What makes Kim Myong-il a bit different from his Chinese schoolmates is his wristwatch.

Wearing one is an old habit for the 33-year-old student from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, but almost all of the Chinese students use their cell phones to check the time.

That's not to say Kim and his fellow DPRK students are out of touch.

Instead, they are keen chasers of technology and fashion.

Kim watches If You are the One, a popular Chinese matchmaking TV program and uses a cell phone and a laptop.

Kim and his DRPK fellows will spend four years at Northeastern University in Shenyang, Liaoning province. They will spend the first year learning Chinese and three more years on their majors.

Northeastern University started to enroll students from the DPRK's Kim Chaek University of Technology in November 2010.

There are 96 DPRK students at Northeastern University, making it one of the largest hosts of DPRK students in China.

There are no public statistics on how many students from the DPRK are studying in China.

"DPRK students are really diligent and eager to learn. They usually study in groups before and after class," said You Jing, who teaches overseas students Chinese at the university.

When she teaches Chinese by showing how to write an advertisement for a life partner, the students respond actively.

"I have seen some Chinese TV matchmaking programs, such as If You Are the One. We don't have such things. Getting married is quite simple in our country and people don't need to advertise for a partner," Kim said.

"Besides active participation during classes, they always ask me many questions on studying after class," You told China Daily.

Kim said he can read some Chinese characters. "We just have difficulties in listening and speaking," Kim said.

Kim, the youngest of the three students China Daily interviewed, won third place in a Chinese speech contest held by the university and won a pair of his-and-hers watches.

Students: Classmates from many countries

"I will give the ladies watch to my wife as a gift when I go back home," Kim said.

DPRK students are also very polite, You said.

"They always greet me or even bow to me as long as they see me. That sometimes makes me a little nervous because most of them are older than I am," said You, who is in her 30s.

The students enjoy shopping at electronics and wholesale markets, and often go to a barbecue restaurant near campus.

"The food there is delicious and we enjoy ourselves each time," Kim said.

The most popular foods among the DPRK students are Chinese liquor and tea.

Every summer when they return home, they buy a lot of them as presents.

In Kim's class, there are nine students financed by their country, including Kim. All are teachers at Kim Chaek University of Technology.

The class is a multinational one, with six students from the Republic of Korea, two from Japan and one from the US.

You said all the students get along well with each other.

Ham Kyong-hyok, a DPRK student attending the class, said the international nature of the class is a good thing.

"My classmates come from different countries with different personalities. Communicating with them is helpful for me to learn more about other countries," said the 43-year-old.

The DPRK students said they saw China as a home away from home after their initial worries were gone.

According to Ham, the first time he saw a doctor at the school hospital he couldn't communicate very well in Chinese. Many students gave him a hand and the doctor was also very patient. "I felt so warm," he said.

The students said they are happy with the living facilities provided by the university.

"We can watch TV in the dormitory. Moreover, cleaners will clean our rooms regularly," Kim said.

But they have some complaints.

"The city is so crowded and the air is not fresh. I even developed throat problems in the first several months," Ham said.

Yet for these overseas students, China's academic level is the most coveted factor.

"I want to learn cutting-edge technology. But it seems three years of study is not enough," Kim said.

He plans to cooperate with his tutor to continue his research on machine tool technology after he goes back to his homeland.

"Our research capacity will be improved here. And we will teach our students what we have learned when we go back," said O Hyon-gyu, 40, another DPRK student at the university who majors in electrical engineering.

When asked if their salaries will increase after they obtain doctorates, their answers are almost identical: "We came to China for nothing else but to improve our research ability. If we can make contributions to our motherland, our country will provide us a bigger house or higher incomes."

Contact the writers at wuyong@chinadaily.com.cn and liuce@chinadaily.com.cn