was emphasized at that time. Through an analysis of the phases, it is seen that the emphasis on global trends in North Korea have had not only a practical meaning but also a characteristic of propaganda, with the varying degrees in response to fluctuating external relations.
The results of analyzing the changes in North Korean higher education policies according to the conceptual framework are as follows: The openness of the overall educational system is strictly limited. The Education Act of 1999, the Higher Education Act of 2011, and the Teachers Act of 2015 each include provisions related to educational exchange and cooperation. The Higher Education Act in particular stipulates not only an exchange of international students and lectures by foreign professors but also a focus on education at the institute of scientific research to cultivate “world-class scholars.” In the status quo, The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology is the only private international university jointly established by South and North Korea and symbolizes the limited degree of openness of the North Korean educational system, hosting foreign faculty to teach local students in English-only curriculum.
Also, educational exchanges of personnel and goods have continued on a small scale. North Korea has diversified the destinations for its students studying abroad since the 2000s and introduced a self-funded study abroad system in 2009. In the late 2010s, a few North Korean universities actively attracted international students, thereby expanding its pool of inbound students. As for educator exchanges, foreign professors have been invited to teach in North Korea, and North Korean professors have been training abroad since the 2000s. International academic conferences were held annually in North Korea from 2011 to 2018. Exchange of goods is heavily focused on humanitarian purposes and reciprocity is yet to be achieved.
Furthermore, North Korea has imitated global trends in higher education. Local scholars are interested in establishing educational plans and are trying to improve statistical capacity. Likewise, education authorities are trying to develop major universities, including Kim Il-sung University, into “world-class universities” and “research-type universities,” and scholars seek to make educational content more practical, comprehensive, and modern while also introducing discussion-based teaching methods and “problem-based teaching methods.” They are interested in various forms of educational technology and want to realize a vision of “making all people well-versed in science and technology” by establishing a remote education system. Among other things, education authorities are encouraging teachers to earn degrees and improving the quality of teacher training program.
Essentially, since 2009, global trends have become an important basis for North Korean authorities to establish higher education policies and have become a key research topic for university scholars as well as criteria for performance evaluation.
Based on the research results, three characteristics of changes in North Korean higher education policy were determined. First, the educational system was opened only on a limited basis, without complete reform or opening of its political and economic systems. North Korean students and scholars are geographically and psychologically limited to their own nation, even though they are obligated to understand the world, as embodied Kim Jong-il’s slogan for Kim Il-sung University. They cannot enjoy the freedom of movement both at home and abroad and are restricted from accessing external information and contacting foreigners. In terms of academics and realization, North Koreans are indoctrinated to maintain a sense of competition with the outside world rather than cultivate a spirit of global citizenship.
Second, international exchange is notably concentrated in China. This is the country that North Korean scholars refer to the most when attempting to grasp a sense of global trends and with which most joint cooperation research has been conducted. North Korean higher education policies seem to be strongly guided by the Beijing Consensus in that it is thoroughly state-led, pursues innovation in high-tech technologies, and uses higher education resources for asymmetric military strategies.
And third, the international compatibility of North Korea’s higher education program is insufficient, yet it imitates global trends. Although the country attempted to join the WTO, which leads the trade in education services, as an observer in 2005, its application failed due to nuclear issues, opposition from the United States and Japan, and a transparency problem regarding statistics. Additionally, it is difficult for North Korean higher education programs to receive international quality assurance because North Korea provides political ideological education and does not have a solid evaluation and selection system based on merit. Nevertheless, North Korean higher education has technically become quite isomorphic to global trends by studying the educational development policy of other countries and applying them in its own manner since the 2000s.
The question becomes what primarily causes North Korea to change its higher education policy in line with global trends despite the inherent difficulties. The first cause is academic and economic competition in the modern era of globalization. Amid fierce international competition, North Korea is changing its higher education policy according to global trends and developing it as a “priority investment project” to “take a leap forward.” The second cause are the characteristics of the elite and the youngest generations. As marketization progressed after the Arduous March, external information was introduced to North Korea, and younger generations have been more sensitive to cultural changes, such as the Korean Wave. The nation’s elite have also been seen following “transactional leadership” during the Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un eras, and it has been determined that education authorities are trying to develop higher education policies as a means of strengthening their own pride and esteem.
In terms of evaluating North Korean higher education as globalized, in light of the definition and conceptual framework of educational globalization by Park et al. (2008), North Korean higher education has been influenced by globalization. Still, it is difficult to characterize that it has been globalized just yet. Ultimately, North Korea’s state-led university education violates academic freedom, so for North Korean universities to attain a level at which they can compete with world-class universities, they must first be willing to guarantee academic freedom and freedom of communication, refine and disclose the nation’s statistical system, and open up the overall system.
This study’s significance is in showing a special case of educational globalization by analyzing changes in the higher education policy of North Korea, where is known to still maintain the basis of socialist economic system. In practical terms, the results of this study can be used as basic data for international and inter-Korean cooperation. However, there are limitations in that the available data may not fully reflect the situation on the field, that the situation post-2020 has not been analyzed, and that the paper cannot capture sufficient critical perspectives on the educational globalization and meritocratic system.