they seem very proud

Take a look at picture number 21. Some of the soldiers in that picture look so much alike that I, at first thought I was seeing double. Maybe it's the hunger, and sadness, that makes them so much alike. I'm glad my husband didn't see these pictures. He served in Korea, and had great impathy for the Korean people. This would brake his heart. I know he wanted things to be better there.

Posted by ALV , Sept. 18, 08- 5:55

Incredible contrast of almost deserted cities or roads (as far as traffic is concerned) and "everyone" participating in the pageantry of the patriotic parades and commemorations

thanks many thanks fot those pictures and for your words too. i don't believe they are happy nor those mass parades are made with love or joy. i believe art comes from heart (evil or love) not from governement

Wow... So many thoughts going through my head right now..

First, Eric, I'm blown away. Some of these pictures are stunningly beautiful. Since you have pictures here by other truly talented photographers as well, please give them my regards and thanks.

Second, I think we in the western parts of the world (which I pretty much guarantee we all are, those of us that has commented upon these pictures..), need to see these kinds of pictures every now and then. Allthough I am immensely glad that I live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, I must agree with some of the contributors that has commented on these pictures.
I believe we have "lost" something in the west, in our search for wealth and riches and fortune. What the North Koreans have, is a sense of fierce unity, a feeling of belonging and "safeness" which we in the west certainly lack. Since they most likely don't know any other way of life either, I'm not sure they themselves feel sorry for their own situation. OK, they might not have enough food or medical equipment, and that is truly tough, but if we choose to not take that into consideration, I believe they have a more profound sense of peace than we will ever have. At least that's the feeling I get from some of these pictures.

That being said, these pictures fill me with such profound awe, including number thirty. Her face in this picture gives me the feeling of a little girl, almost, JUST having finished her recital / dance / perfomance of some sort, and she knows she has done it correctly and well, and she is so pleased to have pleased the audience. It's alomst like she's thinking "I didn't screw up. I didn't screw up..", and she beams that wonderfully happy and slightly uncertain smile at the photographer.. Truly moving.

Thanks again for a stunning set of pictures.

Best. Photoblog. Ever.

Great BIG pictures! Showing what socialism can do for you!

nice photo this time.

Amazing photos as always

All those millions of lives being wasted. If only they knew what existed in the outside world. They have the look of cavemen seeing something for the first time. It all boils down to one thing: dominance over the citizens by one man, one ideology...that's the REAL crime in NK. Beautiful, talented people and place; their "government", phffft!! Thanks for the great pictures!

Looking at the vastness of that highway I feel like I have a greater understanding now of what it means to live in North Korea than I ever had before.

Thank you for the pictures - they are the warning for all of us - they are a good example of what might happen if people give up their rights completely and let the government take them wherever it pleases.
For those people who commented above that these people might be happier than the westerners - don't be so idealistic and critical to your own systems. Yes people can adjust to any hardships and dictators and learn to live happy with what little they have - but it will be a much more basic kind of life, with no real self-expression, a life with little to no choice. It is possible to have this kind of happiness in the capitalistic society too - many people are just perfectly happy performing some basic tasks and enjoying simple pleasures, but you can also choose to aspire to greater things, you can create and be unique - which way you choose in life is usually up to you. Many people though fail or refuse to see this freedom - many are just not comfortable with taking responsibility for their own actions and prefer to give up and let their government think for them - which is possibly why we have communist states and extreme consumerism like in US - here if people just stopped buying crap and listening to TV crap, trying instead to think for themselves, they'd be much better off. At least they still have that choice.
To #91: "What the North Koreans have, is a sense of fierce unity, a feeling of belonging and "safeness" which we in the west certainly lack." -- how safe would you feel if you knew that your own children might be spying on you? Yes, N. Koreans are united -- by the fierce fear and mass paranoia. This is a perverse and inhuman system.
BTW, I used to live in Belarus which is a dictatorship alright - at least over there people can complain all they want to each other about the government and what not - yet unable to change anything.

I was there in 2007, and this is a very accurate representation of what you will encounter.

You have to wonder who is brainwashed judging by the comments here. I dont see anyone starving or any less happy in those photos or the three border crossing ive seen from china. They just look like normal well-fed people.

Perhaps you are just seeing the bias Western media has taught you to see?
Ever noticed the Honda moped or the toyotas and mercedes and chinese goods trains? The north korean students studying in china?
is that the isolation you speak of?
It looks better off than much of rural china.
You know that China GDP per capita only surpassed the NPRK a few yrs ago?

I believe we have "lost" something in the west, in our search for wealth and riches and fortune. What the North Koreans have, is a sense of fierce unity, a feeling of belonging and "safeness" which we in the west certainly lack. Since they most likely don't know any other way of life either, I'm not sure they themselves feel sorry for their own situation. OK, they might not have enough food or medical equipment, and that is truly tough, but if we choose to not take that into consideration, I believe they have a more profound sense of peace than we will ever have. At least that's the feeling I get from some of these pictures.

Yes, let's not take the shortage of food and medical equipment into consideration and go by the "feeling" we get from looking at a bunch of pictures. It's always nice to be able to look at pictures of the less fortunate online and pontificate about how "profound" their miserable lives are . We've lost something in the West by our search for "wealth, riches and fortune?" Tell that to the North Koreans eating tree-bark. The country is run by a debauched lunatic, who lives a life of luxury that would make the richest scumbag western capitalist blush. Meanwhile his people are starving to death.
Yes, a "profound sense of peace" is wonderful, when you've resigned yourself to the status of livestock.
The country is one of the most horrifying places on the planet, hands down. Those pictures are great -- they indeed show lots of beautiful human beings. But they're not "beautiful human beings" because they're North Koreans. They're "beautiful human beings" because they're beautiful human beings.

And human beings, beautiful or not, deserve a hell of a lot better.

looks like 1984......waiting for 1776 to arrive...hopefully sooner than later.

As someone who has studied the histories and societies of most of the world's dictatorships, nothing surprises me about these photos. What scares me, however, is the amazing number of people on the comment list who are so mind-bogglingly stupid that they can say things like "it's their way of life" (as if it was something they got to choose) or how wonderful it is that they aren't obese, or about how being a slave is great because it stops you from being "materialistic". It's that kind of fatuous, spoiled-brat ignorance that made Auschwitz possible. The photos are superb, and to anyone with even an ounce of humanity or common sense, tell enough to condemn the regime. But they of course do not come close to revealing the full truth death camps and famine.

For those who do not know, since 1995, over 3.5 million North Koreans have died of starvation, not starvation-related issues. Communism did that. And most of them were children. It is truly sad to see those who are lionizing the state of North Korea; it only confirms dearth of humanity in them. Did someone say they were happy? No, they are not happy, not because they lack things, but because they lack innate freedom which they cannot exercise. Fyi, ever since the introduction of communism, over 110 million people were killed because of it - and mostly by their own freaking governments! So enjoy your freedom and pray for those who do not.

Amazing. good insight!

it's different from China.

#19 - I take it as great pride that it would be near impossible to get that many people to stand still for that picture in any western society. You would just never see pictures like this that DON'T come from a Stalinist society.

#2, #4 - Still, what a beautiful, beautiful countryside.

#30 - I suppose that even a girl in a fully repressive country can look happy an invigorated at a dance. Very beautiful. Sad that they are only allowed to enjoy that sort of thing for an hour.

#15 - Made me sad. There is a look of nervousness in her face, as if she doesn't trust... as if getting her picture taken scares her.

Between the countryside photos and the city photos I go between the feelings that I am looking at pictures from 17th century Europe, and Post Apocolyptic End of the World Omega Man City Life. Everything looks either empty and primitive, or run down and void of life... as if I'm an archiologist in a thousand years looking back at human cities that were abandoned or destroyed.

why would anyone by smiling?

real people (other than americans who are like a nation of Johnny Cabs from Total Recall) don't smile 24/7

I am relatively new visitor to this site. I am really overwhelmed by the images that gets posted in this website. I was always curious to see how is life in North Korea. These beautiful images just gave me what I wanted to see. I guess there is more than what meets the eye. I am from India and I know what freedom of choice means, I am really feel sorry that people there dont have that freedom of making choice. Both have pros and cons.

I dont think ANY country displays more patriotism and devotion to the nation than North Korea. This fascinating photoblog is evidence that the more patriotism a country displays, the worse that country treats its people.

Incidentally, America has been a lot more patriotic lately.

