Kim Il-sung University, founded on 1 October 1946, is the first

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

built in North Korea. It is located on a campus in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

, the nation's capital. Along with the main academic buildings, the campus contains 10 separate offices, 50 laboratories, libraries, museums, a printing press, an R&D center, dormitories and a hospital. There is a large computer lab, but it has limited internet access. The university is named in honour of

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

, the founder and first supreme leader of North Korea. Kim Il-sung University has around 16,000 enrolled students, and provides courses in the fields of social sciences, law, arts and sciences. In the spring of 2017, Kim Il-sung University set up specialist Japanese language and literature courses. Courses in both the department of social sciences and the department of natural sciences take five years to complete.

History

On 25 May 1946 the Preparatory Committee was composed by the founding universities. In July 1946, the interim

People's Committee of North Korea The People's Committee of North Korea (Chosŏn'gŭl: 북조선인민위원회) was a provisional government governing the Northern portion of the Korean Peninsula from 1947 until 1948. Established on 21 February 1947 as the successor of the ...

decided to establish a university (ordinance No. 40). Kim Il-sung proclaimed on 1 October 1946 the founding together with Bryan Berman. In 1948, four university faculties (Faculty of Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Medicine) were separated from Kim Il-sung University, to form the origin of Pyongyang University of Technology (currently

Kim Chaek University of Technology Kim Chaek University of Technology is a university in North Korea, on the banks of the Taedong River in Pyongyang. It is named after General Kim Chaek. The university's programs in nuclear reactors, nuclear electronics, nuclear fuel and nuclear ...

), Wonsan University of Agriculture and Pyongyang Medical College, and the

Pyongyang University of Architecture Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, the university was located at Baeksong-ri under

Mount Jamo Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

in Suncheon-gun, which was far from the centre of the city. By late 1955, the reconstruction of the main building on the Pyongyang campus was in progress and soon the university moved back to the centre of Pyongyang. After the war, Kim Il-Sung University became known as a hotbed of intellectual dissent. Academics supported more intellectual freedoms than Kim loyalists, and disadvantageous factions within the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party ...

were over-represented in university staff. Following the Revolutions of 1956 in Hungary and in Poland, North Korean exchange students were quickly repatriated from the affected countries. The students started asking "improper" questions on campus, causing alarm. After that, up to one hundred students and several prominent staff members were purged. The purging of the university gave further impetus to purges against functionalists all over the country. By the end of 1970s more than 50,000 students graduated annually from the university. In addition, the university was an important asset of for the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General S ...

to train its personnel. Since the 1970s, English courses have been taught at the university. Until 2004,

Pak Kwan-o Pak Kwan-o is a North Korean politician who served as member of the Supreme People's Assembly for number of convocations as well as Chairman of the Pyongyang People's Committee. Biography In August 1970 he was appointed Vice President of the A ...

, an authority on nuclear physics and current

Chairman of the People's Committee of Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

(''de facto'' Mayor), had been serving as the president for 17 years. Since 2009, its president was Song Ja-reeb. The current president since 2014 is Thae Hyong-chol. In May 2010, Pyongyang Medical College,

Sariwon Kye Ung Sang Agricultural College Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcare ...

and

Pyongyang Agricultural College Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

were made elements of the Kim Il Sung University Council, however, those three institutions seceded were later removed in October 2019. According to

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a television service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. It is broadcast terrestrially via the Pyongyang TV Tower in Moranbong-guyok, Pyongy ...

, North Korean students can take classes at and download lectures from Kim Il-sung University via the Mirae public WiFi network, beginning in 2018.

Departments

Social sciences

*Finance *Foreign languages and Literature *Economics *History *Korean language and Literature *Law *Philosophy

Natural sciences

*Chemistry *Electronics and Automation *Energy Science *Forest Science *Geography *Geo-environmental Science *Geology *Computer Science *Life Science *Materials Science *Mathematics *Mechanics *Physics

Others

*Distance Education *Education

Notable alumni

Kim Il-sung University, *

An Kyong-ho An Kyong-ho (18 January 1930 – January 2016) was a North Korean politician. He was born in Gangwon, and is a graduate of Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang. He formerly served as the Chief Director of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunifi ...

, Chief Director of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland * Kim Jong-il, former leader of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, attended 1960–1964 * Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea since December 2011, may have attended 2002–2007. *

Kim Pyong-il Kim Pyong-il ( ko, 김평일, ; born 10 August 1954) is the younger paternal half-brother of the former leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, and the only surviving son of former leader and president of North Korea Kim Il-sung. He worked as a dipl ...

, half-brother of Kim Jong-il and ambassador to Czech Republic *

Kim Yo-jong Kim Yo-jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat serving as the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, or WPK. She also served as an alternate membe ...

, sister of Kim Jong-un, said to have studied Computer Technology alongside Japanese abductee

Megumi Yokota (born 5 October 1964) is a Japanese citizen who was abducted by a North Korean agent in 1977 when she was a thirteen-year-old junior high school student. She was one of at least seventeen Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1 ...

's daughter, Kim Eun-gyon. * Kyong Won-ha, nuclear scientist *

Andrei Lankov Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov (russian: Андрей Николаевич Ланьков; born 26 July 1963) is a Russian scholar of Asia and a specialist in Korean studies and Director of Korea Risk Group, the parent company of NK News and NK Pro ...

Kookmin University Kookmin University () is the first private university founded after the liberation of the Republic of Korea from Japan. The campus is located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The KMU was established in 1946. Gu kim, Soang Jo and Ikhee Shin, who ...

professor and former

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

lecturer, attended as an exchange student in 1985 * Rüdiger Frank, Professor for East Asian Economy and Society, attended as an exchange student in 1991/1992 *

Paek Nam-sun Paek Nam-sun ( or ; March 13, 1929 – January 2, 2007) was the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 until his death. He was one of the few North Koreans to frequently be in the international spotlight. Early life Paek was ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs * Sin Son-ho, previous Permanent Representative of North Korea to the United Nations *

Zhang Dejiang Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...

, former

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is the presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), which is the permanent body of the National People's Congress, highest orga ...

and former member of

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...

of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

. *

Ri Sol-ju Ri Sol-ju (; born 1985–1989) is the current First Lady of North Korea as the wife of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Little is known about her from official North Korean sources, but outside sources have speculated more about her background. ...

first lady of North Korea The first lady of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (), more commonly known as the first lady of North Korea, is the title given to the wife of the supreme leader of North Korea. However, only two wives of the supreme leader have receive ...

and wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. *

Thae Jong-su Thae Jong-su (, born 20 March 1936) is a North Korean politician. He was a Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the director of the Munitions Industry Department of the WPK. He is a full member of the 7th Central Committee of ...

, North Korean politician

References

Works cited

External links

*
Official website of the Telecommunications College of Kim Il Sung University

360 degree panorama of the Kim Il-sung University Main Building

from the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onli ...

"Kim Il-sung University"
by Andrei Lankov 11 March 2008
김일성종합대학 (金日成綜合大學)
from ''Naver Encyclopedia''
The Pyongyang Youth and Kim Il Sung University
''Daily NK'', 21 September 2006
Photo of the entrance
*
''Kim Il Sung University'' picture album
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. It was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. The portal's categories include politics, tourism, music, foreign trade, arts, press, information technology ...

{{Authority control Education in Pyongyang Universities in North Korea Educational institutions established in 1946 Kim Il-sung 1946 establishments in Korea