Thank you for your interest in Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). PUST is the DPRK’s first full-fledged institution of higher education founded and operated by groups and individuals primarily from the United States, South Korea, and China, but from many other parts of the world as well.
PUST is an experiment to determine if it is possible to train generations of DPRK students, who have been shielded from many international influences, in the technical skills and knowledge required to make positive contributions to a global community undergoing rapid and constant change. PUST encourages students to become aware of the cultural influences that create the differences in international thinking.
While the skills taught are technical in nature, the spirit underlying this historic venture is unabashedly Christian. A century ago, the northern half of the Korean peninsula was steeped in Christian and modern influences, so much so that Pyongyang was known throughout Western Christendom as “the Jerusalem of the East.” God in His Providence has granted us a second opportunity to teach modern subjects to new generations of young DPR-Koreans to encourage them to become, once again, eager to learn and borrow from the outside world.
It is our duty as good world citizens to resort to peaceful means, wherever possible, to resolve divisive conflicts. Nothing can contribute to this process as much as the establishment of educational institutions that provide an atmosphere for the free exchange of ideas with individuals from another culture in a spirit of brotherhood. We hope that PUST is able to make significant contributions in bringing about lasting peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula, through building mutual trust and by sharing new ways for looking at the world.
Today, the DPRK remains as Winston Churchill once said of the former Soviet Union, “a riddle wrapped in an enigma shrouded in mystery.” Doing business with the DPRK is not for the faint of heart, but the effort is ennobling and necessary. I invite you to join me in this truly historic venture with your prayers and support.
