Most of what we learn about North Korea comes filtered through the toxic exchanges between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. But if we look beyond those, we find the formidable work of photographer Eric Lafforgue, who traveled to the hermit nation on several occasions. His last trip effectively earned him a permanent ban, because his photographs exposed certain facets of North Korea that the authorities wanted to keep secret.
Six Trips and a Box of Polaroids
Eric Lafforgue traveled to North Korea a total of six times starting in 2008. As you can see on his official website and his Instagram profile, his initial encounters with North Koreans involved several Polaroids, and in each case the subjects took an extra copy home.
The Photographs That Crossed the Line
What probably truly bothers the regime, beyond the shortcomings in infrastructure, food, agriculture, transportation, energy, trade, health, and a long list of other aspects, is that the outside world sees the "human side" of North Koreans, working and surviving as best they can with the little they have. Lafforgue returned from his sixth trip to North Korea in 2012, and the government wasted no time discovering his latest images had been smuggled online. Naturally, they demanded the removal of all photos, which Lafforgue refused, determined to show both the good and the bad, just as he does in every country he visits. That turned him into a kind of "persona non grata," and he is now banned from returning to North Korea forever.
The Images