Yeah it is sad they don't have a Walgreens on every corner where there isn't a Starbucks. Or a Wal-Mart every 5 miles to buy crap that is used once or a very short period of time and then discarded or pushed aside in a cluttered house or garage. They don't get to throw away 10 million paper cups and napkins a day or have all the ground and air pollution that comes with it.

Where are all the beggars and people without health insurance or educational opportunities? Where are the dead lakes and rivers? Where are the millions of forgotton minorities?
However, like us, they do seem to favor being led by tyrants with very little education.

Amazing Photography - Perhaps I should google "Eric Lafforgue" and ad him to my Facebook

I saw North Koreans on only one occasion and they were absolutely mirthless, and seemingly devoid of emotion.
I can't imagine a society, not engaged in war, that is more unhappy and degraded by totalitarianism.
Their abject poverty only adds to the misery. A very tough situation.
These photos are very striking, especially so the ones that capture the expressions of the faces in groups.
I find my eyes drawn to the eyes of different individuals and wondering about their lives and their thoughts.
Strong stuff I would like to see more.

Propaganda= meant to send a message by the sender that things are as the sender is saying. By the way, some defectors to North Korea end up living in the propaganda village as a show that they chose "the right life to live." The only thing is that you can be sure that you are watched even more carefully there than in other places.
The place is indeed lovely but not so good for growing food as it is quite mountainous and suffers bad floods at the wrong time "cooking" the rice in the field if it doesn't just wash away. Every year, the North Korean government threatens military actions in exchange for aid. Much like a staving dog that begs for food but growls even as it does so.
Lots of older South Koreans speak sadly of the North. Many soldiers have wondered if they could fight people who look much like themselves. They have even wish the North could join them. Yet, I didn't hear them say they wanted to join the North.
These great pictures show me the same thing I remember thinking and talking about before when I was stationed in South Korea for a year. I am glad to be in the United States.

I was there last year and spent every day touring the country. At first it was quite intimidating and I was very judgemental. By the end of my time, I came to see things from a very different perspective. First off, you have to understand that even though the vast majority is in the military, does not mean that they spend everyday training to shoot others. Since this is a communist country everyone in the military is required to do all the work of the country, such as building roads, bridges, disaster relief, putting in sewer systems, construction, etc. Remember this is not a capitalistic country where someone sets up a construction company. Thus, the woman is probably on her way home. Second, just because you don't smile doesn't mean you're not happy. My parent's wedding photo and many of their photos of their time show them not smiling. Not smiling is very common in Korean photos of the first generation. Third, their very simple self reliant lifestyle also means a lack of greed, lack of divorce, lack of homelessness, lack of employment, lack of murder, lack of immorality, lack of pollution, etc. Of course it has its faults as a culture, but the people I got to know were very happy and enjoyed the relationships in their community. Their country is heavily mountainous and terrible for growing crops with the monsoon seasons. If they had enough food though and in my humble opinion the freedom to worship God freely, this would be a very simple and peaceful place to live. History shows us how often we demonize cultures for what we don't know or understand, the Native Americans, the African Americans, Asians, Southerners, Northerners, etc. Perhaps it would behoove us to try to understand, before we make judgements. God bless.

I was there in the early 1950's. Given the chance, they would be just like us - in some cases that would be too bad. I was involved in a very tight and difficult situation, and had to kill four of their soldiers over 55 years ago, and I still have to carry that luggage around. It is not fun. People are people, only their environments are different. We should be thankful for what we have, but we are definitely not perfect. South Koreans and North Koreans were virtually the same. Only their uniforms were different. They all had families and cared about them.
North Korea has changed. Structurally, it has been a vast improvement, but socially it is hurting. Except for the village at the bottom of picture 2, that is how I remember Korea. I remember the devastation and the cold winters.

Totally fascinating to see somewhere that isn't globalized. Amazing that the main photographer managed to take these shots too.

of all the pics, you only see one with a person smiling. Sad...

By looking and the previous knowledge i had from north Korean people,they are a people with great potential in everything.even much more than the south Koreans. The only thing has been the western & specially US has made them so isolated that had kept them far behind from other countries.We all know that if North Korea was a country with reach resources like oil&............. the US would have been there for 10 years and they were more developed than Japan.

