University students in Pyongyang are said to be heading out
of the capital to offer private lessons for younger students, signaling
tutoring, which is banned in North Korea, may be facing growing demand. Private
tutoring has existed in the past, but the idea of college students in Pyongyang
leaving the city to do so is unprecedented.
This new trend has emerged as Party cadres or donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More [new
affluent classes] are inviting students from top universities in Pyongyang to
their homes for well-paying tutoring sessions for their children. More college
students, because of this, are taking on private lessons as part-time jobs.
A source in North Hamkyung Province reported to Daily NK on
September 24th, “Many parents are willing to splurge when it comes to providing
their children with tutoring.” She
added, “There are many smart students from good universities outside of the
capital as well, but there is growing demand for students who go to school in
Pyongyang.”
North Korean college students have frequently used their
school breaks to teach on the side and earn money. However, with growing demand
from other parts of the country, some are even making trips during the semester
to offer tutoring.
“College students cannot simply leave the capital during
their semester,” she said, elaborating that students “pay their professors
bribes and say they are going to acquire supplies during training for reserves
and instead teach private lessons.”
Also, patrons looking for potential tutors ask to look at
transcripts, prompting professors to forge documents and give it the official
seal of approval but not without a fee from the students for their trouble.
Some professors go as far as playing the middleman in the tutor-pupil match-up.
College tutors who make it out of the city for these covert
lessons receive a handsome sum for a one or two-month stint. With their new
source of income, they buy the latest gadgets or clothes.
“If the tutors get lucky and meet the right family, they can
make almost 1,000 USD for one or two months of teaching,” source explained.
“Some may choose well-off families that pay a lot, but others opt for those
with good backgrounds that can give them a leg up in ties with the provincial
or Central Party.” By teaching a the children of Party cadres, students can
benefit from this experience when being assigned to jobs after graduation.
It’s not only who and where they teach, but what they teach
that is changing. New subjects are becoming increasingly popular with Kim Jong
Eun’s push for computer numerical control [CNC], a system in which the
functions and motions of a machine tool are controlled by means of a prepared
program containing coded alphanumeric data.
The source attests that up until a few years ago, children
of senior officials preferred private lessons in humanities and the social
sciences, but more recently, many
parents are leaning towards
subjects such as computer science, foreign languages, physics, chemistry, and
art. This demonstrates that North Korean parents are following global trends
when it comes to their children’s studies and spending as much as they can to
secure the best.
