Image: NK News (Sept. 9, 2012) | A young girl and her mother arrive at the Grand Monument at Mansudae Hill in Pyongyang
There is a famous saying in North Korea that reflects the diligent attention the state pays to children’s upbringing and education: “Children are the kings of the country.”
The DPRK grooms students from kindergarten to be devoted revolutionaries for life. Children spend hours and hours studying the Juche ideology of self-reliance and learning the history of their country’s revolution against Japanese and Western forces.
The goal is for for students to show their love, loyalty and admiration for their leaders and to keep the Party in their hearts forever. All other subjects are secondary.
The photos in this gallery provide a sense for what education is like for North Korean children — from young pioneers wearing bright red neckerchiefs and colorful children’s textbooks, to extracurricular activities, school lunches and playgrounds that double as propaganda.
Young pioneers of the Korean Children’s Union stand ready to lay flowers at the statues of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang | Image: NK News (Sept. 9, 2012)
Two girls stand in front of an exhibit showing the Juche Tower on top of a globe at the Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia Exhibition Hall in Pyongyang. Former leader Kim Il Sung introduced Juche, the state ideology of self-reliance, and it has since been enshrined in North Korean law as principles that all citizens of the country must adopt and follow. | Image: NK News (Sept. 9, 2008)
Kindergartens and many elementary schools across the DPRK have wall artwork that is distinct to the country. Common subjects include praise for the military, advancements in science and technology, reunification of the two Koreas and characters from popular children’s stories. | Image: NK News (March 18, 2019)
Two girls carry backpacks while walking in Pyongyang, with one bearing a Korean phrase (탕구심) that means “inquiring mind.” Kindergarteners and elementary schoolers typically use backpacks that are brightly colored, with cute animal characters such as bears, rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, elephants and tigers. | Image: NK News (Sept. 7, 2017)
Kindergarten students exercise at a school in Kaesong. The start of the school day usually begins with physical exercise, followed by classes. It is not uncommon to see paintings or charts, plastered along corridors in schools, that detail the benefits of daily exercise, eating nutritious food and cultivating healthy habits. | Image: NK News (April 21, 2008)
Young students join in morning exercise and singing, to accordion accompaniment, at a school in Hamhung. The entrance facades of all schools feature messages thanking the country’s leaders for their benevolence, like this one that reads, “Thank you, our beloved leader Kim Jong Un.” | Image: NK News (Sept. 12, 2012)
Children dance and sing at school near Nampho. One of the first songs kids learn includes the lyrics, “We are all brothers and sisters, we have nothing to envy in this world.” | Image: NK News (Sept. 5, 2015)
A poster that says “Studying time is really good” at a school in Chongjin. Education is free for all citizens in the DPRK. It starts with one year of kindergarten, followed by four years of elementary school, six years of secondary school and then university. | Image: NK News (May 8, 2010)
A selection of educational children’s books from the DPRK. Books by celebrated authors including fable-like stories, such as about a small hedgehog who was even able to defeat a mighty tiger or rabbits that outwitted an old wolf. These days, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is also popular. | Image: Sept. 7, 2018
Domestically produced pens, notebooks, pencils, sharpeners and erasers on display at a shop in Hamhung. Large murals and billboards with the slogan “Let’s study for the sake of Korea (조선을 위하여 배우자)” are omnipresent at schools and universities across the country and also appear on the student notebooks in the photo above. | Image: NK News (Sept. 12, 2012)
Young students at an elementary school outside of Pyongyang. All classrooms display mandatory portraits of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and sometimes quotes from the leaders as well. The boys here sit on padded cushions placed on what are likely hard wooden chairs. | Image: NK News (Sept. 10, 2015)
A little boy rests on his desk while his classmates participate in a class at the Chongjin Steel Works Factory Kindergarten in Chongjin. Many children go to schools located next to or in close proximity to the factories where their parents work during the day. | Image: NK News (June 8, 2019)
Kids use an exercise book while learning the letters of the Korean alphabet at the Chongsan-ri Cooperative Farm. Kindergarten and early elementary school textbooks tend to pop with color and be very pictorial. | Image: NK News (May 16, 2009)
A young boy wears the characteristic red neckerchief of the Korean Children’s Union. All students are initiated into the union as young pioneers at the age of six. At a special ceremony, they receive the red neckerchief and a badge that says “Always ready (항상 준비).” | Image: NK News (May 10, 2010)
A North Korean girl reads from an English lesson book in a language class at Chonsam-ri Cooperative Farm. The opportunity to study foreign languages is highly coveted in the country, as proficiency in a foreign language can improve one’s prospects to get a good job and likelihood of working overseas. | Image: NK News (April 16, 2008)
Two girls practice speaking in a foreign language at a school near the Mangyongdae District of Pyongyang. | Image: NK News (Sept. 10, 2015)
North Korean young pioneers at the Songdowon international children’s camp in Wonsan. Students who excel are rewarded with special responsibilities, and the most important is participating in self-criticism class, at which students must confess their own failures as well as those of their schoolmates. These students stand out thanks to the special badges they wear over the chest. Model students also receive badges with red stars and stripes that they pin on their shirt sleeves. | Image: NK News (Sept. 10, 2012)
A girl sweeps the area around Mansudae Hill in Pyongyang. Students are expected to help out with tasks like keeping monuments clean, painting sidewalks and watering plants. | Image: NK News (Sept. 9, 2017)
It’s not all work and no play for North Korean students. Schools stress the importance of a variety of extracurricular activities, such as those shown above at an event in Pyongyang to mark Children’s Day. North Korea observes the holiday on June 1 each year, and children get a day off from school and the opportunity to participate in fun activities. The balloon arch in the photo reads “Nothing to envy in the world.” | Image: NK News (May 31, 2019)
Young boys play soccer at a school in Pyongsong. During breaks from their classes, many students opt to play basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. | Image: NK News (Sept. 10, 2015)
Young girls enjoy a picnic at a park in Pyongyang. Their lunch boxes include fried fish and rice. Schools teach the importance of taking care of one’s health and eating nutritious food. | Image: NK News (April 25, 2010)
A boy walks by a slide at a school playground in Hamhung. It is common to see playground equipment fashioned in the image of military objects, such as rockets, tanks and battleships. The text on the rocket reads “Juche Korea,” while that on the slide says “strong and prosperous nation.” | Image: NK News (Sept. 11, 2012)
Like children everywhere else in the world, some can be cheeky. A young boy returning from school takes aim at a passing vehicle at a village in North Hamgyong Province. | Image: NK News (June 9, 2019)
Boys play with mini toy cars at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. For all young people in the DPRK, whether a model student or a troublemaker, what matters for advancement in life is that they demonstrate their fierce loyalty to the country’s leaders, party and revolution. They are taught to believe that their great leaders watch over them from birth to death. As a line from a famous North Korean song goes, “Our country cannot exist without you.” | Image: NK News (Sept. 9, 2012)
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