After taking photographs of what seemed to be normal daily activities in North Korea, renowned travel photographer Eric Lafforgue was banned from visiting the rogue country.
From children pushing carts to kids using computers without electricity, the photos were forbidden to be shown outside North Korea.
According to the French photographer, visitors must only take photographs with the consent of state-approved tour guides as soon as they arrive in Pyongyang.
“They insist that you don’t take photos of anything to do with the military and anything that could suggest poverty – even when you explain to them that it exists all over the world and even in France,” he said in an interview with The Daily Mail Online.
Without the knowledge of the guides, Lafforgue was able to save some of the photos he took in his memory card.
MALNUTRITION: ‘North Korean officials forbid you to photograph anyone suffering from malnutrition’NO POWER:’When you visit families, the guides love it if you take photos to show that kids have computers. But when they see there’s no power, they ask you to delete!’CHILD LABOUR:’The officials hate it when you take this kind of picture. Even when I explained that poverty exists everywhere, they still forbade me from taking them’HIDING POVERTY: ‘In Kaesong near the demilitarised zone, you are locked in an hotel complex made of old houses. The guides say it’s the same outside the hotel. No, it’s not.’FIELD WORK:’I spotted these kids collecting maize grains in the streets near Begaebong,’SURVIVING FAMINE:’My camera was confiscated for the duration of the bus trip to Chongjin which suffered in the famine. Once I saw the people in the street, I understood why’LIGHTS OFF:We were in Pyongyang art gallery when we experienced a power outage. When it happens, they tell you it’s because of the American embargo’PUSHING THE BUS:’You see this all the time in North Korea, but aren’t allowed to take pictures.’DEAD TIRED:’You see a lot of tired people on the roadside, since many have to ride their bikes for hours to get to work. Taking pictures of them is forbidden.’UNFINISHED BUSINESS:’Perhaps the most ridiculous prohibition of all. When I took the picture, everyone yelled at me. Since the painting was unfinished, I couldn’t take the picture’DEAD OR ALIVE:’This man was taking a rest by the sea in Chilbo. My guide asked me to delete this for fear that Western media would say this man was dead. He was alive’ARROGANT CHILD:’A rare example of an undisciplined kid in North Korea. The bus was driving in the small roads of Samijyon in the north, when this boy stood in the road’THE ROSE AMONG THE THORNS:A woman standing in the middle of a crowd of soldiers. This picture was not supposed to be taken as officials do not allow pictures of the army’ A woman standing in the middle of a crowd of soldiers. This picture was not supposed to be taken as officials do not allow pictures of the army’NOT PICTURE PERFECT:Never take a picture where you can see people doing silly things in front of the Kim portraits.’WAITING IN VAIN:’Queuing is a national sport for North Koreans.’PHOTO CREDIT: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2624164/North-Korea-Starving-people-child-labourers-dilapidated-homes-appear-harrowing-new-images-taken-inside-rogue-state.htmlLUXURY SHOPPING:You can find all kinds of food and drink in Pyongyang’s two supermarkets. They even have Evian water but only the elite can shop there’CLOSE TO NATURE:’Once you get into rural areas, this sort of thing is very common.’BOMB SHELTER: ‘Pyongyang’s subway system is the deepest in the world as it doubles as a bomb shelter. I was told to delete this photo because it includes the tunnel’=BANNED: ‘When visiting the dolphinarium in Pyongyang, you are allowed to photograph the animals, but not the soldiers who make up 99 per cent of the crowd!’
GOING GREEN:’This kind of picture is widespread in the West. The caption often points out that North Koreans have to eat grass. The guides get furious if you take it’
mmalabanan
