History

Kim Chaek University of Technology, strengthend and developed under the energetic leadership and warm care of the peerless great men, is fully demonstrating its might as the highest institution of the country’s scientific and technical education and the pedigree establishment for training talented scientists and technicians.

President Kim Il Sung put forward the line of founding a technical college at a meeting of the political committee, the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea held on July 1, Juche37(1948), and at the 69^th session of the People’s Committee of North Korea held on July 7 that year he took decisive measures to separate engineering and transport faculties from Kim Il Sung University to found Pyongyang College of Technology.

Thanks to the personal initiative and guidance of President Kim Il Sung, Kim Chaek University of Technology (Pyongyang College of Technology at that time) was founded on September 27, Juche37(1948).

In its early days the college had nine faculties including those of mining geology, mechanical engineering, metal engineering and electrical engineering, with over 80 teachers and 1500-odd students.

From the outset the college made remarkable achievements in the educational work, and especially its students took an active part in an anti-illiteracy campaign and patriotic work.

During the Korean war Kim Il Sung always paid deep attention to the educational work of the college. When Kim Chaek, an anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter and the then deputy premier of the Cabinet, passed away, the President had the name of the college changed into Kim Chaek College of Technology through a decision of the Cabinet in order to hand down the official’s exploits for the country and people to the coming generations. He also had a Kim Chaek scholarship set up.

And foreseeing victory in the war he took a revolutionary measure to have the former students fighting on the frontline return to their universities to resume their studies. It was an unprecedented measure in the history of war.

He visited the college situated in Kalhyon-ri, Kodok-myon, Jongju County (Wolhyon-ri, Unjon County today), North Phyongan Province on June 16, Juche41(1952) making his way through the powder smoke. He then clarified the ways and means to improve its educational and research work during the war and showed deep concern for its educational condition and the students’ life.

When the national economy was growing very fast, the work for training technical personnel failed to keep up with the reality. The President saw through the situation and gave on-the-spot guidance to the college on March 9, Juche49(1960).

Saying that it should combine theoretical education with practical training in order to train more technical personnel more quickly as required by the developing national economy, he stressed the need to teach students in such a way that they could fully display their abilities as engineers soon after graduating from the college.

True to the field instructions of President Kim Il Sung, the college did educational work by combining theory and practice. By doing so it trained more technical personnel equipped with practical ability and made a great contribution to the development of the national economy by solving scientific and technical problems arising in industrialization of the country and carrying out the technical revolution.

And it strove to thoroughly overcome bourgeois revisionism in the education and scientific work and establish the Party’s monolithic ideological system.

The college’s teachers and researchers including Kim Tong Sin and Kwak Tae Hong completed valuable research projects greatly conducive to the socialist industrialization.

On a visit to the college on October 2, Juche57(1968) the President said it should help develop the electronic industry and the production of light metals, pure metals and alloy steel to develop the industry of the country one step farther relying on the already laid industrial foundations, and continue to push ahead with the work of making students revolutionary.

And saying that it should continue to thoroughly establish Juche in all fields, he illuminated the relevant ways and means.

To carry out the instructions of the President, the college increased the number of students, set up new faculties and research institutes and vigorously did scientific research.

This led to success in developing a Paektusan computer, hydraulic mechanized stope supports and other things of practical value for the development of the national economy.

In May Juche77(1988) President Kim Il Sung saw to it that the college was raised to the status of university and named Kim Chaek University of Technology.

In those days, the university actively conducted research projects for pioneering the fields of advanced science and technology while channelling due efforts into strengthening political and ideological education.

In the 1980s, scientists of its Robotics Institute made a numerically-controlled wire cut electro-discharge machine for the first time in the country, which gave great pleasure to Chairman Kim Jong Il on April 29, Juche84(1995).

Teachers and researchers of the Communications Faculty rendered great benefits to the country by manufacturing a parabolic antenna of the International Satellite Communication Centre with elaborate designs, calculations and new ideas.

