20 illegal photos of North Korea that the government would like to hide

Photographer Eric Luffforth is one of the few lucky people to have a chance to see what North Korea actually is. "Since 2008, I have been to North Korea six times, - he says. “Thanks to the digital memory cards, I was able to save photos that I was forbidden to take, or those that I was told to delete.”

Lufforg was not interested in carefully organized and planned tourist trips to this mysterious country, which would show him only what everyone can see. He wanted to go further and capture the internal view of the state and people who are not under the full control of the regime. "They treated me like any other tourist, - says Eric. - I was not allowed to photograph police officers, the army, etc. But, having a good zoom in the camera and sitting in the back seat of the bus, I was able to shoot so much. " He took thousands of photographs of citizens and government officials involved in daily affairs.

After Lufforg returned home from his sixth trip to North Korea in 2012, his government discovered that he was sharing secretly taken pictures online. They demanded to delete the photos. "I refused because I showed all aspects of life in North Korea, both good and bad. Just like I do about any country I visit. I refused to make an exception for North Korea, and they did not like it." Soon, the regime forbade Luffford to cross the state border again.

“During family dinners in the countryside, I could talk with the locals for hours. They told me so much about how they live, what they dream, etc. The main thing is to know that the North Koreans are kind people, they are very curious are very generous to the guests, although most of them have nothing. "

A woman stands in the midst of a crowd of soldiers. This photograph could not be taken because officials did not allow the army to be removed.

When you come to visit a family, guides like to take photos showing the world that children have computers here. But when they see that there is no electricity, they are asked to remove these pictures from you.

Soldiers often help at local farms.

Pictures of this type often appear in the West. Their captions often say that North Koreans eat grass in parks. Guides get furious if you photograph it.

A rare example of an undisciplined child in North Korea. The bus drove along a small road in Samiyan, and this child stood right in the middle of the road.

Clothing is very important in North Korea. In the city you will never meet anyone dressed poorly, poorly. On that day, students danced in the park. When I asked to photograph them, the girl asked the man to straighten his shirt.

Now cars are increasingly appearing in Pyongyang, but the peasants have not yet had time to get used to them. Children play in the middle of the main streets, as before, when there were no cars to meet here.

Pyongyang Metro is the deepest in the world, as it is also a part-time bomb shelter. Someone saw me taking these photographs and told me to delete them because they show a tunnel.

Perhaps the funniest ban I've come across. The official artist worked on a new mural in Chilbo. I took a picture and everyone started yelling at me. You could not take pictures, because the drawing has not yet been completed.

Taking pictures of malnutrition is prohibited.

When you try to leave Kaesong (a hotel complex consisting of old houses), the guides are puzzled why you should go out. They say that the outside is the same as here. But this is not true.

It is forbidden to photograph resting soldiers.

On a small lake on the way to Wonsan. The fisherman uses the tire as a boat.

Tourists are often brought to Wonsan's pioneer camp to show how children from all over the country have fun. But some children come from villages and are afraid to use escalators, because they have never seen them before.

When you visit the dolphinarium in Pyongyang, you can photograph animals, but not soldiers, which make up 99% of the crowd.

Queues are a national sport of North Koreans.

An official is sitting on a bench in a Christian church. Officials must not be shown in a bad light.

Visit to the rural house. The houses and families into which tourists are allowed are carefully chosen by the government. But sometimes such a detail as a bathroom, used as a tank, indicates that the country has difficult times.

The soldier is sleeping in the field.

North Korean officials hate it when visitors take similar photos. Even when I explained that poverty exists all over the world and in my own country too, they still forbade me to photograph the poor.

Watch the video: Regular Things That Are Illegal In North Korea (May 2024).