top of page

Pepperdine Unveils New Study Abroad Program


MALIBU, CA - After much deliberation, the office of International programs has announced a new study abroad program in Pyongyang, North Korea. While it is still in its infancy and isn’t expected to accept students until 2019, this recent development has met much criticism from the students in the Pepperdine community.

Junior Ray Howell, 20, stated, “This is just another ploy by Pepperdine to pad their study abroad statistics. Do they really have the gall to send students there and invest in a communist dictatorship? I expected more from a Christian university.”

Pepperdine regents and donors have expressed similar reservations. One of their chief concerns is about how students are going to get their convocation credits in an atheist country that strictly forbids any religious or spiritual activities. The convocation office has explained that the program will provide plenty of opportunities for students to complete their convocation requirement when they travel to South Korea and Japan for their educational field trips, and they will also have the option to defer some of their credits until their Junior year.

The program is facing additional complications with the fact that North Korea is currently listed on the U.S. state department’s “do-not-travel” list. As stated per Pepperdine policy, students are forbidden to travel to such locations. Experts speculate that Pepperdine got special privileges to host a program in the country through clandestine connections and negotiations. Given these circumstances, students and affiliates of the program would obtain a degree of diplomatic immunity as long as they respect the dear leader and abstain from sharing any facets of American culture. Thus, students within the program would be exempt from the no-travel regulation.

When Dennis Rodman played for the Los Angeles Lakers back in 1999, he visited the Pepperdine campus and viewed a men’s basketball game in November. Rumor has it that he later had talks with some administration officials regarding Pepperdine’s renowned study abroad program. Since his sports endeavors, the famous basketball player has travelled multiple times to North Korea and curried favor with their leader, Kim Jong Un.

“We’re trying to open doors between both countries (the U.S. and the DPRK)” Mr. Rodman said in a recent interview explaining his latest trip to the country.

Despite the mountain of criticism that this new program has received, officials behind the initiative argue that it is a unique opportunity to put Pepperdine and its students on the forefront of history and East Asian geopolitics. It’s in Pepperdine’s blood. Back in 1963, the university began its “Year-In-Europe” program in Heidelberg, West Germany. The initiative was coupled with an effort by the Churches of Christ to deliver aid the war-torn nation. Developing an international program near the iron curtain was a risk, but Pepperdine believed that it provided a valuable opportunity for students to exceed their boundaries and meet the world on their own terms. Similarly, this new program in North Korea will expose students to an isolated country that has strongly influenced the East Asian region for the last seven decades.

In related events, Pepperdine administration officials are screening course evaluations to determine which faculty to send to the program.

Featured Posts
Recent Posts
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square

Undertow News was created in March 2017 by Pepperdine Seaver students, and is no way supported or endorsed by Pepperdine University. 

bottom of page