Contents or ideology? A case study of mathematical teaching in North Korea

Abstract

This article addresses mathematics education in one of the most closed countries in the world, North Korea. It is known that ideology permeates all aspects of life in North Korea, but how exactly do the ideological and substantive mathematical components interact in mathematics education there? What concrete form does this interaction take in actual everyday teaching practice? This article seeks to answer these questions based on interviews with former North Korean mathematics teachers and students who have found a refuge in South Korea. With their help, we attempt to analyze the everyday life of North Korean schools, by reconstructing their concrete features and the routines of North Korean mathematics education.

Keywords:

• interview
• mathematics education
• ideology
• North Korea

Notes

1. A quote from the introduction to President Kim Il Sung and the development of education in Korea serves as an example: “President Kim Il Sung is an outstanding and seasoned educational genius who has successfully solved the question of education, the most difficult and important human remolding, and has scored immortal achievements for the history of mankind” (as cited in Yang, 1999, p. 746).

2. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations from Korean are by JungHang Lee.

3. Note that in other socialist countries – for example, the USSR – the topics of discrete mathematics also appear in the school curriculum at a very late date.