North Korea Daily Life: A Look At One Of The World's Most Isolated Nations (PHOTOS)

It's known as one of the world's most isolated nations, the subject of intense global speculation as it makes headlines for a long-range rocket launch and a deadly artillery attack, among other troubling events.

But for many people living in North Korea, daily life can be less bleak than many reports suggest.

David Guttenfelder, chief Asia photographer for the Associated Press, has traveled to North Korea numerous times over the past 12 years. His stunning images from in and around Pyongyang include many scenes which appear surprisingly familiar to Western eyes -- a bustling subway station, a classical music performance, even a pack of smiling youngsters awaiting the launch of a theme park ride.

Take a look at some of Guttenfelder's incredible images here:

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Comments

[trollistan]

09:25 PM on 09/19/2011

i hav imagined north Korea to be worst country, worst than african countries. nd one thing more, media in US portraits these countries extremely oppressive . iran and north korea are two examples.

[gcord374]

06:20 PM on 09/29/2011

cretin

[Sasa Milosevic]

08:59 PM on 08/12/2011

According to pictures these people live an absolutely normal life. Their students have all needed facilities on University, while ordinary people regularly going to theater to listen classic music. In many of Western countries people has no such relation toward education and culture....

[gcord374]

06:20 PM on 09/29/2011

off yourself waste of space

[philips0811]

05:49 PM on 08/10/2011

I once flew at night from Florida to Puerto Rico - high altitude, just enough moonlight to see the outline of the islands. There was a striking contrast between islands. From the bright lights of Miami, across dark Cuba and Haiti, slighty lighter Dominican Republic, and finally the bright island of Puerto Rico - like the light at the end of a lamp post. The border between Haiti and the DR was clearly visible even in the dim moonlight due to the deforestation on the Haitian side. The prosperity or lack thereof was apparent. Certainly there are normal, even striking scenes in North Korea - why didn't the photographer show us both sides?

[liberalviper]

03:55 PM on 08/10/2011

I remember when the NY Philharmonic orchestra played in N. Korea back in 2008. One of the reports from the country said the workers in the hotel where the musicians played took pictures of the large buffet of food laid out for the orchestra because most had never seen so much food in one place.

These pictures are interesting, but they don't show the real N. Korea & the suffering that goes on their every day.

[austinreid]

12:09 PM on 08/10/2011

t seems to me only the very best of North Korea was taken. I Want to see how normal people live I want to see inside a North Korean home.

[cdemackio]

04:38 AM on 08/10/2011

Hmmm... Where are the pictures of the bustling airport? Traffic jams? Gas station? Food distribution center? Supermarket? Local gulag? This is why the A.P. Should not have opened an office there. They have simply become the international propaganda brigade for north Korea. They are only given access to certain areas and report positive news.

[Carl Hungus III]

03:41 AM on 08/10/2011

Check out Pyongyang on Google Earth and play "Find a Car"! You would think that a country that has many billions worth of transportation infrastructure could subsidize car ownership....

[infinity]

10:23 PM on 08/09/2011

Bustling subway station? lol They probably cranked up Pyongyang's Old Sparky generator for 15 minutes to light up this place and give enough juice to move the trains from one end of the tunnel to the other end. Rest of the city was blacked out for the period. It's also a little curious that both trains appear to be moving in the same direction with white headlights on rather than one having red taillights indicating travel in an opposite direction. Clean as a whistle too -- a sure sign of heavy use.

[Marjorie Sager]

08:41 PM on 08/09/2011

It looks so modern,that is till the sun goes down.

[fish food]

04:54 PM on 08/09/2011

I can make the US look great and only show you photos of happy people in Times Square or I can make the US look bad by showing you victims of Detroit's corrupted police and the abandoned towns around there.

Photojournalism is very much like statistics. I can manipulate my sample to get the results I want to show.

[CrazyEyes]

06:18 PM on 08/09/2011

I think you miss the greater point that the people of North Korea are like people everywhere.

[fish food]

07:13 PM on 08/09/2011

I don't think you can assume they're like people everywhere from a few photographs. You need to go there and see for yourself, live in the country and experience both the affluent and non-affluent areas to get a slight sense of it all. I've been to 30ish countries in my life, much due to my job. I always make it a point to travel as a non-tourist and immerse myself into their culture/environment. And I can tell you - every country stereotypes another and it's pretty much all propaganda to make themselves look better.

[picaman]

04:20 PM on 08/09/2011

12:30 soldiers on corner of Great Victory and Endless War St. to look around suspiciously and smoke cigarette while in uniform. If photographer approaches within hearing range, soldier 765467 to say "Boy, I hope we don't get caught smoking these LUCKY STRIKES. That Sarge is a real ball beater."
12:35 pedestrian # 34526 to pass behind soldiers WITH LAPTOP BAG and look disdainfully at smoking soldiers.

[Jose Valasquez]

04:12 PM on 08/10/2011

12:38 report back to Gulag sector 32A

[bob40wil]

03:44 PM on 08/09/2011

You mean N. Korea isn't a workers paradise, well I'll be damned.

[KOisGod]

01:42 PM on 08/09/2011

Sure, show some showcase sites and say N. Korea is becoming westernized. Their society is still in Kali Yuga, the age of gross materialism, the age we left at the beginning of the 20th century. In Kali, leaders are feared, and their society is a monument to dictators, who rule with absolute authority and force. The rest of the planet has moved into Dwapara Yuga, that age of energy, light and increasing self-interest. In freedom, we are able (money allowing) to pursue our dreams, travel freely, taste what life offers and decide where we make our contribution. In nations like N. Korea, freedom is threatening, because freedom allows investigation, understanding, and a natural inclination to revolt against injustice.

[DRUNKPANDA62]

10:18 AM on 08/10/2011

Hear Hear, spot on brother.

[papargon]

11:28 AM on 08/09/2011

That's great and all, but here's the problem: most North Korean cities are completely unpopulated and it is likely that much of what is seen is simply for show. There are several documentaries that show how horrid most people's lives are. Only soldiers and those who are incredibly loyal to the "great leader" get to live in Pyongyang in relative comfort, the rest of them are starving and often have diseases that are mostly removed from the U.S. and other truly developed nations. I resent this display- North Korea is a horrid place of propaganda and a humanitarian nightmare.

[Shiggity]

01:51 PM on 08/09/2011

This documentary obviously does not capture the truth of North Korea, which instead can be found in another documentary

[DRUNKPANDA62]

10:21 AM on 08/10/2011

Papargon, the cities are not unpopulated, there is a curfew for citizens~ the rest as you have stated are dying off and this is why we only see Military on the Telivision and internet!. Horrid is mild wouldn't you say?

[Blodo]

10:36 AM on 08/09/2011

That dish of noodles was supposed to look appetizing?

[builder101]

02:00 PM on 08/10/2011

I know, right!