I think it is funny here with some of the comments by people like John P. They went over there, bought into the propaganda, and export that view to their home countries. I assume N.Korea didn't let you visit their giant gulags or speak to people who spent lives there for petty offenses. It is amazing what people will excuse as "culture". I suggest people read up on first-hand accounts of individuals who have fled the country and can speak their mind without fear of having their family taken off never to be seen again.

Someone also said there are "worst places than North Korea" as an excuse as well. Kind of like how beating women is better than beating children, right? North Korea is one of the worst countries on the face of the planet with the most brutal, evil regimes that crush anything that doesn't just get in their way...a mere hint that it could get in the way will result in crushing.

A photo tour of South Korea may offer a bit of context for those who want to stick up for North Korea's culture differences.

i love pic 30. It's haunting and she's beautiful.

I was in North Korea during the war (Police Action ? Thousands of people are a lot to die in a socalled police action) and North Korea certainly hasn't changed much.
About the only difference is the lack of american troops.They still have hunger and the look of fear on people's faces.I was there in 1951-1952.

Being from the USA doesn't mean that you are brainless and mindless and endlessly materialistic. Some, true. But not all. I wish for these people the same thing I wish for all people. Freedom to think and spend every free moment feeling and thinking and doing whatever gives them peace. I applaud the photography and the opportunity to see another way of life, and maybe my country's way is not the perfect way, but it's the best way I know of. I would love to take all of the people in your photos and show them Stone Mountain, Georgia, the lights of Times Square, and a Starbucks. I would love to take them to get their first automobile of their very own and tell them they can go anywhere they want to. any time they want to, and with anyone they want to. And yes, welcome to McDonalds!!!

I live in Venezuela; as I looked at these pictures, I wonder what our beautiful country could be turn out if we don't make a difference during the next ellection process.

It's so sad that the project of our illegal president is to make a socialist-comunist system and destroy our democracy.

This november 23th we won't let this to happen!

Wonderful Job Boston Globe. You are to be Commened. I served a year on duty on the DMZ. with the 8th Army 2nd I.D. "In front of them all" ,You have shown the SAD truth. To be there makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. The tention is very TIGHT to say the least. The South Koreans are so nice to us, and the North have been brain washed completely into thinking that we want to do them harm. "Peace is more than the absence of WAR." Please keep up the GOOD work "BOSTON" for showing the World the TRUTH! Signed..a New England EX GI from CONCORD NH.. GOD BLESS THE USA.

i live in Iran
this pictures are like my country.
aftar see this picture i feel so sad.
but
what can we do?
.
.
.
nothing

Breath-taking pictures. Freedom is the only way. Cheers from Argentina.

³Q§ô¿£ªº¦Û¥Ñ..«ÜÃø·Q¹³³o¼Ë¤@­Ó¦a¤è...

tanta pompa tanta megalomania e o povo morrendo de fome de militares paranóicos vigiando uns aos outros my god it is sick

I grew up in a communist state: Cuba. To all the people who said they would like to live in North Korea or that the world should follow a communist path I have two comments:
1) Please, go to those countries and live like one more citizen of it. Go to Cuba and live like a regular Cuban, with little food and no democracy or freedom. Or better yet, go to North Korea where if you leave that country they incarcerate the family members one left behind and treat them like they used to treat people in concentration camps. Please, go and live in those communist countries and you wouldn't even have the freedom to see anything on the web.
2) Please, stop being brainwashed. I think you guys will do the world a favor if you trade your current way of life with one of those poor people living in North Korea or Cuba.
Arriba Venezuela y Arriba Cuba!!!!

Wether you made it on purpose or not, the contrast between the last to pictures is just great. Keep up the good work, the future would be even darker without people like you.

Charliat > n'est-il pas temps de s'affranchir des barrières nationales et linguistiques ?

nostalgia from SSRS times

Merci pour ce magnifique reportage

The very first picture says it all. Each person is merely reduced to a pixel.

COMMUNISM SUCKS

Very nice, must be a beautiful contry.

bad images can't you give us another?!

And we were wondering where the bridge to nowhere went!

It is particularly hard to dissociate ourselves from the unrelenting propaganda machines from both sides. Underneath it all is the fact that even under the most opressive political situations, the human spirit survives. You can look at these photos and infer from it what you will, but more than likely we are just re-affirming what we want to think.

I spent a lot of time in Poland. I've found that the only way to understand someone's situation is visit them in their home. That is the place where true happiness (or misery) comes out.

