Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies

The Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies is a five-year university in Pyongyang, North Korea, specializing in language education.

Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies

평양외국어대학
Type	Public
Location	Pyongyang , Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies
Chosŏn'gŭl	평양외국어대학
Hancha	平壤外國語大學
Revised Romanization	Pyeongyang Oegugeo Daehak
McCune–Reischauer	Pyŏngyang Oegugŏ Taehak

History

The university was split off from Kim Il-sung University in 1964.^[1] North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency gives its foundation date as 15 November 1949.^[2][3] It does not have as high a reputation as those of Kim Il-sung University's foreign languages division, which trains members of the political elite; most graduates go on to become working-level diplomats or work in the intelligence service.^[4]

Structure

In total, 22 languages are taught at PUFS. The university has separate colleges for students of English, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese; the so-called "Ethnic Languages College" offers instruction in a further 18 languages: Hungarian, Arabic, Malay, Khmer, Thai, Lao, Persian, Hindi, Urdu, German, Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish.^[5]

Notable students, faculty, and alumni

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

• Charles Robert Jenkins, American defector and former English teacher; his daughters Brinda and Mika formerly attended as students^[6]
• James Dresnok, son of American defector James Joseph Dresnok^[7]
• Ri Yong-ho^[8]
• Thae Yong-ho, defector from North Korea, formerly North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom; current member of the National Assembly in South Korea

See also

• List of universities in North Korea