Regarding education and the training of national cadres as the most important in state affairs on which hinges the destiny of the country and nation, President
A support committee for university construction was formed including democratic personages of all social strata and educationists in November 1945 and a preparation committee was organized for establishing the university in May 1946.
President
The Korean people made the first university of new Korea bear the august name of President
At the time of its establishment, it consisted of 7 faculties and 24 departments. Faculties were history and literature faculty, economy and law faculty, physics and mathematics faculty, engineering faculty, agriculture faculty and transport engineering faculty. Sixty eight renowned scholars like To Sang Rok, Pak Shi Hyong, Kim Su Gyong, Kim Kwang Jin, Kim Sok Hyong, Won Hong Gu, Sin Ku Hyon, Kye Ung Sang, Im Rok Jae and others taught the initial batches of the university students that numbered well over 1 500.
From December 1946 the university students were supplied with seasonal uniforms and from September 1947 scholarships, thus completely free from worries of school fees.
President
The university teachers were also provided with necessaries on a preferential basis, and houses for teachers were built near the campus in June 1949.
By the year 1948 the educational and scientific foundation of the university was further furnished.
In July 1948 the engineering faculty and transport engineering faculty seceded from the university and developed into Pyongyang Industrial College (now Kim Chaek University of Technology) and medical faculty into Pyongyang Medical College and agricultural faculty into Pyongyang Agricultural College(now Wonsan University of Agriculture) respectively.
Graduate school was set up in May 1947, evening college in February 1948 and teacher-training correspondence college in September 1948, laying further foundation for training more national cadres. By June 1950 the number of faculties increased from 7 at the time of establishment to 10, classes from 30 to 128, teachers from 68 to 173, students from 1 500 to 3 800. Kye Ung Sang, Won Hong Gu and other teachers became the first academic titles and degree holders.
Unveiling ceremony of the university's new building on Ryongnam Hill took place with splendor in the presence of President
President
On June 25, 1950 broke out the Fatherland Liberation War (the Korean War).
The second graduation ceremony took place on June 30, 1950 and congratulated 271 graduates.
A great number of undergraduate students, graduate students and teachers volunteered to join the army with the start of the war and many of them were dispatched to the southern part of Korea as members of political work team.
As instructed by President
Confident of the victory in the war, President
The 3rd graduation ceremony of the university took place in Paeksong-ri on December 28, 1952, which saw 253 students graduating from the university.
After the war, the reconstruction of the university buildings and dormitory was completed in a short period and the students and teaching staff came back to Pyongyang and everything was put on its normal track.
In October 1956 graduate badge and student badge were made for the first time and the first meeting of graduates was held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the university.
In the post-war years the students and teaching staff actively participated in several reconstructing and new building projects including West Pyongyang Stadium(now
Vigorous campaign was conducted to firmly establish Juche and overcome big-power chauvinism and dogmatism in the education of the university.
Nuclear physics department and other new departments came into being and optical instrument and experimental apparatus factory went into operation, further consolidating the material foundation of the university.
The university started to teach foreign students since 1955.
The revolutionary activities of the great leader Comrade
On September 1, 1960 when he entered the
The university erected the statue of President
Several faculties such as physics faculty, mathematics and dynamics faculty, philosophy faculty, geology faculty, automation faculty, energy faculty, etc. were newly organized or seceded from the existing faculties and became independent faculties, so the university has been further expanded with more comprehensive and wider academic disciplines. In the early 1980s the university had 16 faculties, 10 independent research institutes including catalyst institute, over 200 departments and 100 research laboratories.
Brisk academic exchanges were conducted with many foreign universities like Far Eastern Federation University(Russia), Yanbian University (China), Osaka Economics and Law University (Japan) and so on. The university also conducted book exchanges with many universities like Moscow National University (Russia), Peking University (China), Berlin Humboldt University (Germany), Panama University (Panama), San Marco University (Peru) and others.
Thanks to
Superb gymnasium was erected at the university in 1989 prior to the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students, and towards the 50th anniversary of the founding of the university its campus got expanded with a large dormitory quarters newly built.
On December 7, 1996,
After his visit, the university set up in large size the on-the-spot instruction boards of the three commanders of Mt. Paektu in 1997, front gate inscribed with the great General's autograph and the monument to their revolutionary activities in 2001.
During the period between the late 1990s and 2010, the faculties of Law, Automation and Korean Language and Literature were upgraded to Law College, Computer Science College and Literature College and the scale and educational content of the University further expanded with the establishment of Finance College, Faculty of Electronics and Automation, Faculty of Dynamics and Faculty of Materials Science. Institute of Social Sciences and the Institute of Natural Sciences were also set up in 2001 with the aim of training world-class scholars. In October 2019, several colleges were renamed: Law College into the Faculty of Law, Literature College into the Faculty of Korean Language & Literature, Finance College into the Faculty of Finance, College of Information Science into the Faculty of Information Science, College of Forest Science into the Faculty of Forest Science and College of Distance Education into the Faculty of Distance Education.
Chairman
He saw to it that that an up-to-date swimming complex was built on the campus in 2009 and a modern E-library in 2010 at the main building that was rebuilt for the purpose. He sent his handwritten adage clarifying the university's educational goals for making a leap forward to a world-class university. Visiting the university on four occasions from March 2009 to April 2010, he looked round the newly built natatorium, E-library and education and science exhibition hall, accompanied by the respected Comrade
In May 2010, Pyongyang Medical College, Sariwon Kye Ung Sang Agricultural College and Pyongyang Agricultural College affiliated to
Entering the new era of Juche revolution,
The respected Comrade directed great efforts to develop
The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un received the letter from the professors and researchers of
An unveiling ceremony of the statue of the great leader Comrade
In April 2012, he allowed the university student badge to bear the portrait of smiling President
On September 27, 2016 he sent the historic letter "On the Basic Tasks Facing
True to the lifetime instructions of the great General, the General Secretary made sure that two apartment blocks were built into skyscrapers near the university, visited the construction site three times, showing warm care and provided the educators of the university with 300 super apartments in October 2013. And he again provided the teachers and researchers of the university with over 1700 apartments in the newly built Ryomyong Street in 2017.
In the 2010s Buildings No 3 and No 4, chemistry faculty building, new dormitories and dining halls were built anew, and Building No 2, dormitory No 14 and printing factory made a facelift in the latest fashion.
Continuous education, distance education, in-service training and other forms of its non-regular education have been bolstered and the research and teaching ranks of the university strengthened along with the increase of world-class academics. Many new disciplines were explored and big stride made in improving the contents and methods of education. At present
Dynamic academic endeavors towards building of a thriving socialist country by the latest scientific achievements as required by the new era have enabled the university to successfully carry out the research projects that are of domestic and global significance.
The teachers and researchers of
In recent years many teachers and researchers of
International academic exchanges are in full swing. Every year
Based on the successes it has achieved so far,
