The photos North Korea didn’t want you to see

PHOTOGRAPHER Eric Lafforgue has ventured into North Korea six times. Using digital memory cards he smuggled out images of the communist nation he was forbidden to take.

Mr Lafforgue wanted to show that North Koreans are humans, not robots, who also suffer.

“I was banned after my last trip in September 2012 when I published some photos on the web. The North Koreans saw them and asked me to delete them as they judged them too offensive. I refused as I thought it was unfair not to show the reality of the country,” he told news.com.au.

He said life outside Pyongyang and the main towns was tough for the locals.
“Life is brutal in many places of North Korea, far from the Western standard.”
In a small fishing village, where Mr Lafforgue visited multiple times, he was treated like an honoured guest. The town was so isolated they had never seen a mobile phone and they spent their days fishing and growing seaweed.

“Even with their hard life, they told me, with tears in their eyes, they venerate the dear leaders … even if sometimes they do not have a lot to eat.”These are the photographs Kim Jong-un didn’t want the outside world to see.

A woman standing in the middle of a crowd of soldiers. This picture is not supposed to be taken as officials do not allow army pictures. 

‘The North Korean army is said to be one of the most important in the world. But if you travel there, you’ll often see soldiers doing menial tasks like helping farmers.

‘Outside urban areas, such a scene is fairly common.’

‘Pyongyang’s subway system is the deepest in the world as it doubles as a bomb shelter. Someone saw me taking this picture and told me to delete it since it included the tunnel.’

‘When times are hard (as they usually are here), kids can be found working for the farming collectives.’ 

‘This kind of picture is widespread in the west. The caption often explains that North Koreans eat grass from the park. The guides get furious if you take it.’

‘When you visit families, the guides love it if you take pics to show the world that kids have computers. But when they see there is no electricity, then they ask you to delete.’

‘Queuing is a national sport for North Koreans.’ This is the line for the bus