Mick Hartley

The title of this gallery by photographer Tariq Zaidi is somewhat optimistic – Searching for an Authentic Picture of the World’s Most Mysterious Country: North Korea. As Zaidi makes clear, he was accompanied at all times, and his photos were vetted by his guides, who asked him to delete the ones they disapproved of - ‘We only want you to take the best pictures possible—please try to take only good pictures.’.

So no great revelations here – but still, as with all photos from inside the DPRK, not without interest:

Women at the reception desk of a small beach hotel near Wonsan on the east coast of North Korea.

Pyongyang city view taken from the Yanggakdo International Hotel.

Mansudae Grand Monument. An enormous bronze statue of President Kim Il Sung and Leader Kim Jong Il, downtown Pyongyang.

Apartment block in central Pyongyang.

A billboard poster in southeast North Korea.

Statue at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum.

Old traditional houses in central Pyongyang surrounded by newly built high rises. 

North Koreans dressed in formal attire at the Kumsunsan Memorial Palace, also known as "Palace of the Sun."

A man in military uniform watches over beachgoers near Wonsan, East coast North Korea.

Pyongyang Metro.

Children going to school in the morning.

Pyongyang traffic women saluting.

A billboard poster in southeast North Korea.
[Photos © Tariq Zaidi]