Partnership between MSLU and Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies

On September 9, 2020, MSLU received representatives of the Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the Russian Federation. On the part of the embassy, the meeting was attended by Oh Chol Zin, First Secretary of the DPRK Embassy in the Russian Federation, and Ri Zen Gwan, an employee of the Embassy. From the side of MSLU, there were present Irina Kraeva, rector of Moscow State Linguistic University; Irina Shokina, Head of International Cooperation and Internationalization Department; Ekaterina Poholkova, Dean of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting Departament; Konstantin Kovalev, Director of the Institute of International Educational Programs.

Despite the temporary difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the parties actively discussed the continuation and expansion of cooperation between the MSLU and the Pyongyang University of Foreign Languages, the agreement on which was signed in 2017. In 2018 and 2019 8 MSLU students went on a month long internship to the Pyongyang University of Foreign Languages. In 2020/2021  at the request of the Embassy, students from North Korea started the academoc year remotely.

Traditionally, MSLU is a co-organizer of the All-Republican Olympiads in the Russian language among students of linguistic schools in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, organized by the PUIA. Representatives of the Moscow State Linguistic University are annually on the jury of the Olympiad.

The parties discussed the issues related to teacher exchange on a regular basis: from the MSLU side, teachers of the Russian language as a foreign language will go to the PUIA, while the Pyongyang University of Foreign Languages will send teachers of the Korean language. For teachers, a one-year exchange is planned, for students - for a semester.

The parties discussed admitting students from the DPRK to the MSLU master programmes connected with Russian as a foreign language, continuing the exchange of textbooks, continuing inviting lecturers from the Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the Russian Federation.

2020 is the year of the foundation of the Department of Oriental Languages and the opening of the Korean department at MSLU.