The Meta-Anti-Propaganda In Photos I Took On My Trip To North Korea
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Conscious that the very idea of propaganda often stretches the truth (or the lie), I always wanted to experience empirically the land of North Korea.
This September I finally had the possibility of turning my will into reality, as I visited Pyongyang, DMZ, the Diamond Mountain and more. And it appears it doesn’t seem as bad as the world wants to convince you it is. A lot has changed since Kim Jong Un came to power.
Don’t get me wrong; I am aware that I had been shown only a part of this country. But even so, if you’re being told by someone that they’ve brought ‘illegal’ photos from DPRK, please note that for example taking photos in North Korea is as legal as taking it anywhere else in the world. Of course, you are limited as where to go by your security and the tight schedule of the trip, but other than that, you can take photos as far as your camera shoots them. And no action is taken against you taking them out of the country; I haven’t had the memory cards of my camera checked and neither did any other member of the group of my trip. Anyway, please enjoy a fraction of life in the DPRK!
More info: mruffs.blogspot.com
Me in the DMZ. What you can see behind me is the South Korea
Suburban areas of Pyongyang
Putong River on the way from the airport
Stainless railings and the quality of the road are ought to convince the tourists and new-comers of Pyongyang’s well being.
On my way to the hotel
Early afternoon in the Capital of North Korea
You think the British like to que? I think that the culture of queing in DPRK is even higher
Everyone’s standing in line and waiting for their turn, no pushing, no angry atmosphere, just politely waiting for the bus.
Even in the country of Eternal Sun, there happens to be a sunset
Do you really think that “Kim doesn’t want you to see these pictures”?
The entrance to one of many Funfairs in the Capital. Even in my hometown there is none!
Is it an avenue in the most socialist and usurper country in the world or a lane in Los Angeles? You tell me
Unfortunately, I don’t think you can call these buildings inhabited in a satisfactory degree.
The Kim-Ir-Sung Square. This is where all those parades you hear from the country’s national news happen
This is a view from my hotel window. It looks awesome, right?
Pyongyang by night. But don’t worry about wasting so much electricity. Everything is shut down about midnight.
Picturesque countryside. This is a photo you can call prohibited, as it depicts a soldier
But taking pictures of soldiers you can consider limited in most countries in the world, including the ones we call ‘civilized’.
Everyone can see the poverty, but it is not different than any other form most Asian countries
Don’t think his job is useless and created for the sole purpose of creating jobs in view of the socialist ideas. There is traffic; we are in a bus after all, aren’t we?
The main mean of transport is either by foot or by bike. That’s rather eco-friendly and Netherlandish of them, right?
There’s a big number of these kiosks with snacks and food articles around the country (that are either red or white)
A typical ‘traffic jam’. Notice the red flags that are waving by the road; it is quite a common view
Our bus we drove around the country with. Our guide, Song, is standing by the entrance. She spoke English and Russian and was pretty awesome
The Ninth Muse, and simultaneously a big love of Kim Jong Il
Folklore street in Pyongyang
You know what? Koreans also like to BBQ and are very hospitable. After all, I got a chicken leg, 100 ml of vodka in a yogurt cup and a little plate with spices
In many tourist stops, like this waterfall, new stands begin to appear with souvenirs and food
Picnicking Koreans
Now that’s a treat! During my stay I got the chance to take part in Pyongyang International Beer Festival
And yes, it is still in this ‘terrifying country’, not in Europe or US
I came across a group of children carrying flowers for the dear comrades Kim Ir Sung and Kim Jong Il
A bus stop. The city lacks benches, so Koreans tend to squat
The Ryugyong Hotel, or, as it is also called, The Ghost Hotel
Its construction begun in 1987 and as of 2016 it still remains unfinished and unopen.
