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In a photo taken on November 20, 2017, students attend a class at the Manbok high school in Sonbong county, outside the northeastern border city of Rason. - North Korea claims a 100 percent literacy rate and boasts that its free compulsory education demonstrates the superiority of its socialist system. But those who escape from the impoverished country often struggle in the South from a lack of basic knowledge. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) / TO GO WITH NKorea-social-education-memory,FEATURE by Sebastien BERGER (Photo credit should read ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images)

In a photo taken on November 20, 2017, students attend a class at the Manbok high school in Sonbong county, outside the northeastern border city of Rason. - North Korea claims a 100 percent literacy rate and boasts that its free compulsory education demonstrates the superiority of its socialist system. But those who escape from the impoverished country often struggle in the South from a lack of basic knowledge. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) / TO GO WITH NKorea-social-education-memory,FEATURE by Sebastien BERGER (Photo credit should read ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images)
Getty Images

AFP ED JONES