British Council forges new UK/North Korea cultural ties

Closer cultural links between the UK and North Korea are possible, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council and the DPRK Cultural Committee.

The agreement paves the way for activities including exchange visits, study tours, courses, collaboration to produce teaching materials, and sporting events.

The MoU was signed by Sir Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council, and Kim Jin Bom, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, at a ceremony in London on 14 July.

Sir Martin Davidson said: “When you have two countries who know so little about each other, you have to find ways to build connections. The language of culture is a great way to do that. I am very pleased to have been able to sign this agreement with North Korea. We believe it will help build greater trust and understanding between our two countries.”

The British Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been running a training programme for English teachers in North Korea since 2000, which was recently extended until 2017. The British Council’s Director of Visual Arts, Andrea Rose, visited North Korea in 2013 with a photographer and writer, resulting in an exhibition of photography from inside the country, which is currently on display at the British Council’s London headquarters.

For more information, contact Mark Moulding in the British Council Press Office on 0207 389 4889 or mark.moulding@britishcouncil.org

Notes to Editor

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

We work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the Arts and delivering education and society programmes.

We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded grant provides less than 25 per cent of our turnover which was £781m in 2012/13. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.