Why the Korean National Police University is like a real-life Hogwarts
You can’t get into Hogwarts, but don’t fret. The Popping Post has found the next best thing – the Korean National Police University (KNPU). Enrolling in the KNPU is almost like studying in Hogwarts, if you don’t mind not learning how to cast magic spells. You do learn how to be the real-life equivalent of an Auror (a magical policeman) though.
KNPU has so many similarities with Hogwarts that it almost sounds as if it was inspired by Harry Potter, if not for the fact that it was founded in 1946 and not 990 A.D. Here are six reasons why being a KNPU undergraduate is just like being a Hogwarts student.
1. They both have eagles as part of their crest.
KNPU logo. Credit: 경찰대학 폴라리스 페이지 Facebook Page
Hogwarts crest. Credit:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Official) Facebook Page
Compare both school crests above. KNPU uses an eagle as part of their eagle, as does Hogwarts. In both cases, the eagles are golden. For KNPU, the logo represents the eagle spreading its wings to protect the country, whereas for Hogwarts the eagle symbolises Ravenclaw, one of the four houses.
Interesting how both eagles are the same colour though…
2. They have magical-sounding school trees
A Zelkova tree in Korea. Credit: 안창환 Facebook Profile
Hogwarts and the Whomping Willow. Harry Potter More Facebook Page
The official school tree for KNPU is the Zelkova, which sounds like it’s a fictional, magical tree from Harry Potter. However, it is a real species of tree that belongs to the elm family Ulmaceae, which also sounds like it could be a magical plant.
Hogwarts doesn’t have an official school tree, but it does have the Whomping Willow, a giant tree that will smack you silly with its branches. Ironically, KNPU’s school tree sounds more magical than Hogwarts’.
3. They award prizes at the end of the year
Dumbledore usually awards the prizes in Hogwarts. Credit: Fatos Desconhecidos Facebook Page
Every year, KNPU will award prizes to professors, students, and staff. This is known as the Chung-ram Prize or Chung-ram Award, depending on the translation, and is a very prestigious prize to be awarded.
Similarly, at Hogwarts, the house with the most points at the end of the year wins. Remember that the teachers award and deduct points from the houses based on the students’ actions, with Harry Potter and his friends being the main source (and loss) of points for Gryffindor.
4. They both have student dormitories
A KNPU lesson in Midnight Runners. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas
KNPU students live in dormitories, with four buildings allocated for male students and one building allocated for female students.
Hogwarts students also live in dormitories located in the towers of their respective houses. Boys and girls are segregated, and magical charms are placed to prevent members of the opposite sex from entering a particular dormitory. It’s a good idea too, given that Hogwarts students are mostly teenagers and are probably full of raging hormones (remember how emo Harry was in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?).
5. They both have welcoming events for new students
New KNPU students in Midnight Runners. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas
KNPU has a welcoming ceremony and concert for new students. Yes, an actual musical concert! It’s performed by the symphonic orchestra of the police. Not every university holds such a spectacular welcoming for their freshmen.
Hogwarts has its trademark feasts and a sorting ceremony where the magical Sorting Hat will determine the houses of each new students, generally based on their personality. It’s fraught with anxiety for most students, since the house they go to is an indication of a student’s character.
6. They both have good relationships with their French counterparts
Students from Beauxbatons, the French wizarding school in Harry Potter. Credit: Beauxbatons Facebook Page
KNPU offers international exchange programmes for its students, and they can study abroad at police institutions in other countries. Their students were sent to the police academies in France in 1984, as well as West Germany and Spain.
In the Harry Potter universe, the French wizarding school is the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. We don’t see much of Dumbledore’s interactions with the Beauxbatons headmistress, Olympe Maxime, but their relationship was good enough that Maxime was sent as an envoy to the giants (she herself is half-giant) by Dumbledore.
Midnight Runners. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas
So do you want to enrol in KNPU now? Hold your horses – you might want to see what life is like in the school before you decide by watching Midnight Runners! The Korean comedy sees two bumbling KNPU students who stumble upon what may be the biggest crime they’ve ever witnessed in their lives. But when nobody seems willing to help, Park Ki-joon (Park Seo-joon) and Kang Hee-yeol (Kang Ha-neul) find themselves taking on this extra “CCA” and working to solve this case themselves!
Will they succeed? Or will the Midnight Runners be caught? Find out for yourself in this exciting comedy!
You might also want to check out:
Kang Ha-neul a perfect gentleman at Midnight Runners press conference
Credits: 경찰대학 폴라리스 페이지 Facebook Page, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Official) Facebook Page, 안창환 Facebook Profile, Harry Potter More Facebook Page, Fatos Desconhecidos Facebook Page, Beauxbatons Facebook Page, Golden Village Cinemas
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