School children in North Korea parade with guns in Kim Il-sung Square, Pyongyang
School children in North Korea parade with guns in Kim Il-sung Square, Pyongyang Reuters

North Korea is offering a gap year with a difference: teaching English to the favoured youngsters of Kim Jong-un's Stalinist regime in Pyongyang.

Unsurprisingly for the authoritarian government, the scheme comes with certain conditions which mean successful applicants can forget about soaking up local culture or exploring the country. No "wandering" is allowed by the 10 volunteers picked for the programme.

There is also the matter of customs and behaviour for teachers to deal with, such as school girls parading with machine guns, as in the image above.

Intrepid teachers who are chosen for the scheme will be tutoring students at the Tourism College in Pyongyang. It is part of plans by ruler Kim Jong-un to boost the reclusive country's tourism sector in coming years.

The job is a volunteer role and teachers must pay £765 for accommodation and board to the regime. North Korea's abysmal human rights record may be an ethical concern for some, especially as the role is intended to benefit the isolated nuclear-armed regime.

Juche Travel Services is organising the programme of two trips for five teachers each. Spokesman David Thompson said: "The country has made it clear that it's looking to grow its tourism sector in the coming years.

"To do so will require both international tourism expertise and foreign language skills."

Admitting that freedom of movement looks set to be zero, he said: "To my knowledge there will not be the opportunity to wander freely."