On a recent trip to North Korea, photographer Michael Huniewicz took some illegal photos of North Korean life.
In the Western world we are taught that North Korea is a cruel dictatorship where the people suffer under the regime of Kim Jong Un. Since nobody is really allowed in North Korea, we have no way of knowing whether this is true. London-based photographer Michael Huniewicz aimed to change that when he visited, and snapped a bunch of illegal pics so we could see what life is really like in the Communist country.
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He describes the culture as bleak and unsettling. Tourists aren’t allowed to go anywhere without their tour guide, and their passports are confiscated when they reach their hotel. Most Western visitors are put up on the Yanggakdo Hotel, situated on an island where visitors aren’t allowed to leave on their own. The hotel also has no fifth floor, which many believe to be a floor dedicated to monitoring the other rooms. Huniewicz noted that the everyone seemed on edge, there were guards everywhere, watching everything, and that all North Koreans are forced to wear ‘leadership loyalty badges’ which feature portraits of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un.
In one of his more interesting illegal photos, the photographer snapped the inside of an off-limits grocery store, complete with nearly empty shelves, and apples that cost five dollars — which could explain why everyone is so malnourished.
One could argue that Huniewicz didn’t get an unbiased vision of actual North Korean life since he wasn’t able to venture out on his own, but what he did capture is bleak and stark, so one can only imagine the places in the country where visitors aren’t allowed to go.
