It has been almost a week since I came back from my trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The time has passed and I was in a constant state of confusion and despair. On my hard drive sits an archive of well around 500 images that preserve many of the memories that I’ve taken from this uncommon and oh-so different country. Now that it comes to the process of publishing these images I feel a huge responsibility sitting on my shoulders.
Great trip, blackouts and good company
On one hand I had a great time with my companion Daniel Harrington (@dangoodtravel) and our guide Shane Horan (@shaneohodrhrain) from Young Pioneer Tours. The local Korean KITC guides were lovely and welcoming people and went for great lengths to make my trip a great experience. I was so fortunate to get almost a private tour with just me and one more person.
I was allowed to places out of our planned itinerary, was able to roam the streets of Pyongyang with my camera to catch a glimpse of peoples everyday life. I picnicked in parks, on rooftops and in the backyards of public spaces where I had my share of Teadonggang beer and delicious Korean food. I laughed, danced and swam drunken in a pool by the middle of the night. Accompanied with smiles of Kim Jong Un and the rhythm of a military parade being broadcasted from the wall next to me.
I felt very safe throughout the trip despite one single moment where a blackout in the war museum left me back with a few hundred military recruits in total darkness. The looks they gave the potentially American imperialists after the lights turned back on reflected fear and confusion. I think so did mine.
When everything around is dark. What do you see?
On the other hand I got many impressions from this walled off country that I feel it is a huge burden to make a statement about the trip at all. The situation in this country is so very complex on different levels. Economically, politically, socially and not at last in regards to question of humanity. With the current media coverage talking about the case of Otto Warmbier and all the talk about missile tests and how the DPRK could be a threat to the rest of the world or the other way round from their perspective it feels I should not add to the already complicated situation with my minor subjective thoughts.
The best image I can come up with is this: I recently went diving on a day with almost no visibility. This country feels similar to the experience of being underwater and not being able to see further than the length of your arm. Also the conditions feel somehow imposed by nature. You can’t question visibility on a dive can you? So what can you tell someone about a complex ecosystem that you were almost not able to see at all?
It will take a while
So here I am. Torn. If I show only the pictures of the things I experienced it will not pay duty to the people who are suffering in this country. When I show negative images you could easily think I want to denigrate what I’ve seen. How much information can I provide after just one visit? There are experts on the topic who did great research. Published books and papers on the situation and did what not to make sure to pay respect to the situation. So please take everything you see with a grain of salt. If I could give out advice it would be very contradictory to what I’m going to do: Form your own image.
A single blog entry can hardly transfer all the information gathered. So I decided this will be an ongoing series.
A secluded place
This post is accompanied by images which I was able to capture in total silence and solitude on my last morning in Pyongyang. I was scheduled to see the monument to party founding at sunrise. So get up at 04:15 AM in the morning. Logistical problems prevented that from happening. So I was up in the morning and enjoyed a lengthy stroll around the premises of my hotel while everyone else was still asleep.
The Yanggakdo Hotel on the Yanggak island is the place where many foreign tourists will stay. The facade of the building and many other buildings are covered with mirrored windows. I found this particularly interesting. The walls with their concrete tiles and the reflecting windows made me think of the things I had seen in the previous 8 days. Sometimes things seemed obvious but you wanted to look behind the scenes which was somehow difficult or impossible by other limitations.
Propaganda and reality
Another aspect that I wanted to show with this images is the idea of barriers and secret places. Be it locks on emergency exit doors, bolted sewer caps or random persons approaching you to verify legitimation of being around. I will try to give as many impressions and information as possible to make sure the images are seen as what they are. A snapshot of spots in one of the most protected countries in the world.
I came to this county with a lot of questions. I got many answers. I left the DPRK with more questions unanswered and a long list of information to consume than I had when I arrived. I will keep posting images and stories throughout the next days or weeks. It may take a while to go through all this. But I’d be happy if you want to participate in my journey.
