New Additions to Training Team and Our HR Manager

When Choson Exchange first began, it was small enough that I had the luxury to interview everyone who wanted to be involved and get to know them at a personal level: their aspirations, motivations and personality. However, as interest have grown, I find it harder to keep track of everyone's needs and whether we are helping them meet their goals just as they are helping Choson Exchange meet its mission. Hence, we brought on Soojin, who will be our Human Resource manager. She will be in charge of recruiting, tracking everyone's efforts and seeing how we can help them develop. Soojin will graduate from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School with a dual degree in International Studies and Economics this summer. She is a great addition not just because of her deep interest in North Korean issues, but also because she speaks Korean and Chinese and lived in China. This will allow her to coordinate our efforts to involve more trainers from the US and China.

I still try to take time to interview everyone interested in joining our team. The requests have been piling up and last week, I interviewed four more potential lecturers. We would like to welcome A.E. and Dominic Soon who will contribute their valuable experiences in our upcoming training session in Pyongyang this September. They bring exciting experiences to our team. A.E. has close to a decade of experience in the private sector as a commercial banker. A.E. also brings with him a wealth of experience from working in Latin American, Southern China, Taiwan and the USA. A graduate of Oxford's Politics, Philosophy and Economics program, A.E. was highly involved in his university's Asian Societies. Several years ago, A.E. visited Pyongyang and a highlight of his time there was the opportunity to join a picnic with Kim Il Sung University students to talk about their aspirations and interests.

Dominic is an economist in Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry and a recipient of the Singaporean public service scholarship. As part of a team that recently studied how Singapore's economic strategy should change, he can contribute valuable experience on designing an economic restructuring process as a means of attracting foreign investment. Dominic graduated from Cambridge University and received his Masters at Yale University.

I hope that their valuable time and experiences will leave an impression among the North Korean professors and executives we will train this September. Through expanding our training team, we hope to introduce more dialogue-driven sessions that will enable us to have a more dynamic discussion with participants.

Sponsoring Our Work

In order to ensure that our programs have an impact, we wish to ensure that lecturers receive some funding in the future. If we lose lecturers year after year because of the expense of flying to Beijing and then into Pyongyang, we lose a lot of experience built up from interacting with the North Koreans. Without this experience, we cannot deliver training materials in a relevant and effective manner. If you know people who would be interested in sponsoring our work whether in providing financial contributions or in providing overseas training programs, academic programs or internships to North Koreans, do send them this guide.

Meeting at the United Nations & Bridging the Knowledge Gap

I met with some very helpful people at the UN last week. Being well-versed in the European experience of dialogue with transitional economies, they pointed out one problem we face in building an effective training program. If we think of knowledge as standing on the shoulders of giants, there are building blocks of knowledge that has to be in place in order for advanced training in economics to be delivered. And this knowledge is also dependent on context - how do we transmit theories from one system to a vastly different economic and political system in a convincing fashion? We believe that our recent additions to our team goes some way towards helping us address this issue. Ruediger Frank is an experienced lecturer in Pyongyang. However, in the longer-term, the only real way we can tackle this is challenge is to devote resources to studying what they know about economics and to have lecturers who return frequently to build up relationships and in-depth understanding of their trainees. To do so, we need to meet fundraising goals in order to ensure that the travel costs do not impose too much of a burden on our trainers.

One of the UN staff we met also suggested international internships as a possible program for North Koreans. Not only do we meet our objectives of providing international experiences and learning, we can also obtain corporate sponsorship for this. I know this has been done before under other arrangements and hence is feasible. If you know any company willing to sponsor such a learning opportunity, do contact us at CEteam@chosonexchange.org.

New CE Advisor - Ruediger Frank

I am glad to welcome a new advisor, Prof. Ruediger Frank, to Choson Exchange. Ruediger brings with him a wealth of experience teaching economics in North Korea and will advise us on designing our training materials for relevancy and effectiveness. It is a double-blessing since Ruediger is not only experienced in this area, but served as an inspiration to this project. I still remember my first semester as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Ruediger was giving a lecture about changes in the North Korean economy as well as his interactions with North Koreans he had trained in Pyongyang. "Experts" on North Korea who impresses me most are the ones who not only talk about what they know (or think they know), but are willing to concede what they do not know and couch their analysis in these terms. Professor Frank was such a person. I have attached his bio below. Do check out his webpage too.

Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the East Asian Institute of the University of Vienna, Austria. M.A. in Korean Studies, Economics and International Relations, PhD in Economics. Teaching and research on East Asia's Economy and Politics with a focus on North and South Korea. Previous positions include Mercator-Universität Duisburg; Humboldt-Universität Berlin; Columbia-University New York; Korea University Seoul. Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University Seoul and at the University of North Korean Studies (Kyungnam University); Research Affiliate of the Modern East Asia Research Centre of Leiden University. Since July 2007 Director of the Vienna School of Governance. Co-editor ofKorea: Politics, Economy and Society (yearly) and of the European Journal of East Asian Studies.

New Courses at Kim Il Sung University & Sungkyunkwan University

According to the Russians in Pyongyang, Kim Il Sung University will be adding the following programs: programming, dialectology (I think this is the study of dialects - I had to look this up myself), semantics and law.

Programming is unsurprising, given the emphasis on IT training in North Korean propaganda. I don't know what to say about the other fields though. One conscious decision we took when we set up Choson Exchange was to avoid the IT field. On one hand, there are many people involved in this area and who do a good job and are definitely able to do a much better job than us. On the other hand, IT training does not fit well with our mandate or the academic fields our teammates would like to share.

That said, the North Korean interest in IT seems to have roots that go very far back. When I was in Seoul in 2005, a friend at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) told me that they had a sister relationship with a North Korean university of the same name and heritage. I laughed it off then. I visited SKKU in North Korea in 2007 and it turns out that SKKU lecturers had given talks on IT in North Korea in 2002 - they had signed an academic exchange agreement in 1998.

Visit to the Paektusan Academy of Architecture

Part of the upcoming trip in September will include a visit to the Paektusan Academy of Architecture where our architectural coordinator, Calvin Chua will be holding a discussion on recent and future architectural and urban development in Pyongyang and strategies in efficient spatial organization within the city. The Paektusan Academy of Architecture is the center for architectural research in Pyongyang where architects engage in designing buildings of national importance, such as the Yanggakdo International Hotel and the Central TV Broadcasting Hall, etc. The academy is currently involved in several sustainable construction initiatives which include the building of 50 new dwelling for a self-sustaining community at Osan-Ri in collaboration with The Fuller Center for Housing; and the recently concluded conference on “Aspects of Sustainable City Development”, jointly organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Workers’ Party of DPRK.

Global Korea Roundtable: Mapping North Korea

Curtis Melvin, an advisor to Choson Exchange, will speak at the Korea Society this week on his North Korea mapping project. For those of you in New York City, feel free to attend the session.

In this talk, Melvin will demonstrate the latest version of his mapping project and discuss the untapped opportunities that mapping offers in the study of North Korea.

Thursday, April 8, 2010 5:45 PM Check-In (pre-registration required) 6:00 PM Program

The Korea Society 950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor (Building entrance on SW corner of Third Avenue and 57th Street)

Call for Speakers - International Financial Institutions

We are in the midst of putting together our complete roster of speakers and topics for this year's training session in Pyongyang, which is likely to be hosted at Kim Il Sung University. Our chosen topics are based partly on the survey we asked our counterparts to conduct, what we see as relevant to their economy and what we are able to deliver in a high quality manner. We do not cover all the topics they suggest to us. One of the topics we wish to include is a look at the role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or Asian Development Bank in supporting the financial sector, and more broadly economic development. This is to introduce IFIs to North Koreans who might not be entirely familiar with the work of these organizations.

As such, we are looking for speakers who are familiar with these institutions and will be able to speak persuasively about the merits of working with the IFIs. If you know anyone with such a background, do drop us a note at CEteam@chosonexchange.org.

North Koreans Studying Abroad

One of our aims is to provide opportunities for North Korean students to study abroad. In 2009, we were working on sending students to attend international conferences. There was some interests from conference organizers but some organizers insisted that the students apply through their online application system (which North Koreans cannot access) and write their applications on topics that were irrelevant in a North Korean context (and which we did not feel comfortable pushing for as we did not know what possible repercussions this might have on the students).

For some other students, the sponsorship provided by the conference organizers could not cover the full transport costs for the students. We are still negotiating with different conference sponsors. This is possible, although it still surprises many people when they hear about this. Aside from China, Vietnam or Russia, North Koreans study in a variety of countries in a range of programs. I have compiled some of such exchanges below. This list is by no means exhaustive and are extracted from Tim Beal's website.

