manninchina

I was browsing through the Xianzai Beijing (a weekly newsletter tailored to Beijing for foreigners) and came across a job posting from the UK Embassy in Beijing. They are looking for UK citizens to live in North Korea for 10 months to teach English!

This would take some balls to do. I really want to visit North Korea, say for a weekend…but to live there for 10 months? Not sure. You would basically be giving up your freedom for 10 months. Period.

What does this mean for North Korea as a country? What are they getting prepared for? North Korea will certainly become a low cost option for foreign companies in the very near future. In what fields? I guess it depends on the training investment the company and foreign countries decide to make. It also will depend on how much flexibility the North Korean government will give these foreign countries (especially, financially).
English Language Teacher Trainers Wanted for Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea
The British Council which operates as Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in China is looking for suitably qualified ELT professionals to work on a joint British Council/FCO-funded English Language Training Project in North Korea for approximately ten months from 1 November 2007. The successful candidates will deliver high-quality programmes in teacher/trainer training and develop the curriculum and related materials as well as assessment systems at leading institutions in Pyongyang. Please note: Local restrictions mean that UK passport holders only can be considered for these posts. These are unaccompanied posts, although in exceptional cases the authorities might agree to a married couple. For more details of this job opportunity, please go to:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/home-about-us-working-with-us-DPRK.htm