By Kim Hyo-jin
Russia appears striving to boost the demand for its language in North Korea, amid signs that the Cold War allies try to build up strong bilateral relations.
Russia's Maritime Province of Siberia donated as many as 1,400 Russian books to North Korea, the Russian news agency Interfax said Wednesday. The books vary on the subjects from Russian history, literature, culture, to language.
It reported that the state government delegated the donation project to "Russkiy Mir," an orthodox cultural foundation established by Russia's president Vladimir Putin in 2007 as a vehicle for exercising soft power abroad. The foundation delivered the books to Lim Chung-il, North Korea's consul general in Nakhodka, the eastern coast town.
The donation aims to draw more attention to Russian among North Koreans given the growing zeal toward learning foreign languages in North Korea, according to the report.
Lim expressed gratitude to the state government, saying North Korea has long been interested in Russian education. Interfax reported that when he met Alexei Staricykov, a director of international cooperation bureau at Maritime Province of Siberia at a donation ceremony, they discussed mainly about how to boost the interest in learning Russian among North Koreans.
A North Korea expert says it is understandable that Russian government bodies are eager to encourage the study of Russian.
"Right now, when there is a great deal of talk about cooperation with Russia in North Korean media, it is possible that many young North Koreans would start learning Russian," said Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University. "But, if the expected 'Russian boom' fails to materialize, the interest in Russian will evaporate as well."
Among North Koreans, English is in the highest demand, followed by Chinese and Russian, according to the recent reports.
For decades, Russian was the language of international contacts for North Koreans. Learning Russian helped open way to prestigious and lucrative overseas jobs, Lankov said. However, now that the international interaction is conducted in English, Russian was put to the margins. Chinese, being the language of North Korea's sole trade partner, remains important as well.
The Russia-born scholar explained the major variable which determines the popularity of a particular language is its 'market value,' the potential to use this language for earning money and improving one's social standing.
"It might make a partial comeback if North Korea's trade with Russia really recovers and increases to the level comparable with its current trade with China, but this is a big ‘if'," he added.