By Mang Jiuchen, People’s Daily,
BEIJING: The East Pyongyang No. 1 Middle School located in Tongdaewon-guyok of
downtown Pyongyang is well-known throughout the DPRK.
Inside the brand new teaching building, a billboard calling for students to always be
ready for the country is hung in the corridor together with an honor roll. It’s set to
encourage and motive students to study even harder, which is quite impressive.
Established in 1985, the school ranks top nationwide in terms of education and
management, said the vice principal Yun sung guk.
Now there are about 1,000 students and over 110 faculty members at the school, said
Yun.
Mao Zedong Class, another name of Class 2 Grade 11, is a special class consisting of
24 students at the School.
It has been sixty years since the name Mao Zedong Class was coined in 1959, said
Yun. In 1950, the Kim Il-sung Class was established at the Class 1 Grade 8 of Beijing
No.5 High School.
The vice principal recalled that the Mao Zedong Class was originally set up at the
Sinri High School in Pyongyang, and then the honor went to the East Pyongyang No.
1 Middle School after the previous school was merged into the new one.
For a long time, the East Pyongyang No. 1 Middle School and Beijing No. 5 High
School have kept friendly exchanges, said Yun.
A big photo hung in the first-floor showroom is eye-catching. It was taken in 2010
when some teachers and students of the school visited Beijing and met with their
counterpart of the Kim Il-sung Class.
The two schools celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Kim Il-
sung Class together, Yun said, pointing at the photo. The two schools will maintain
the friendly exchanges and pass the DPRK-China friendship from generation to
generation, he expressed.
Hong seon hui is a teacher of the Mao Zedong Class. Before taking an interview with
People’s Daily, she was having a class. Her students were listening to her carefully
and taking notes, with their textbooks and notebooks neatly put on the desks.
The teacher told People’s Daily that it’s both an honor and responsibility to teach the
Mao Zedong Class.
“We’ll try our best to educate students and help them become pillars of the nation,”
Hong said.
The Class carries the traditional friendship between people of China and the DPRK,
Hong said. The teachers will hold various activities for the students to learn the
importance and the latest progress of the friendship between the two countries.
DPRK’s top leader Kim Jong Un pays high attention to the friendly relations with
China and actively promotes the further development of bilateral ties. The school will
inform students of relevant information via newspapers.
“I feel greatly honored to be part of the Mao Zedong Class,” said a student named
Maeng wi jin.
“I’ll study even harder in the future, and make contributions to my country and to the
further development of friendship between the DPRK and China,” he told People’s
Daily.
“I’m excited and welcome President Xi Jinping’s visit to the DPRK,” said the teacher.
She added that China is a friendly neighbor of the DPRK. It’s believed that President
Xi’s visit will further advance the bilateral friendly relations and cement the
traditional friendship forged by the older generation of leaders of both countries.
