Editor’s note: The following is the second in a multipart memoir series written by Alek Sigley about his time studying at Kim Il Sung University.

Foreign students in North Korea and the situation they find themselves in are very special indeed. But there reasons for studying there and experiences in the country can vary dramatically.

International students are allowed to study at three universities in the capital. The first is Kim Il Sung University, where I studied. Then there are Kim Hyong Jik University of Education, named after Kim Il Sung’s father, as well as Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies.