The photographer visited North Korea 6 times and showed what life is really like.

After publishing hundreds of photographs taken during six visits to North Korea, the famous photographer Eric Luffforg turned out to be an unwelcome guest in this super-isolated state. The government informed him of this after one incident. Once, during one of his trips to the DPRK, Lafforgue saw Spanish tourists in t-shirts with the image of Kim Jong Il and told a friend that they would hardly have worn such t-shirts somewhere in Barcelona. The Spaniards heard a conversation between the photographer and his friend and told their guide about this. A month after returning home, the French photographer received a letter with screenshots of his photographs and a message stating that North Korea does not like the pictures and that he can no longer return to the country.

"The North Korean regime controls everything that goes beyond the country- says Eric. - Even me, when they allowed me to take a photo of smiling children, because it is good for the state. I took these pictures because there really are some people who are happy there, and I wanted to document this. North Koreans are brainwashed, but they live like other people around the world. ".

Eric Luffforth shared personally selected photographs from his extensive collection of photographs about North Korea.

This is Pyongyang Airport, where Lufforg flew.

All tourists must travel around the country with a guide. Lafforgue says that usually guides show tourists more than journalists, so the photographer always introduces himself as a tourist.

Mass Games are held here annually to tell the story of North Korea. They include complex synchronized performances, and taking part in them is considered a great honor.

April 15 North Koreans celebrate Kim Il Sung's birthday. More than 100 thousand dancers participate in the performance in the main square.

Luffforg says North Korea has changed a lot since his first visit here in 2008. The only thing that has not changed is the mode.

Many North Koreans today have goods from China - computers, DVD players, clothes. However, the children still do not know who Mickey Mouse is.

Portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are everywhere.

Entrance to the Pyongyang Flower Festival.

Pyongyang and other cities host many entertainment fairs.

Emotional scenes between two lovers are very rare in North Korea. Often men and women have almost no contact in public.

Lufforg says that there are a lot of twins and triplets without parents in the country, they live in a shelter. The fact is that parents cannot afford to support two or three children at the same time.

Most children are enrolled in "pioneer" programs. They should, for example, help in the fields.

North Korean men must spend at least 6 years in the army. During this service, they have minimal contact with their families.

On special occasions, North Koreans wear special plastic flowers called kimjonglia.

Despite the fact that many Koreans today have mobile phones, they can only call internal numbers, and calls abroad are still prohibited.

The photographer captured how North Koreans rest near the Chilbo Sea.

This couple is one of the families that hosted Lafforgue and other tourists in their beach village.

The director of the beach village shows Luffford a photo of his son, who, according to him, will remain in the army until the reunification of Korea.

Pyongyang could become a city for privileged residents.

But many houses are very old, they do not have heating and water.

During his sixth visit, the photographer finally managed to visit Chongjin in the north of the country, where he saw many cases of extreme poverty.

During this trip, guides took cameras from him and other tourists.

Twice Luffforge was strictly forbidden to take photos.

Eric says he likes to take pictures of North Korea because he likes to take pictures of sincere emotions. "They are not robots"- says the photographer about North Koreans.

Watch the video: 9 Secrets Of Life Inside North Korea Revealed In Banned Footage (May 2024).