N.Korea and Cuba, the last two cominists paradise.

amazing what North Korea could do in its crappy state, amazing to see what Korea could do unified under a normal libertarian democracy.

´ë´ÜÈ÷ ÊïÞóÇÕ´Ï´Ù! Very interesting and thought-provoking within the parameters permitted.

North Korea suffers from shortages of many things. However, looking at these excellent photos, one thing there appears to be no shortage of in North Korea is beautiful women.

i wanna go there too!

Glad to see most of the people posting here skipped past thoughts of torture, media blackouts, 10 year mandatory military service, starvation, cannibalism, gulags, and child malnutrition to get into the real important task of America bashing.

Wait till the US influence on this planet ends, sh*theads.. then you can start China bashing, or Russia bashing... whoever runs your miserable life for you at that point.

I was brought up in a very strick family. When I did anything wrong, bang, I get punnished quite bad....one brother of mine got punched by Dad, his molar flew out. These faces i see here, remind me of my childhood...most times expressionless and when it was safe (no authorities around), boy, we light up so bright. You know which picture i like the most....the front row of marching women soldiers. I experience they look respectful, fierce, dangerous, charming and sexy. Dare I say no more. much love, tommy

THE PICTURES WERE GREAT

The ignorance displayed in these posts is simply ASTOUNDING.

http://freekorea.us/2007/02/18/holocaust-now-looking-down-into-hell-at-camp-22/

Please research before supplying Kim Jong-Il even more justification for his propaganda.

may ALLAH give u more strong thinks.

Great pics! So sad to read comments of pitiful people how think Stalin was a genious instead of a mass murderer. The U.S. is not perfect by any means but having travled the world I've yet to find a place I'd rather be!

Absolutely wonderful, thepictures , that is.

Joan VAnce

The higher ups is North Korea are class traitors!!!!!!

Why does the author of the captions feel it necessary to point out that certain soldiers are female? Does he think we can't tell? Why not point out that others are male?

@ Karoo
I grew up in South Korea with the threat of war constantly looming (at least in the eighties). I don't know if we can really say whether these folks are happy or not. I agree that what constitutes as happiness in 'developed' countries can be quite a fallacy, but to say that these people are safe from being killed or feel safe from being killed we do know is false. Secret police patrol throughout all parts of their society and misspeaking or falling out of place can be lethal for someone or their entire family.

Likewise, the massive food shortages that face this country is staggering. The shear irony that the government relies on their capitalist 'enemies' (South Korea and the US) to provide aid to them to feed their population is astonishing. The happiness felt by these people is the kind of happiness that comes from reducing one's necessities down to a survival lifestyle which could hardly be called a life at all. I understand that materialism has pervaded much of our lifestyle in the West, but this is the opposite extreme. A balance must be struck in both societies.

while there is great repression in North Korea, it is always wise to remind ourselves that people are people, and while the citizens of North Korea are indeed completely shielded from the outside world, and manipulated and propagandized within their country, the regular people also have regular lives and desires as all people do. They may not realize the extent to which they have been closed off, but to read comments about how people are amazed that they still have spirit in them is at best a bit naive. Anywhere in the world, people need to retain their spirit, otherwise they would not want to continue living, and certainly would not be able to hold a society together, no matter how much we may despise their political system.

Someone wrote a comment witch said that comunism is good that he/she had a good childhood in comunist Romania. Well comunist romania was the most free kind of comnist in the world Ceausescu drifted away from Russian rule...people were allowed long hair , and clothes that where in style at those times , and they could listen to rock music popular at the time , in the 1980s Ceausescu went crazy and paranoic , he crumbled the economy poverty took over ad the people grew restless. Ceausescu thought that he was threatend and had "Militia" undercover all over the place. Becouse of this the people began to hate him and it led to the revolution. Nord Coreea is a tolaly diffrent story .Comunist Romania compared to N.Koreea is like comapring America to Ieaq....N.Koreea is HEll on earth...people are tortured to death , death pnalty is as common as bread is to you...they have the worst kind of tortures, your whole family is heald responsible for your act, there are reeducation camps ad all kind of horrid things like every 2 ore something hours large speakers blast patriotic sound all over the cities . Ghet documented before comparing things you ignorant people

