Jilin Yuwen High School (), also known as Yuwen Middle School, is a high school in the Chinese city of

Jilin City Jilin City, Mandarin pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin (, International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA:/ki.rin/) is the second-largest city and former capital of Jilin province in northeast China. As of th ...

Jilin Province ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_a ...

. The school is situated next to the

Songhua River The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea border through China's northe ...

. The school was center of left-wing political thought during the 1920s. Among prominent alumni is

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

, the first

leader of North Korea The supreme leader of North Korea () is the ''de facto'' hereditary leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, the state and the Korean People's Army. The title is honorary, given only after death in the first two cases. More broadly it can ...

. There is a museum, a schoolroom memorial and a statue dedicated to him at the school. There is also a slogan proclaiming Sino-Korean friendship on the roof.

History

The school was founded in 1917. The school was heavily influenced by left-wing ideology in the late 1920s, and was described as the most progressive in the city. Many prominent Chinese left-wing intellectuals have taught in the school, including

Guo Moruo Guo Moruo (November 16, 1892 – June 12, 1978), courtesy name Dingtang, was a Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official. Biography Family history Guo Moruo, originally named Guo Kaizhen, was born on November 10 or ...

and Shang Yue. In 1964

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

allowed the school to continue use the name "Yuwen". In 1978

officials approved Yuwen as the focus of the first run high school, and in 2003 the local government identified the school as a model high school. Since 2005 there has been an international cooperation program with Australia. There have also been recent cultural exchanges with schools from countries such as United States and Japan.

Kim Il-sung

North Korean president

attended the school for two and a half years starting from 1927. The school was described as the most progressive in the city of Jilin. Kim organized protests against "reactionary teachers" and Japanese-made goods in 1928. Kim was part of the South Manchurian Communist Youth Association there in 1929. Kim was arrested in the spring of 1929 and was consequentially expelled from the school. Kim Il Sung struggled to continue his studies in Yuwen High School. He had to live in a cheap dormitory owned by the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, as recalled by his younger friend from the school. Kim survived from his mother's modest earnings after his father died. Kim wrote in his memoirs that he tried to spare his only pair of shoes for school by walking barefoot. Kim also complained about the blatant nature of the class society of Jilin. There is a bronze statue of Kim Il Sung, portraying him in a guerrilla uniform, at the school grounds. A schoolroom where Kim Il Sung studied is retained as a memorial, and there is a modest museum at the school. Kim also studied in the Korean Huadian School (also known as Hwasong Middle School), which was also in Manchuria. When he chose to enroll in the Chinese-language Yuwen Middle School, he would have had other choices beyond Korean Huadian School, because there were other Korean language schools in Manchuria.

Visits by North Korean officials

Since 1964 the Pyongyang Akinori school has been a

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Ra ...

, and related visits have been received since then. A slogan on the roof of the building proclaims: "Long Live Sino-Korean Friendship". In September 2010, North Korean leader

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

made Yuwen Middle School his first stop during a trip to China. Kim stayed there for some 20 minutes. Only days later, upon his return, Kim pronounced his son

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

as his successor. The visit to Yuwen associated with Kim Il Sung's youth thus became a political message of a young successor's viability.

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Choe Yong-rim visited the school, too, in November 2010. On 15 April 2014 around 400 to 500 North Koreans gathered at the school in honor of

Kim Il-sung's birthday The Day of the Sun () is an annual Public holidays in North Korea, public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea. It is the most important national holiday in the ...

. Volleyball and other sporting events were held on the same day in Jilin. No Chinese officials attended, but Chinese security was present. On 6 July 2014 officials from the DPRK's

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

consulate-general joined Chinese officials and Chinese-Koreans in a ceremony to lay floral baskets at Kim Il Sung's statue.

People

Former teachers

* * Ma Jun *

* Shang Yue

Alumni

* Peng Huanwu *

Awards

*Teaching Quality and Improvement Award *Excellent Teaching Achievement Award

References

External links

Photos
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

{{Authority control 1917 establishments in China Educational institutions established in 1917 Buildings and structures in Jilin High schools in Jilin Museums in Jilin Schools in China