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A brief account of the educational exchanges between the PRC and the DPRK
2007-03-28 00:00

The PRC and the DPRK established diplomatic relations on October 6, 1949, and signed a cultural agreement on February 21, 1959. After that, the educational exchanges between the PRC and the DPRK which are embraced in the cultural agreement have developed greatly.

1. The signing of an agreement on educational exchanges

(1) In November 2002, the PRC and the DPRK signed in Beijing "the Agreement between PRC Ministry of Education and the DPRK Ministry of Education on Educational Exchanges and Cooperation for 2002-2010".

(2) Supported by the competent government authorities, colleges and universities of the two countries including Peking University and 11 other Chinese universities and Kim Il Sung Comprehensive University and 6 other DPRK universities have signed agreements and established relations of intercollegiate exchanges.

2. Exchanges of delegations

After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the DPRK, Ministers of Education of the two countries have made mutual visits to each other for many times. In October 2005, Kim Yong Jin,Minister of Education of the DPRK, led a delegation to Beijing to attend the first conference of the "Forum on Education in Asia". Zhou Jihui, Chinese Minister of Education, met the delegation and, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, donated 100 sets of computers to the DPRK Ministry of Education. In accordance with the agreement on exchanges, the two sides have up to now sent to each other's side approximately 300 educational delegations (groups) of different types, including close to 30 since 2000.

3. Exchanges of students

In accordance with the agreement on exchanges, the two sides exchange students on government scholarships every year. At present, the number of students on government scholarships sent by the DPRK to China is 350 each year (including college students, postgraduate students, doctoral students and students engaged in further studies), most of whom major in science, industry, agriculture and medicine. Up to now, the students sent by the DPRK to China have reached 3,500 persons. The number of students sent by China to study in the DPRK is about 70 each year (including students on government scholarships and students at their own expense), the great majority of whom are college students majoring in language. Up to the present, Chinese students studying in the DPRK are close to 1,500 persons.

4. Teaching of the Chinese language

At the invitation of the Ministry of Education of the DPRK, every year two teachers of the Chinese language are sent at the Pyongyang Foreign Languages University for one year. Apart from the Pyongyang Foreign Languages University, both the Kim Il Sung Comprehensive University and the University of People's Economy have a Chinese language department, and the Kim Chaek Comprehensive Polytechnical University offers selective course of the Chinese language. Moreover, the Pyongyang Foreign Languages School, the Sinuiju Foreign Languages School and the Wonsan Foreign Languages School have Chinese language classes. At present, the number of people who take Chinese as a first foreign language is next only to English.

At the invitation of the China National Committee of the Fund for Studying Abroad, starting from 2000, the DPRK side selects 5-7 university teachers of the Chinese language every year to come to China for 6-week training on the Chinese language during the summer holiday.

Beginning from 2000, the Ministry of Education every year recommends two students from the Chinese language departments at DPRK universities to come to China to participate in "the Chinese Language Bridge" – a Chinese language competition among world university students. In 2006, two DPRK contestants who participated in the competition for the first time beat all strong contestants in the competition among 101 contestants from 49 countries and were awarded first and second prizes.

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