The breathtaking Metro station inspired by Moscow’s underground masterpieces of architecture
Casual street view in Pyongyang
If you happen to see a car in DPRK the are always mind-blowing and dissonance-creating between them and the reality that surrounds them
The city is kept clean, but none of the work is done by automatic devices
These gentlemen not only are just doing the all-so-important job of holding posters in place, but they also closely watch the tourists
Somewhere in Korea
Even in the highest tourist point in one of the National Parks, there are already locals trying to make a living
The essence of world collision
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What you are showing here is a version of propaganda. You were only allowed to see certain places there, ones which the officials think will look quite good to other countries. It is just a form of cherry picking, which most people do with their holiday photos anyway. Plus your images of scenery don't say a thing about the quality of life for the citizens whose lives will be in constant poverty.
exactly, Tiny Dynamine! Also, only a select group of people get to live in the capital...
Everyone knows North Korean regime is crappy... but so is US regime, Israel's, Russia's, Iran's, India's, UK's, France's, China's, Pakistan's...etc. AND SOUTH KOREA. Just because you live in a world of capitalism and anti-communism is flourishing simply because the Capitalists won doesn't mean that those systems are better. After all, if you are a tourist you will always end up seeing the post card whether you were "guided" or not... Some countries are just better than others in hiding their sh** ;) Peace to all, be a traveler.
What North Korean defectors think of North Korea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyqUw0WYwoc
Yeah...go to for holidays. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/opinions/american-student-hard-labor-north-korea-cevallos/
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First, the post is called a meta-anti-propaganda for a reason. I am aware that I had seen only what the regime wanted me to see, but, as I mentioned before, I see that it is different than what is taught in my country. Second, I wanted to show, that the N. Korea is a place you can go to for holidays and not a super-protected, isolated prison, that no-one has access to. Some of my photos show the poverty of people living there; poverty, which is present in most Asian countries, in which the western world caused it to rise.
When you went to North Korea did they brain wash you? Because you keep telling people that the title “is called meta-anti-propaganda” but I was reading this hours ago and it has the same title as it did before and now 21 min ago you had a post saying bored panda changed it... On your tour did you see the work camps? No. Thats because they purposely didn’t bring you to one... You are just seeing through rose colored glasses. Don’t try to preach like you combed through every square inch of North Korea and declared to everyone that North Korea isn’t violating human rights... What your doing is minimizing the suffering of most(If not all) people who live in North Korea. “Poverty is present in most Asian countries, in which wester world caused it to rise.” Are you serious right now... I’m an American and if you don’t know we OWE China trillions of $$$$$. LOOK at this https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/north-korea
I can believe that there are two sides to society there but I also believe that the vast majority of North Koreans are starving, afraid every day and also off limits to western travellers. I know this is a little off-topic but this photo shows the difference between N and S Korea at night. It at least shows another kind of difference between the 2 countries. Night-Kore...e469d0.gif
I can't believe Bored Panda would agree to publish these pictures with this text. For the record, Nazi Germany also had pretty stunning monuments and food and beautiful landscapes; it was still a country that actively sought Jewish people and organised their mass-murder. Nobody cares about whether North Korea looks "nice" or if the food is amazing or if they have lovely blue rivers. It doesn't make it "not as bad as we believe". It's still a place where people have no rights, where there is no freedom of speech, where people are interned for having different political views, where tourists have to be followed by a guide everywhere they go, where rape is used as a weapon against female prisoners, where forced abortions are practiced, where there is forced labor (just like in Nazi work camps), where people cannot choose their religion. I struggle to see how it is "not that bad" and how it could be worse. But yay! You can picnic by the river and they even have a beer festival!
Thank you. It's amazing how so many people think that a proctored trip to North Korea gives them the right to ignore the first-hand accounts from refugees of the Nazi Germany scale atrocities that are going on there. It's exactly like going to Nazi Germany pre-WW2 and getting a official Josef Goebels tour of Berlin, and then coming back and saying, "All the media reports about the Jew are kinda wrong 'cause life is pretty good for the Germans." Naivety and egoism ("I've been to North Korea. So there.") all rolled into one.