There are 12 photos of soldiers here. Seven just show men, and the men are labeled "soldiers," with no reference to gender. Four just show women, and the women are labeled "female soldiers." One is an aerial view that makes it hard to determine sex of the people marching, and they are simply labeled "soldiers." It's one thing to see this kind of language on the 1960s-set TV show "Mad Men," but this is the 21st Century. We have many men and women in the American armed forces, and many men and women clearly serve in North Korea's military. If you're going to single out the people you photograph by sex, at least by equal opportunity about it. I'm disappointed in you, Boston Globe.

nice0000000000000000000

LOOKING AT THOSE PICTURES REMINDS ME WHEN I WAS A CHILD
GROWING UP IN HITLERS GERMANY, ONE DAY WE HAVE TO TEACH
THOSE TIRANS A LESSON , I SEE NO DIFFERENCE BOTH DICTATORS
CALL THEM KIM OR ADOLF BOTH ARE CRIMINALS . THANK GOD WE
GOT ADOLF, HOPE KIM IS NEXT AND BEAUTIFUL NORTH AND SOUTH
KOREA CAN BE ONE COUNTY AGAIN BE ABLE TO LIVE FREE AND TRAVEL
FROM NORTH TO SOUTH AND TO THE REST OF THE WORLD

Having traveled the world (for which I am grateful), I am amazed at how many people have an image of America (and American people) that seemed shaped by the defensive and anti-American propaganda of their own cultures...or by the images that they get from American movies and media which in a free society is almost all critical or sensationalist.

It reminds me of a Russian family of immigrants that my church was helping. As the father loved coffee and was looking forward to having it always available, on my first day with them, I took him to a grocery store. He spent an hour and a half, looking at bean coffee, and fresh-ground blends, instant, freeze-dried, caf and decap, flavored, from Kenya to Jamaica to rain-forest free-trade, with percolator, drip and filter blends...and all in different sizes and at different prices. He finally left, without making a purchase, shaking his head and complaining of a headache from all the confusing choices. Later that day, I tried to explain searching for an apartment, obtaining homeowner's insurance, the concept of insurance, and shopping for furnishings. The next day we had sessions on job-hunting, benefits, employment policies, life insurance, health insurance, disability, workers comp and filling out employment applications. Long story-short: After 6 weeks they left America and went back "home where everything was simpler".

Ilyen lepukkant negyedeket nálunk, Salgótarjánban is lehet fényképezni.
That kind of ravaged quartier you can find where i live, in Salgótarján too.

Those who say that they would like to go, or even approve what NK is, are so ingenuous, so naive. Those people are suffering. I grew up in Cuba until my 26th, just 2 month ago, and you can't imagine how much your live is dictated there. And I am pretty sure that it is nothing compared to NK. The reality is that those of the government are not so communist, they are opportunists. And need to keep things going the same way so they can continue "enjoying the communism." Forget it, you will never understand. Just stop supporting the slavery.

IF THERE IS ANYBODY HERE DEFENDING THIS SISTEM OR RELATIVISING THE "POOR WAY OF LIFE" OF THEESE PEOPLE JUST WATCH TO THE BBC REPORT OF NORTH KOREAN DISPLAYED ON YOUTUBE. THEN COME BACK AND WRITE ANOTHER POST.

Where the cars? That is not a life.......

For a country so technologically impaired they have done we cannot, remove religion and god. Two thumbs up for them.

To 159: "Female" soldiers are mentioned probably because for the majority of the world it is not normal and unusual to see girls on AA guns.
The real brainwashing is to adopt into people's head that it is normal to send woman into gunfight. It is against Nature.

I CAN ALMOST SEE ADOLPH HITLER IN THE BACKGROUND IN MOST OF THESE PHOTOS. IT APPEARS THAT THIS COUNTRY IS READY FOR WAR AT ANY TIME. WAR IS WRONG & WE ALL KNOW THAT. PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE GUIDED OR FORCED TO THINK THIS IS A NATURAL WAY TO EXIST & LIVE. THERE SHOULDN'T BE A NEED TO BE SO PREPARED FOR WAR. PEACE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING & SHOULD BE PRACTICED EVERYWHERE HUMANS EXIST. HOWEVER, THE COLORFUL DISPLAYS SHOWN DURING THEIR CEREMONIES.SHOW THAT THEY DO RECOGNIZE SOME FORM OF BEAUTY. O HO

if they are unhappy why they are trying escape to South korea? On this pictures we can see most ppl from towns. Did you see these ppl in a villige? they look at least unhappy. N Korea is full of paradox. e.g they wanna finish hotel for 3000 toursits when they got 1.5 k tourist per year.
Great photos.

