N. Korean students study more than counterparts in South

An English class in North Korea. /Courtesy of Youtube

By Park Jae-hyuk

North Korean students spend more hours studying major subjects ― Korean, English, math and science ― than students in the South, according to a report.

Kim Jin-sook, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, a state-run educational institute, said Thursday, “North Korean schools assign more classes for major subjects than the South and the students study more as they enter high schools.”

According to the research, the minimum mandatory class hours for Korean language in South Korean middle schools is 442, as opposed to 510 in the North.

The North also teaches English for 408 hours compared with 340 hours in the South.

The class-hour gap for math is 200 hours.

A comparison in high schools shows similar results.

The report says North Korean educational policy has been adopting “global standards” as the state tries to enhance foreign language and science education.

However, the report points out that North Korea still exploits education as a tool to stabilize the regime.

Kim, admitting the limitations of his research, agreed that official documents from North Korea are still “untrustworthy.”