culture

Eighty years have passed since Kim Il Sung University was established.

It is the first university built for the people in the country just after Korea’s liberation and the highest institution of Juche-oriented science and education.

Just after national liberation (August 15 1945), education in the country was very backward.

Even Pyongyang with a population of 0.4 million had no university but only a few middle schools and colleges.

President Kim Il Sung decided to train by national efforts sci-tech talents and national cadres who would shoulder a new Korea and proposed building a university which would become the parent body of those for different sectors and energetically led the efforts to establish the university.

As a result, the genuine people’s first university where sons and daughters of working people could learn to their heart’s content to develop into hard-core national cadres was established on October 1 1946. And it was named Kim Il Sung University according to the general will of the people.

In 1948, different faculties of the university were separated from it for the establishment of present-day’s Kim Chaek University of Technology, Pyongyang University of Medical Sciences and Wonsan University of Agriculture.

The university has so far produced many national cadres and sci-tech talents to firmly support the advance of the country since it produced the first batch of graduates in 1949.

Lots of talents from the university have played the core role in all domains of the country, including politics, the economy and culture, and exalted the honour of the university at home and abroad.

The lecturers, researchers and students of the university display their outstanding abilities at domestic and international symposiums and contests. On the increase among them is the number of holders of academic degrees and titles including academicians, professors and PhDs.

The university, which consisted of seven faculties with some 60 lecturers, has now developed into the one with 22 faculties, an excellent teaching force, the main building, four school buildings, a science library, natural history museum, gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, dormitory and hospital.

Chairman Kim Jong Il attended the university from 1960 to 1964, a period when an epochal turn was brought about in its work.

Though many people wanted him to study at a famous university of a foreign country, the Chairman was enrolled at Kim Il Sung University with a firm resolve and will to study at home to deeply grasp President Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary ideas and acquire practical knowledge needed for the Korean revolution in order to become a genuine revolutionary of Korea.

With a great ambition to glorify Korea, the Chairman set a distinguishing example in study through energetic quest and gave important instructions related to education and scientific research in the university, including that on the issue of establishing Juche in education.

Today, the university is advancing along the road of new development as a world-class university under the wise leadership of respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un.

All the teaching staff and students of the university who have greeted its 80th birthday harden their resolve to repay the great love and warm care of President Kim Il Sung, Chairman Kim Jong Il and General Secretary Kim Jong Un associated with the university and live up to the expectations of the country and the people with fine educational and scientific achievements.