North Korea is intensifying efforts to promote “extracurricular group activities,” similar to South Korea’s after-school programs. Analysts suggest this move aims to reinforce the government’s control over education amid a growing private education market in North Korea.
On Wednesday, North Korean state media Voice of Korea highlighted extracurricular activities in senior middle schools.
According to the report, students participate in a wide range of activities under the guidance of teachers, including English, writing, fine arts, guitar, table tennis, and Taekwondo.
Voice of Korea stated, “Efforts are being made to cultivate students into well-rounded individuals equipped with diverse knowledge and skills.” The report also noted plans to “scientifically refine and diversify the operation of extracurricular groups and ensure that all teachers are capable of instructing at least one subject.”
Experts believe North Korea’s push for extracurricular group activities is primarily driven by the country’s growing prevalence of private education. An informal shadow education market has been expanding, prompting authorities to crack down and strengthen public education.
Dr. Cho Hyun Jung, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification and a North Korean defector, explained, “Since North Korea’s marketization, parents’ enthusiasm for education has increased, but the public education system has failed to keep up, leading to a surge in private education. The authorities are now improving school education to counter this trend.”
The rise of North Korea’s private education market is believed to have begun in the mid-to-late 2000s. Following the Arduous March, many North Koreans saw the impracticality of relying solely on government policies, leading to increased investments in education.
According to the 2024 report on North Korea’s economic and social conditions published by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, the percentage of North Korean defectors who reported having personally received private education was just 3.2% before 2000. Still, it rose to 14.1% between 2016 and 2020. Additionally, 45.0% of respondents said they had witnessed private education being conducted around them.
Although the prevalence of private education varies by region in North Korea, reports indicate that in Pyongyang, where the elite class resides, nearly all students take at least one form of private tutoring.
This growing trend has led to skepticism about whether North Korea’s public education policies will be effective.
Dr. Cho noted, “In the past, extracurricular activities focused primarily on core subjects such as English, science, and math. However, students now rely on private tutoring for these subjects, leading to a shift in extracurricular group activities toward arts and physical education, such as musical instrument training.”
She also predicted that as North Korea continues to emphasize the development of scientific talent, new extracurricular activities, such as AI (artificial intelligence) training, could be introduced alongside traditional subjects.