About the talk:
Here is an excerpt from an article in the New York Times entitled "An Unlikely Pairing Bears Fruit in North Korea" by MARK McDONALD that was published in October 25, 2010 [Link | cache]
"Of all the fantastic tales to come out of North Korea — the country’s leader is injected with the blood of virgin girls, he made 11 holes-in-one during his very first round of golf, each grain of rice he eats is inspected by hand for imperfections, his youngest son and would-be successor has had cosmetic surgery to make him resemble his grandfather — not one of these seems as improbable as the event that took place on Monday, when a science university founded by American evangelical scholars began its first day of classes in Pyongyang, the capital of the
secretive Communist state.'
“It’s amazing, and kind of a miracle,” said Park Chan-mo, one of the founders of the school, which was largely financed by contributions from evangelical Christian groups in the United States and South Korea. “Many people were skeptical, but we’re all Christians. We had faith.”
"The first group of 160 undergraduate and master’s students has been chosen by the North Korean government, selected from its top colleges and from the political and military elite. Their tuition, room, board and books are all free, financed by foreign donors and individual sponsors. The plans call for an eventual student body of 2,600 and a faculty of 250, with classes in public health, architecture, engineering and construction. Sixteen professors from the United States and Europe arrived in Pyongyang over the weekend. For now, no South
Korean professors are allowed because of recent political tensions between the Koreas."
"The $35 million, 240-acre campus includes a faculty guesthouse and world-class dormitories and classrooms, all of which are said to have running water, power and heat. The school has its own backup generators, but with so little
diesel and gasoline available in the North, fuel has to be trucked in from neighboring China. Classes will be taught in English, and Internet access has been promised to all students."
.
“Every brick we used, every bit of steel, every bit of equipment, we brought in from China,” Mr. Kim, who was in Pyongyang for the opening, said in an interview in Fortune last year. “I have never brought any cash into North Korea.” “I have unlimited credit at the Bank of Heaven,” he added.
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