By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A U.S. expert, who has travelled to North Korea several times, said the continuity in Pyongyang is much more striking than the changes that have occurred there over the past 15 years, disagreeing with the view that the communist country has undergone significant changes.
L. Gordon Flake, executive director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation in Washington D.C., said that compared with other countries, the North is falling further and further behind the rest of the world.
"North Korea as a society, of course, they are changing. But the relative pace of change there is slower than the pace of change in all other nations." This is a stark contrast to what has happened in China over the same time period, he said.
In an interview with The Korea Times Monday, Flake presented a cautious view about the reported popularity of English as a foreign language in North Korea, saying it has been overstated.
He said the alleged shift of North Koreans' foreign language preferences from Chinese and Russian to English represented only a narrow segment of society ― mainly the elite in Pyongyang.
His comments came after the BBC reported in February that "North Korea has gradually shifted a lot of its language training away from Chinese and Russian and toward English."
Last November, a pro-North Korea magazine in Japan, titled Homeland, ran a story which stated that an increasing number of residents in Pyongyang were attending foreign-language courses offered at the Grand People's Study House, a library located in the North's capital.
The magazine reported English classes were the highest in demand, followed by Chinese and Russian.
Flake, who visited North Korea in 1995, said part of the new focus on English education in the Stalinist country might be linked to its goal of achieving greater status in the areas of economy and defense by 2012.
"My presumption is that building 'Gang-seong-dae-guk' (a powerful and prosperous great state) by that year has led them to focus on the language of international business, which is English," he said.
Flake, who first visited South Korea in 1986 as a missionary, delivered a speech in Seoul during the Annual General Meeting and New Year's Reception of Friends of the Asia Foundation Korea, Monday.
The Korea observer served on the Asia Advisory Team during President Barack Obama's campaign.
Asked if President Obama was knowledgeable about the Korean education system, as he has mentioned Koreans' passion for education several times, Flake said Obama's interactions with Korean Americans probably influenced his observation.
"President Obama is a remarkably well-read individual who has a deep knowledge of foreign policy," he said.
"He had declared himself to be our first Pacific president (as he was born in Hawaii). So his understanding and his interest and background in Asia are unprecedented among U.S. presidents."
In the books authored by Obama, "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," the U.S. president recalled his interactions with Korean-Americans.
"He had enough interactions with Korean-Americans as a senator and community organizer. And now as a president, he is impressed by the great education system," Flake said.
After being sworn in, Obama cited the competitive aspects of the Korean education system, comparing them with the reality of American education.
In a speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in March 2009, Obama said children in South Korea spend a month longer in school every year than their counterparts in America.
"I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas, not with Malia and Sasha. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom," he said.
"If they can do that in South Korea, we can do it right here in the United States of America."
Obama also made public his "education conversation" with President Lee Myung-bak on returning to America after a summit in November last year to highlight the importance of the role of parents in education.
"(Lee) said even if somebody is dirt poor, they are insisting that their kids are getting the best education," he said.
Last week, President Obama cited South Korean education again, saying America cannot succeed in science if India and South Korea produces more scientists and engineers.
Flake said Korea is well-known for its enthusiasm for education.
"Anyone who is aware of the international standards of education is also aware that Korea is probably the country the most obsessed with higher education," he said.