By Kim Young-jin
North Korea’s emphasis on education during a special meeting of its parliament this week ㅡ and its silence over the economy ㅡ is an apparent bid by the Kim Jong-un regime to win support through a people-oriented policy, analysts said Wednesday.
The Tuesday meeting surprised many who expected the parliament to approve bold reforms in the agriculture sector. Instead, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) passed a measure to give children 12 years of education rather than 11.
“Most of us (analysts) expected to see a new economic policy,” said Yoo Ho-yeol, a Korea University professor. “But the changes to the education system are a key step for Kim Jong-un to get the young generation to support his leadership.”
Some question whether the reform is simply the latest attempt to portray Kim as a compassionate leader. The North’s state media, however, ties it to a campaign by the impoverished state to catch up to advanced nations in science and technology.
The North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday touted the 11-year system for producing a workforce that has turned the country into a “military power possessing a nuclear deterrent.” It also credited it for the spread of what it calls Computer Numerical Control ㅡ a computer-aided manufacturing system that is code for modernization under Kim.
The 12-year system will poise the country to meet the requirements “in the age of knowledge-based economy and the trend of the world” by educating “revolutionaries possessed of ample secondary general knowledge, modern basic technology and creative ability,” KCNA said.
The Swiss-educated Kim, who took power in December, has departed in style from his mercurial father, Kim Jong-il, promising in speeches to ease suffering among the populace.
Yoo said the North could be taking a cue from both China and from the regime of late South Korean leader Park Chung-hee, both of which emphasized education. But others said it remains to be seen whether the move will provide practical relief to the people.
“Mostly it wants to show that Kim has real concern for the people,” Park Young-ho, an analyst with the Korea Institute of National Unification said.
Under the old system, children attended a year of kindergarten, four years of elementary and six years in middle school. The change adds a year to elementary school.
It will also limit students’ mobilization for non-education purposes. Though the SPA did not elaborate, in the past young people have been ordered out of school to help repair damage from natural disasters or prepare for national holidays.
Watchers said the North may seek to pursue expected agricultural reforms on a low-key basis, saying that it may need more aid from key ally China before pushing forward.
Rumors have abounded that Kim, who has emphasized improving living conditions, is preparing to introduce the changes as early as Oct. 1.
Under the policy, farmers would keep surplus food to sell at markets rather than having to hand it all to the state. Some reports have put the percentage of crops citizens can keep at 30 percent.
Park said the regime may also want to wait for the next South Korean administration, as announcing reforms might appear to validate President Lee Myung-bak’s hard line policy.