Inside North Korea: people at work, leisure and play - in pictures

Stefan Gladier was allowed to enter North Korea to film its people in amusement parks, cinemas, and offices. Does he wonder why they let him?

14 PHOTOS

1. Mass dance rehearsal in front of the monument to the founding of the party, Pyongyang (October 2017)

Portraits of North Koreans by French photographer Stéphane Gladier are currently on display at Le Jardin d'Eté, Les Rencontres d'Arles 2021.

2. Children play with manual cars at Mangyongdae Amusement Park (June 2017)

This amusement park is located just 12 km from the capital Pyongyang. An area of 700,000 sq. m has a renovated roller coaster, carousel, train ride, and children's pool.

3. Kim Yoon Kyung, Han Sol Kyung, Kim Won Kyung, Kang Sung Hwa and Kong Soo Hyang at Sci-Tech Complex 3D Cinema (June 2018)
Stefan Gladier writes: “North Korea has always been a mystery to me. Why has she never faltered while other authoritarian regimes have collapsed in the upheavals of the fall of the Berlin Wall, modernity, and social media?”

4. Kim Un-joo and Ri Sol-hwa at Ryugyong Eye Hospital (October 2017)

“North Korean officials were taken aback by my suggestion that individual portraits be taken. My "revolutionary" approach ran counter to their collectivist culture. Why did they agree?

5. Family photo session for the North Korean space program at Munsu Water Park (October 2017)

“The desire for openness, no doubt, but also, I think, because the idea of ​​my photos was familiar and understandable to them.”

6. Three workers plant rice on the Sariwon collective farm (June 2018)

“North Korea survived the communist bloc, which guaranteed its political and economic stability; withstood an international embargo to strangle it; overcame a series of successive economic, climate and food crises; and has never experienced mass uprisings despite constant surveillance and repression.”

7. Oh Young Ae, a female guard, poses in downtown Pyongyang (October 2017)

"Women must leave this position if they marry."

8. Kim Hyang and Kim Joo Hyang pose at the Miri shooting range (June 2018)

"All my questions only increased my desire to find out what drives these people."

9. Yoo Kyung Il, Pyongyang cable and wire factory worker (October 2017)

“I love portraits like this so much, it’s a cross between documentary photography and pure art.”

10. A group of workers pose in the swimming pool of a food factory in Pyongyang's Mangyongdae district in October 2017.

“The fifth floor of the food factory has been turned into a place of entertainment: a water park with swimming pools and basketball hoops, as well as sun loungers, a fish pond, a grotto, and a sauna.”

11. Gwang-chul and Ri Sung-kyung pose in front of the monument to the founding of the party (October 2017)

“The sickle, hammer, and calligraphy brush symbolize workers, farmers, and intellectuals. Its height is 50 meters, which symbolizes the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea. The number of plates that make up the belt around the monument, and its diameter correspond to the date of birth of Kim Jong Il.

12. Cho Hyang-mi, Jang Yun-hui, Ri Un-bok, Kim Bok-sin and Choi Hyun-ju (June 2018)

Women dressed as a ship's restaurant in front of the Juche Tower.

13. Dr. Lee Soo Rim examines Yoo Hyang Sok at the Zhenghsu Pyongyang Textile Factory (October 2017)

The Zhenghsu Pyongyang Textile Factory is North Korea's largest textile factory, employing 8,500 workers, 80% of whom are women.

14. Pyongyang families love to have picnics in Mansudae Park (June 2017)

"My other challenge was to maintain my artistic freedom within the controlled limits that would be forced on me, which I overcame by making the most of my outdoor studio equipment."