And by making efforts to develop the country’s computer technology and actively extend its application range, the university completed multimedia program presentation “Koryo Ceramics, Treasure of the East” and multimedia search program “Korean National Food.”

On May 8, Juche82(1993) President Kim Il Sung visited the university at the advanced age of 80 without lunch break and illustrated its mission and duty again. He gave precious instructions for training lots of talented scientific and technical personnel by continuously improving the educational work in keeping with the requirements of the developing reality. He also took benevolent measures to modernize laboratory and practical training facilities without delay, finish the rest of the project for the construction of a library and an IC practice shop and build a gymnasium, thus laying firm material and technical foundations for the university.

Amid the deep concern of President Kim Il Sung, modernization of the educational facilities was completed on a high level in a short time, consolidating the material and technical foundations of education and thus bringing about a new turn in the education and research work of the university.

Chairman Kim Jong Il inspected the university twice in the new century, on Sep. 19, Juche90(2001) and on January 4, Juche95(2006) and nominated it as the highest institution for training scientific and technical personnel and pioneer of IT industry revolution. Saying that Kim Chaek University of Technology is charged with an especially important mission and task in building a powerful socialist nation by developing science and technology of the country quickly and modernizing the national economy, he gave an important guideline for developing education and research work as required by the IT era.

Greatly inspired by the field guidance of Chairman Kim Jong Il the university reorganized faculties appropriately in order to train more talents equipped with advanced science and technology and built up educational and scientific centres. And it made a great contribution to Juche-orientation and modernization of the national economy by vigorously conducting scientific research.

Teachers and researchers including An Hyong Gil, Ju Hyok and Jon Pong Chan of the College of Information Science and Technology, Kim Tong Gwon of the IT Institute and Jong Il Chol of the Automation Engineering Faculty pushed ahead with scientific research in lots of factories and enterprises including the Taedonggang Combined Fruit Farm, and thus made a great contribution to the modernization and automation of the national economy.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un inspected three times a year the construction site of apartment houses for teachers of Kim Chaek University of Technology, which were being built as wonderful and standard buildings on the bank of the picturesque Taedong River—on May 20, August 12 and October 16, the day of the completion of the project in Juche103(2014). Saying that nothing should be spared for educators devoting themselves to the country’s prosperity and training of talents, he took measures to build the apartment houses on the highest level.

He saw to it that more similar houses for teachers and researchers of the university were built down the bank of the river and that a street to be newly built on the riverside was named Mirae Scientists Street. And he gave vital instructions for scientific research work and training of talents saying that the university is entrusted with an important mission in building a powerful socialist nation.

Under the warm care of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, a grand ceremony for the inauguration of the apartment houses took place on October 18, Juche103(2014), and over 350 teachers and researchers of the university moved into the new apartments amid the blessing of the whole country.

And 690-odd teachers and researchers also moved to new apartments on the aforesaid new street on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea in October, Juche104(2015).

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited Kim Chaek University of Technology on September 28, Juche 107(2018) to congratulate its teachers and researchers on the 70th founding anniversary of the university. Saying that the university should become the leading chariot and locomotive powerfully propelling the Sci-tech revolution of the new centrury and the revolutionary university most trusted by our country rearing driving forces of our revolution, he clarified the way ahead of the university. Furthermore, on March 10, Juche 108(2019), he came to the polling station set up in Kim Chaek University of Technology for the election of deputies to the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly and voted for the official of the universtiy. He expressed expectations and belief that the university could fulfil its responsibility and obligation as a locomotive and the most trusted university of the country by invigorating economy and bettering the standard of the people’s living, and making a breakthrough in improving science and education.

Amid the great concern of the Party and State Kim Chaek University of Technology is fully discharging its mission and duty in the educational work for training more academic and practical talents who can surely turn the country’s economy into the knowledge-based one and raise science and technology of the country upto the world standard.