http://www.eikongraphia.com/wordpress/wp-content/Fishy%20McFish.jpg

As I viewed the photo's, I could'nt help but feel drawn into them, and experiencing a strong feeling of dispare! When of course realizing I was, were I am, that feeling became a sense of warmth realizing God's gift to all humanity should be what we enjoy here in North Americca "PEACE"!!! I am Canadian and have traveled much of the world, but have only come close to what your pictures portray on a few occasions. It's too bad we can't show them to ALL, of the citizens of the free would, thus "maybe" letting them know how lucky we truly are!

All of you Marxist are only seeing the "utopian" pictures. What you don't see is all the torture that is going on behind the scenes. Remember Pol Pot? Remember how many people Stalin tortured and killed (makes Hitler look like a puppy dog)?

If I could go back in time, I would have eliminated Marx, Ingels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Che, Castro, Chavez, Sung while they were young adults. Maybe only then, Communism would have never been created.

Those of you who believe in Marxist ideals and think everyone "wants" that, are FOOLS!

Beautiful pictures, but ... a lot of the comments by Eric are factually incorrect.

Having lived in North Korea, I can also say that there is plenty of smiling there, and plenty of unhappiness, too. Just like everywhere else I've lived. The photos by David Gray show the Korea I remember.

This country awesome

GOD! WHat is this?? Is it that humans be the prototype for PCs????

How could people be happy if they're not allowed to know what is happening in the World?

Very fine.Bravo

May I suggest that those who think these photos portray an idealic life, go to a library and look at the photos of life in Germany in the late 1930's, or the USSR in the 50's (see NY Time Moscow Bureau Cheif Kedrick's book The Russians for an unvarnished view). Everyone was content and enjoying life. Well, maybe not everyone, but those people didn't make it into the approved pictures. One difference between Adolph and Kim,is that Kim is more of an equal opportunity oppressor. I wonder, was the photographer allowed to go anywhere he wanted and photograph anything and anyone without a guide, and then take all his pictures out of the country without review by the autorities.

To all of you, who think, that people suffer in N.Korea - I agree. But think about, how much we suffer in our so much advertised "western way of life". I grew up in former socialist Yugoslavia, sure we did not have many things, but as a kid I did not have any wish for them, because I did not know them. Brainwashed? Maybe.
But so are the children in the west today - in the opposite direction. We must have this, we must have that, it has to be good for me, because it was shown on TV. Common, kapitalist western life is also a kind of repression, only with money, not guns. Think of the many people that live in traylors in the US. We as the former socialist country use them only for vacation by the seaside. Think of that, you free Americans. I think it is tragic, that people have to live in trailors. And it is all caused with the endless struggle for more money.... By selling nothing you must earn a lot. That is why the finance system colapsed....

Wonderful pictures.
And wonderfully naîve comments, most likely from Americans, that these people must be sad, poor, and miserable because they dont have freedom.
If you really think about it, you probably suffer a lot more than them.
They don't have to worry about their work, food, health, mortgage or being killed anytime they leave their house (or even when they dont).
Sure, they don't have the freedom, but they don't know it and probably don't miss it.

I really do not not propose that kind of government that they have, but who say your way is the right way?

same..

sad

Ñïàñèáî!

@ post 180

"They don't have to worry about their work, food, health, mortgage or being killed anytime they leave their house (or even when they dont)."

You're kidding me, right? They've been having famines and you say they don't have to be worried about food? Get real.

It's impresive how the comunist ideology has frozen the country to avoid total caos. As I see it you put a little democracy into a country like that and total caos would ensure. They are living with bread crums and they still behave, not like in african countries where people have horrible wars or like in india where there is mass suicide. Frozen, it's like frozen in time but I wonder if it would be any better if that control was removed, maybe it's their organization that avoids a total collapse of their society by things like crime and riots. I do not think any other kind of governmente could work if no more resources are available and with this world in crisis I doubt they will have it. I see it as an imposible society frozen in time.

we really need 17th century

so AMAZING !!!