Paul, can agree on that, as it was basically the way Germany was seen up until 1939. It was peaceful, everything was in order, after the economic and inner struggles after WWI and the collapse of the German empire, it was great. You had a job, no more civil war like scenes in the cities. You could live a rather comfortable life.... Well, as long as you weren't a jew, a communist, in the opposition or anyhow else opposed to the regime. And at the start of the regime North Korea was even ahead of South Korea when it came to economy and how comfortable the people lived. This changed especially after the downfall of the Soviet Union in the 90s, when North Korea was left with China as an allie. And to my knowledge this allieship has cooled down over the years. But yeah, the horrors of an oppressive dictatorship often show in between the lines, and rather subtle. These were also the experiences my father made during business travels in the German Democratic Republic.
Yes! As a refugee from a propaganda heavy country that did these tours, I'm really offended
But there are also people in North Korea in internment camps for crimes their ancestors committed so... yeah, maybe there's a reason we think it's bad.
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Alright, but there are also countries where children are slaving away in factories or for example the death penalty for minor offenders is in place, and still we don't tend to call them regimes, don't we?
you are delusional. only north Korea had not just children but entire family's that had dare to go against the regime or a parent committed a prohibited thing like try to run away out of the country.
When 911 happened, someone I know said "you care about this, but there are people dying every day in Africa and no one cares about that." That's what this comment sounds like to me. Anyway, it seems like you saw what you wanted to see. But I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!
It's obvious you worked hard on this project. I really think it would be helpful for you to do some research on real life in North Korea. I actually thought some of the picture comments were meant to be sarcasm as they seemed to be quite unrealistic to me. Good photos.
That's not really relevant, sorry. Markus is right there but this discussion is only about life in N. Korea. Have you read the book The Aquariums of Pyongyang? It is a story of life in N. Korea by a North Korean. It is brutal.
You're engaged in some pretty scary relational morals here. So hitler was just a misunderstood dude with bad ideas?
We should call them "state of unjustice", too. On the other hand, there is much to be improved in the Western world as well, and if you for example look at what Western countries do about Syria (or rather not do), there is also much to be ashamed of.
I'm not saying those aren't problems as well, but it's not quite the same thing. Also, sure we do! Though I'm not sure that the American government is quite comfortable calling China out on those things since they rely on them for so much trade. I think it's b******t how much power capitalism has.
What you are showing here is a version of propaganda. You were only allowed to see certain places there, ones which the officials think will look quite good to other countries. It is just a form of cherry picking, which most people do with their holiday photos anyway. Plus your images of scenery don't say a thing about the quality of life for the citizens whose lives will be in constant poverty.
exactly, Tiny Dynamine! Also, only a select group of people get to live in the capital...
Everyone knows North Korean regime is crappy... but so is US regime, Israel's, Russia's, Iran's, India's, UK's, France's, China's, Pakistan's...etc. AND SOUTH KOREA. Just because you live in a world of capitalism and anti-communism is flourishing simply because the Capitalists won doesn't mean that those systems are better. After all, if you are a tourist you will always end up seeing the post card whether you were "guided" or not... Some countries are just better than others in hiding their sh** ;) Peace to all, be a traveler.
What North Korean defectors think of North Korea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyqUw0WYwoc
Yeah...go to for holidays. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/opinions/american-student-hard-labor-north-korea-cevallos/
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
First, the post is called a meta-anti-propaganda for a reason. I am aware that I had seen only what the regime wanted me to see, but, as I mentioned before, I see that it is different than what is taught in my country. Second, I wanted to show, that the N. Korea is a place you can go to for holidays and not a super-protected, isolated prison, that no-one has access to. Some of my photos show the poverty of people living there; poverty, which is present in most Asian countries, in which the western world caused it to rise.
