After bribing a Kim Il Sung University professor with a grand piano to get their child into the school, the child’s parents had a falling out with the professor that ultimately led them to report his acceptance of the bribe to the authorities, Daily NK has learned.
“A graduate of Sinuiju High School No. 1 was admitted to Kim Il Sung University through an illegal transaction with one of the school’s professors. Conflict arose with the professor after the student complained about being unhappy about the undergraduate department he had entered. In the end, the student gave up going to the school and his parents reported the professor to the authorities,” a reporting partner in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
According to the reporting partner, the student’s family is reputed to be financially well-off in Sinuiju. Before the admission results for Kim Il Sung University were announced in early March, the parents learned ahead of time that their child would miss the cut by just one or two points. They then approached a professor at the university through an acquaintance to find a way for their child to enter the school.
The professor requested a grand piano in return for paving the way for the student to enter the prestigious university. The academic promised to let the student choose the department he would attend, even saying that the student would not have to participate in any construction and rural village mobilizations during his entire time at the school, the reporting partner said.
“The parents put together the money, purchased a grand piano with difficulty, and then sent it to Pyongyang. They succeeded in getting their child into Kim Il Sung University. But when the student entered a department he didn’t like, the parents were greatly disappointed, and they were insulted by the professor during an argument.”
In fact, the professor had rough words for the parents, telling them that the student “must have done a poor job studying” to miss the cut by just one or two points, and that “arguing over a department placement is meaningless when your kid can’t cut it.” He told the parents point blank that “you should have just sent him to a provincial college if this is how it is going to be.”
“The undergraduate department in question is disliked by everyone, not just the student in question. In the end, the student decided to abandon his entrance into Kim Il Sung University over worries that he would face obstacles in getting employment after graduation,” the reporting partner said. “For their part, the parents were angered at being insulted by the professor and submitted a petition to the Central Committee.”
In their petition to the authorities, the parents claimed that to enter Kim Il Sung University, Kim Chaek University of Education, Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, Pyongyang University of Music and Dance and Pyongyang Medical University, or any other university in Pyongyang, parents must prepare a grand piano as a bribe. Following the report, the authorities are carrying out an investigation of how professors at Pyongyang universities have obtained the grand pianos in their homes.
“The professor in the middle of this mess has been suspended from teaching classes since mid-April,” the reporting partner added.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
