How to get a 'rare glimpse' of North Korea

Google “rare glimpse North Korea” and you will quickly find that the articles promising to show “unique”, “ground-breaking” images from inside the country are not so rare after all.

With so little information coming out of the country these images, often captured by tourists on tightly organised trips, claim to show the real North Korea but rarely provide extra insights.

The ethics of North Korea’s tourist trade are hotly debated – some say any interaction with the outside world has to be a good thing while others have reservations about contributing to a strictly authoritarian regime. But its a growing industry with an estimated 6,000 westerners and hundreds and thousands from neighbouring China visiting every year.

The border has been closed to foreign visitors since closed since October due to fears over the Ebola virus, though travel company Young Pioneer Tours have suggested that it may reopen on the 1 April.

So can tourists planning future visits return with anything valuable? Or are we likely to see the same old photos churned out again and again?

NK News spoke to Pierre Depont, a tourist who has just put together a video from a recent visit to find out what constitutes a “rare glimpse” and how one might obtain it. One of the biggest challenges, he says, is the other tourists that get in the way.

What are the challenges of filming in North Korea?

Bar the obvious restrictions of not being able to film people in uniform and scenes of poverty, the main challenge is the pace of the tourist tours. There is very little time to take photos. Also, being in a group is difficult – trying to keep tourists out of shot and constant camera flashes when you’re inside buildings. Everything you see is what the North Koreans want you to see and this is reflected in my work. It’s hard to get natural, every-day shots.

What was the most interesting aspect of your trip?

The journeys and the people are the most interesting. The destinations and sites are pretty boring and painful. What surprised me most the last time I went was going onto a new restaurant boat in Pyongyang; it just seemed surreal with its popcorn stalls, a swanky bar full of top brand spirits, stylish air hostesses serving our food and locals enjoying an expensive day out. I extended my tour by a day and went to a very posh pub-lounge above a small supermarket nicknamed “Waitrose” by some. What made these places interesting is that they were full of locals who seemed disconnected from their country.

Did you run into trouble trying to film?

On three occasions I had my camera checked. Once I had photos deleted that were taken at the airport near Chongjin – they were of MiG fighter jets so I couldn’t complain. On the last night of my tour I was discreetly asked to bring my camera down so my Korean guide could look at my photos. She said that our bus driver up in the north of the country had seen me take photos from the bus. Camera checks seemed to be more of a formality, they didn’t seem that interested in the photos but wanted to be seen doing it.

There are so many ‘rare glimpses’ being published by tourists and journalists, what makes yours stand out?

It was the first time any tourist, including the western guides, travelled from Hamhung to Chongjin and back (sleeping on the train). Having been there on previous occasions made it easier for me to film as I knew how much to push the guides. This enabled me to film from a more relaxed, neutral perspective, not just looking for shock value. What stands out, I think, is that it’s not obvious that the footage comes from a tourist.

Are there any benefits to capturing footage in North Korea?

The value of these videos, even though they are all taken on controlled tours, is that they still show glimpses of ordinary people doing ordinary things. Nearly everything we see about North Korea in the west comes with sensational headlines (and) is generally negative stuff. So anything that shows there are human beings behind the freak-show headlines has to be a good thing.

Share your photos

If you’ve travelled to North Korea, for work or leisure, we’d like to see your photos: from the traditional sites to those that show a different side of the country. Share your photos or videos via the blue contribute buttons using the captions to tell us more about when and why you went on your trip.