Above and below - Watching celebration dances on the occasion of the birthday of the late Kim Jong-Il - Pyongyang, DPRK - 16 February 2019
I believe my desire to visit twice in 2019 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is well summarised by the quote of Japanese Magnum photographer Hiroji Kubota: “Study the works of the greatest photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Andre Kertesz. Try to travel to many parts of the world and understand what a diverse world we live in.” Hiroji was in North Korea in 1986.
So in February 2019, a week before the second Trump Kim summit in Hanoi, I travelled to North Korea with Koryo tours, in and around Pyongyang for one week. Beyond the prospects of a nuclear confrontation between the United States and the most hermetic power on the globe, I wanted to document what life is for its citizens, away from the propaganda images we are used to see. I decided to go back in November 2019 for one week, this time with Choson Exchange, a Singapore based social nonprofit organisation focused on economic policy, business and legal training for young North Koreans.
Above - For most people it probably feels like "Métro, Boulot, Dodo" as the French expression says or "Work, work, work" if you prefer a less poetic English version - Pyongyang, DPRK - 16 February 2019
Probably not all people have access to such sporting and events facilities but I was nevertheless impressed by the quality and cleanliness.
Above - a view from my hotel room of the ballet of trolleybuses, cars and people going somewhere. Pyongyang, DPRK - 21 Novembre 2019 - 7:47am
In 2019, the two weeks I spent in the DPRK or North Korea gave me only a glimpse of life there. I will certainly be back.
The two weeks I spent in the DPRK, mostly in Pyongyang were certainly a strong human experience like to be able to see an hermetic way of life and to teach the North Koreans. Their future is very much today in the hands of their leadership and international bodies but you never know, in some years, things could change with the potential reunification with the South, something both sides are looking forward to it. No one can really predict what the future holds but surely I can say that the humans have encountered deserve to be exposed more to what our world has to offer so they can hopefully influence their future and make a choice.
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© 2021 Alain Schneuwly. All Rights eserved.