{"id":323504,"date":"2026-03-23T05:52:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=323504"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:37:06","slug":"north-korea-schools-lean-on-prominent-parents-as-renovation-costs-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-schools-lean-on-prominent-parents-as-renovation-costs-mount\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea schools lean on prominent parents as renovation costs mount"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">North Korean schools in South Pyongan province are pressing parents to fund building repairs and purchase educational materials during March, which authorities have dubbed the &#8220;month of assisting schools,&#8221; a source inside the country told Daily NK on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said schools in Sukchon county are asking parents to cover costs for renovations of libraries, science labs, and computer labs, as well as larger projects such as repairs of sports fields and outdoor swimming pools. With little financial support from central or regional governments, schools have few options beyond shifting the burden to families.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Recognizing that most families cannot make meaningful contributions, schools are increasingly turning to those that are affluent or socially prominent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;It&#8217;s gotten to the point where people joke that homeroom teachers&#8217; job isn&#8217;t teaching class, but visiting parents and persuading them to help out,&#8221; the source said.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"text-text-100 mt-2 -mb-1 text-base font-bold\"><strong>Families of student leaders bearing the brunt<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The primary targets are parents of students in leadership roles or with strong political records, including class presidents and officers in the Korean Youth League and Korean Children&#8217;s Union.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">For these families, the requests are not just burdensome but offensive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;Things have gotten out of hand. Having even two children on the leadership track at school puts you under enormous pressure. My older child was asked for two tons (4,409 pounds) of cement for swimming pool repairs, and my younger child was asked to replace the chairs and desk in their classroom,&#8221; one parent in Sukchon county said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The same parent said the school&#8217;s expectations are prompting a rethink about keeping children in leadership positions. &#8220;We were aware that the school had assessed our financial situation when they gave our children leadership roles. But if this is what they expect from us, we&#8217;ll have to rethink things. We plan to have our children step back from leadership starting next year.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;School awards are nice and all, but after a while, they start to lose their luster. The political upside of donating gradually becomes less appealing,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;Given how frequently schools organize these improvement projects, even the most affluent of families eventually come to resent these repeated requests.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Teachers are also caught in an uncomfortable position. Parents often ignore or rebuff fundraising requests, putting teachers at risk of souring relationships they depend on. At the same time, a grade&#8217;s standing within the school is tied directly to how much parental support it secures, which feeds into teachers&#8217; own performance evaluations, creating additional pressure to keep soliciting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20260319-2\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<!-- Daily NK \u2014 A Note to Readers \u2014 End of Article Pattern -->\n<div style=\"background:#1a1a1a;border-top:3px solid #cc0000;padding:0;margin-top:32px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;\">\n  <div style=\"padding:20px 24px 24px;\">\n\n    <!-- Header row -->\n    <div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:12px;margin-bottom:14px;\">\n      <span style=\"background:#cc0000;color:#fff;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:9px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.15em;text-transform:uppercase;padding:3px 8px;flex-shrink:0;\">A Note to Readers<\/span>\n      <div style=\"flex:1;height:1px;background:#333;\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Intro line -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:15px;color:#fff;font-weight:normal;line-height:1.4;margin:0 0 12px;\">Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n\n    <!-- Body -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:13px;color:#bbb;line-height:1.75;margin:0 0 16px;\">\n      Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. 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The source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said schools in Sukchon county are asking parents [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":256,"featured_media":40870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,1360],"tags":[703,714,794],"class_list":["post-323504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-society","tag-education","tag-economy","tag-south-pyongan-province"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>North Korea schools lean on prominent parents as renovation costs mount - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korea-schools-lean-on-prominent-parents-as-renovation-costs-mount\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North Korea schools lean on prominent parents as renovation costs mount\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"North Korean schools in South Pyongan province are pressing parents to fund building repairs and purchase educational materials during March, which authorities have dubbed the &#8220;month of assisting schools,&#8221; a source inside the country told Daily NK on Thursday. 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