A report by the Korean Herald has revealed what children in secretive and totalitarian state North Korea are being taught in school, and it’s both ridiculous and frightening.
In a state known for its hostility and country-wide propaganda about supreme leader Kim Jong-un, kids as young as four are essentially being brainwashed by their own government.
North Korean schools now spend more time teaching students about their “celebrated” leader, Kim Jong-un, and his family than they do teaching science or foreign languages.
A staggering 684 hours of curriculum time is devoted to studying Kim Jong-un, his father Kim Jong-il, and grandparents Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-suk, compared to 824 hours of math lessons.
Local media revealed that the government’s goal for education is for “students to acquire the concept of revolution and endless loyalty”.
And the facts they learn about their past leaders are nothing short of bizarre.
Notable examples include stories of Kim Jong-il’s supernatural birth on Korea’s sacred mountain Mt. Baekdu, where a new star formed as he was born.
Apparently he also invented the hamburger, although he called it “double bread with meat”, obviously. Also, according to his biography, he never used a toilet and, wait for it, he can control the weather.
Add to that his incredible golf career, in which, after discovering his natural aptitude for the sport, he shot a 38-under par round including 11 holes in one.
As for Kim Jon-un, he’s said to have stolen time back (yes, back) from the Japanese to set Korean clocks back by 30 minutes.
But the scariest part, according to educational adviser Kim Jin-sook, is that this is some kind of experiment being conducted on the children of an entire nation — and they don’t know what’s going to happen.
“We can see that new ‘educational experiments’ are being tried, but the negative aspect is that North Korea’s political system and its policies are being reflected in education to promote and sustain the regime.”
And experts fear that the future generations who experienced this schooling will hinder the development of North Korea as a normal country, and destroy hopes of a reunification with the South.
“The aftermath of [this] wayward education is something that has to be overcome as we prepare for the future of unification.”
Scary stuff.