[KS] Pyongyang Univ of Science & Tech (PUST) on BBC1 TV, Mon 3 Feb, 2030 ...

[Gianluca Spezza]

yes Nicholas,

actually no need to believe it. it's a fact the KPA is involved in PUST. 
they built it from scratch, they run most of the facilities if not all 
of them, they do the maintenance, they send some of their children there 
(others go to a couple of special military institutions in PY, pretty 
much as well equipped as PUST), and given that every single bit of 
educational material is scrupulously checked before it reaches the 
classrom, we know this is also done by part of the military.

I agree with Caroline that some of the questions in the doc were a bit 
dumb (seriously, michael jackson ...of all people?) but then again that 
is BBC panorama. They do have the urgency to proclaim they found some 
'incredible story' behind everything, like the students going to the 
'juche building' to receive classes in politics, ideology and history. 
that has been happening since 1948 in NK, in every school, not much news 
there. Also such practice is one of the pillars on which Dr. James Kim 
built his agreement with the NK government (just as he did in China for 
YUST): zero interference with politics/absolute lip service to the 
ruling government, and it could not be otherwise or the school would 
have never seen the light.

However, this works for non-sensitive subjects, such as computer 
science, agriculture or chemistry, it is clear that students remain 
behind on many important topics: economy, private finance, individual 
rights, history, media, and this all makes their education less valuable 
(some say useless) outside of North Korea.

The real question for me is how long can PUST continue to teach in such 
a sealed-off environment and is it really worth it in terms of 'positive 
change for the future of North Korea and its integration with the rest 
of the world'?

We'll probably see very skilled agronomists and statisticians in NK in 
the next years , who still won't know how life really goes on outside of 
their country. What's the point?

Last, one question i would have liked to ask (but I know it can't be 
asked, even  off the record) is: do students at PUST know about how the 
university came about, who funds it and who founded it and what is the 
story behind the Christian foundation that owns and runs PUST and YUST)?

I know the answer is 'no' (and this has been confirmed by all the 
PUST-related people i have interviewed), because it would be very hard 
to explain the that their government allowed a religious foundation, 
with HQs in US and SK to run one of the top schools in the country.

Cheers

G. Spezza - NK News

On 06/02/14 15:35, levi nicolas wrote:
> I'm probably feeling more depressed than Frank Hoffman.
>
> I also do believe that the KPA is involved in the management of the PUST.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *De :* Caroline Norma <cazzpeta at hotmail.com>
> *À :* Korean Studies Discussion List <koreanstudies at koreanstudies.com>
> *Envoyé le :* Jeudi 6 février 2014 14h24
> *Objet :* Re: [KS] Pyongyang Univ of Science & Tech (PUST) on BBC1 TV, 
> Mon 3 Feb, 2030 ...
>
> Yes, a truly awful documentary, but the scene where the student points 
> out the factory owner would have to give up ownership, and that was 
> the 'problem' with the task assigned, was at least one bright moment. 
> And how appropriate that the presenter asked the class whether they 
> knew who Michael Jackson was--the biggest symbol of 
> decadent, paedophilic, drugged up western social decline anyone could 
> think of. It was almost a relief they had no idea.
> Many thanks for forwarding the link.
> Caroline Norma
>
> > Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 10:21:55 -0800
> > From: hoffmann at koreanstudies.com
> > To: koreanstudies at koreanstudies.com
> > Subject: Re: [KS] Pyongyang Univ of Science & Tech (PUST) on BBC1 
> TV, Mon 3 Feb, 2030 ...
> >
> > Dear Aidan -- sure, can amplify and magnify, quantify and objectify,
> > but it shall just be another stultifying experience. That is not needed.
> >
> > Frank
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, 5 Feb 2014 09:47:50 -0500 (EST), Afostercarter at aol.com wrote:
> > > Frank, this has to be your shortest post ever.
> > > Care to amplify?
> > >
> > > Best
> > > Aidan
> > >
> > > __________________
> > >
> > > In a message dated 05/02/2014 12:34:30 GMT Standard Time,
> > > hoffmann at koreanstudies.com writes:
> > >>
> > >> How depressing.
> > >>
> > >> Regards,
> > >> Frank
> > >>
> > >>
> >
>
>

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