When you went to North Korea did they brain wash you? Because you keep telling people that the title “is called meta-anti-propaganda” but I was reading this hours ago and it has the same title as it did before and now 21 min ago you had a post saying bored panda changed it... On your tour did you see the work camps? No. Thats because they purposely didn’t bring you to one... You are just seeing through rose colored glasses. Don’t try to preach like you combed through every square inch of North Korea and declared to everyone that North Korea isn’t violating human rights... What your doing is minimizing the suffering of most(If not all) people who live in North Korea. “Poverty is present in most Asian countries, in which wester world caused it to rise.” Are you serious right now... I’m an American and if you don’t know we OWE China trillions of $$$$$. LOOK at this https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/north-korea
I can believe that there are two sides to society there but I also believe that the vast majority of North Koreans are starving, afraid every day and also off limits to western travellers. I know this is a little off-topic but this photo shows the difference between N and S Korea at night. It at least shows another kind of difference between the 2 countries. Night-Kore...e469d0.gif
I can't believe Bored Panda would agree to publish these pictures with this text. For the record, Nazi Germany also had pretty stunning monuments and food and beautiful landscapes; it was still a country that actively sought Jewish people and organised their mass-murder. Nobody cares about whether North Korea looks "nice" or if the food is amazing or if they have lovely blue rivers. It doesn't make it "not as bad as we believe". It's still a place where people have no rights, where there is no freedom of speech, where people are interned for having different political views, where tourists have to be followed by a guide everywhere they go, where rape is used as a weapon against female prisoners, where forced abortions are practiced, where there is forced labor (just like in Nazi work camps), where people cannot choose their religion. I struggle to see how it is "not that bad" and how it could be worse. But yay! You can picnic by the river and they even have a beer festival!
Thank you. It's amazing how so many people think that a proctored trip to North Korea gives them the right to ignore the first-hand accounts from refugees of the Nazi Germany scale atrocities that are going on there. It's exactly like going to Nazi Germany pre-WW2 and getting a official Josef Goebels tour of Berlin, and then coming back and saying, "All the media reports about the Jew are kinda wrong 'cause life is pretty good for the Germans." Naivety and egoism ("I've been to North Korea. So there.") all rolled into one.
Paul, can agree on that, as it was basically the way Germany was seen up until 1939. It was peaceful, everything was in order, after the economic and inner struggles after WWI and the collapse of the German empire, it was great. You had a job, no more civil war like scenes in the cities. You could live a rather comfortable life.... Well, as long as you weren't a jew, a communist, in the opposition or anyhow else opposed to the regime. And at the start of the regime North Korea was even ahead of South Korea when it came to economy and how comfortable the people lived. This changed especially after the downfall of the Soviet Union in the 90s, when North Korea was left with China as an allie. And to my knowledge this allieship has cooled down over the years. But yeah, the horrors of an oppressive dictatorship often show in between the lines, and rather subtle. These were also the experiences my father made during business travels in the German Democratic Republic.
Yes! As a refugee from a propaganda heavy country that did these tours, I'm really offended
But there are also people in North Korea in internment camps for crimes their ancestors committed so... yeah, maybe there's a reason we think it's bad.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Alright, but there are also countries where children are slaving away in factories or for example the death penalty for minor offenders is in place, and still we don't tend to call them regimes, don't we?
you are delusional. only north Korea had not just children but entire family's that had dare to go against the regime or a parent committed a prohibited thing like try to run away out of the country.
When 911 happened, someone I know said "you care about this, but there are people dying every day in Africa and no one cares about that." That's what this comment sounds like to me. Anyway, it seems like you saw what you wanted to see. But I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!
It's obvious you worked hard on this project. I really think it would be helpful for you to do some research on real life in North Korea. I actually thought some of the picture comments were meant to be sarcasm as they seemed to be quite unrealistic to me. Good photos.
That's not really relevant, sorry. Markus is right there but this discussion is only about life in N. Korea. Have you read the book The Aquariums of Pyongyang? It is a story of life in N. Korea by a North Korean. It is brutal.
You're engaged in some pretty scary relational morals here. So hitler was just a misunderstood dude with bad ideas?
We should call them "state of unjustice", too. On the other hand, there is much to be improved in the Western world as well, and if you for example look at what Western countries do about Syria (or rather not do), there is also much to be ashamed of.
I'm not saying those aren't problems as well, but it's not quite the same thing. Also, sure we do! Though I'm not sure that the American government is quite comfortable calling China out on those things since they rely on them for so much trade. I think it's b******t how much power capitalism has.