After successfully delivering 8 online programmes to North Korea since the start of the pandemic, we look forward to returning in-country and continuing to develop a hybrid approach to fostering entrepreneurship in-country
Since 2020, every international engagement organization in the DPRK has found itself indefinitely shut out- at least out of actual travel. With borders closed, opportunities for positive development and exchange with North Korea seemed impossible, and many others efforts withdrew from the country to begin the long wait for reopening in the distant future.
However, Choson Exchange has remained actively engaged and invested in fostering entrepreneurship in the DPRK throughout this time. As covered in our 2020 annual report and 2021 update, travel restrictions meant that we had to reconsider our approach. As an organisation teaching entrepreneurship skills, pivoting approach in the face of changing environmental circumstances is in our DNA, and so we took our programmes online.
Lecturers facilitating a question and answer session on culinary entrepreneurship. DPRK participants are joining via video link.
In the first half of 2021, we completed two iterations of our Project ChangeMakers (PCM) programme, consisting of 6 web conference lessons delivered via video link to Korean students inside the DPRK and overseas. We are extremely pleased to report that since then and up to September 2023, we have successfully delivered six more iterations of the programme. We have also significantly scaled up audiences, having now delivered to hundreds of students in Pyongyang and further via live lectures and distribution of recorded lectures.
These online lecture programmes have also grown in diversity, ranging from topics in tourism and service innovation (including a live Zoom lecture from a Michelin-starred chef!) to green entrepreneurship and the sustainability sector, and most recently in innovation for education and lifelong learning. We have pioneered the use of online lectures and distance learning as a reliable and repeatable method for engaging with Korean students and continue to foster strong relationships with our partners via the virtual realm.
Pre-pandemic, it was considered extremely difficult to negotiate for the medium of online lectures, notwithstanding the obvious benefits of in-person lectures too. While North Korea has not gone through the same remote learning revolution that the rest of the world may have experienced (most of our students still attend via live link from a university hall in Pyongyang), the technology was used extensively in domestic teaching and the door is now open for continued engagement in both online and in-person formats.
Choson Exchange conducting a session on the role of education in developing entrepreneurship
The pivot to online learning has also allowed distribution of our content to greatly increase, as sessions are recorded and passed on to other students in North Korea who are not able to attend live lectures. The brand name recognition of Choson Exchange in-country has persisted in the (limited) local education realm and has allowed us to continue our work which began more than ten years ago. We have also been able to call on a wide range of lecturers without requiring travel to Pyongyang or beyond to teach. This has also allowed our partners to more flexibly approve lecturers from all over the world, including academics, entrepreneurs and even restaurateurs. As border restrictions may ease in the near future, we wait with eager anticipation to introduce students to their online lecturers in-person for the first time.
The advent of the pandemic has no doubt been a major setback for all wishing to foster positive engagement with the DPRK. Many organizations have struggled to maintain their pre-pandemic foothold in the face of total border closure and significant communication loss. Yet, the unique situation has allowed organizations like ours to continue to push for new methods of online learning and increased distribution, while maintaining readiness for future in-country programmes. In the coming years we will continue to deploy a hybrid strategy, mixing in-person opportunities with online learning programmes to benefit as many potential students and international lecturers as possible.
We look forward to continuing our journey in building entrepreneurship in the DPRK, and hope you will join us as the situation slowly begins to change.
Photo by Random Institute on Unsplash