20 Photos from deep inside North Korea that Kim Jong-un doesn't want you to see
Although their antics are frequently parodied in movies such as the Interview or Team America: World Police and even though Donald Trump seems pretty intent on starting a nuclear war with them, there's very little we actually know about North Korea. That's not for a lack of trying: the East Asian peninsula is notoriously secretive, and censorship and oppression of the North Korean people is widespread and common.
But thanks to the likes of photographer Eric Lafforgue, we can have a visual idea of what North Korea is like without worrying about censorship, or whether or not the images have been tailored to show North Korea in a sympathetic light. Of course, the government got wind of Eric's photo posting, and ordered him to take them offline, but he's defying North Korea to show you these interesting images of life under Kim Jong-un's rule.
1. You're allowed to take photos of families, but they ask you to delete the images if the computers don't have any electricity
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
2. A supermarket in the city centre of capital Pyongyang, reserved only for the elites in North Korea
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
3. One of the exclusive restaurants in Pyongyang, where the food can be pretty tasty. Reserved for the elites, of course
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
4. The sometimes desperate conditions of the workers in North Korea
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
5. North Korea won't let you take pictures of poor children
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
6. A soldier taking a rest on the grass
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
7. A bathtub being used as a cistern
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
8. These kids from rural North Korea have never seen an escalator before (and they're a little scared)
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
9. A politician taking a nap - a photo the North Koreans would ask you to delete
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
10. A woman taking a tire on a fishing trip
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
11. Although you can take pictures of animals, you aren't allowed to take photos of the soldiers there
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
12. You can't be seen having fun in a photo with a picture of the Supreme Leaders in them
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
13. Curiously, you're not allowed to take photos of unfinished paintings either
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
14. Pictures of malnourished people are also a massive no-no
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
15. Here, children can be seen playing in the street
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
16. A woman helps this man straighten his shirt as they prepare for a photo
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
17. Soldiers helping out with the farm work
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
18. A man collecting grass
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
19. A lone woman in a sea of North Korean soldiers
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
20. Pictures of the soldiers relaxing are also illegal
Credit: Eric Lafforgue
Even as the Western world watches on in fascination the antics of North Korea, there's still so much we don't know. Whatever happens in the future, I'm sure it would be really interesting to see the daily goings-on in the country without the watchful eye of Kim Jong-un.