If your institution is looking into sponsoring North Koreans to study abroad, please contact our team!

In 2010:

Seoul to support U.N project to train North Korean technicians

SEOUL Jan 19 South Korea plans to contribute 1.88 billion won (US$1.67 million) this year to a U.N. project to help train North Korean officials and technicians, a government source said Sunday. The project, to be undertaken by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), will invite an unspecified number of North Korean bureaucrats, involved in energy, environment, transportation and regional cooperation, to overseas training programs, the source said. Established in 1947 with its headquarters in Bangkok, ESCAP is the regional development arm of the United Nations, with 62 member countries. The Seoul government will use its inter-Korean cooperation fund for the contribution, the source said, requesting anonymity. The training program for this year is scheduled to start late this month in India, the source said. [Training]

How Diversity Took 2 Asian Universities to the Top

Lee Hang-su There was a rumor recently circulating among South Korean students at the University of Hong Kong that some North Korean students were studying there as well. Hearing the rumor, I contacted the university and confirmed that it was true. Three North Koreans started there in the 2009-2010 academic year, two of them giving North Korea as their country of origin on their application forms and the third being a dependent of a North Korean official stationed in Hong Kong. It is the first time in the university's 99-year history that North Korean students have been admitted, a university spokesman said. [Training]

Delegation from North headed to the United States

January 07, 2010 A delegation from a North Korean university involved in an exchange program with its American counterpart plans to fly to the United States later this month, Korea Society President Evans Revere said yesterday. Revere told Radio Free Asia that representatives from the Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang will be led by the school president Hong So-hon. [Training]

S. Korea gave Pyongyang officials market economy training in 2009: source

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea helped North Korean officials and trade experts receive up-to-date market economy training last year, a government source said Friday. The source at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said 40 North Korean officials were taught about the stock market, supply of consumer goods, light industrial policies, international trade and intellectual property right protection at China's Dalian University in October and November. A research institute under the state-run Seoul National University provided the education program, which cost the South 220 million won (US$194,000). The official, who declined to be identified, said that the research institute selected training courses with input given by North Korean officials and a similar amount of money has been reserved in the 2010 budget to conduct similar programs this year. The ministry, however, said that South Korean officials were not directly involved in the training program. Despite the cooling off in bilateral relations after President Lee Myung-bak took power in early 2008, Seoul has provided assistance to help train North Korean computer experts, medical personnel and government officials as part of its effort to expand cross-border exchange and contacts. [Marketisation] [Training]

In 2008

# Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Railroaders Arrive in Vladivostok for Training

North Korean railroad representatives have already acquainted with port station Nakhodka Vostochnaia work VLADIVOSTOK, December 18, vladivostoktimes.com Railroader delegation from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues its training at Vladivostok department of Far Eastern railroad (Public corporation branch “Russian railroads”), press secretary of Vladivostok Far Eastern railroad department- public corporation branch “Russian railroads” head Alexander Artomonov reports. Guests from North Korea came to Vladivostok from Khabarovsk to have training. In Khabarovsk the delegation got acquainted with personnel training system on the Far Eastern railroad. They also visited locomotive depot Khabarovsk-2. The delegation includes employees of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Railroad Ministry, foreign railroads and transport railroad company “Tonkhe” cooperation management. In Primorsky Territory the representatives of North Korean railroads examined the work of port station Nakhodka Vostochnaia, visited container terminal in Vostochniy Post and Nakhodka railroad facilities. [Railways]

Amazing Business Pioneer in North Korea (Felix Abt)

An Amazing Business Pioneer in North Korea is telling us the real reasons behind the sudden and surprising pull-out of a global engineering giant from this country

How a hopeless pharmaceutical joint venture was turned into a success story, why and how humanitarian aid and economic development mostly follow conflicting interests, how foreign business people challenge and survive an environment overshadowed by heavy geopolitical influences including arbitrary sanctions imposed by foreign powers, how North Korean managers prepare themselves to get fit for export and international competition, and what the dos and don’ts are for those who want to successfully start a business in this very special country. [IJV] [FDI] [Opening] [Sanctions] [Training]

Solar Box Cooker to North Korea

Our advisor, Wee Lin, stands beside a solar box cooker he donated to rural regions in North Korea on a project unrelated to Choson Exchange. You can read more about him and his good works here and here. Update: The Solar Kettle is the glass vacuum tube and black plastic tube standing against the wall