across the border and into north korea.

This weekend I visited a nation that remains shut off to most of the world. A place where rigid communist ideology pervades and the everyday movements of ordinary citizens are closely monitored. North Korea was unlike any place I have ever traveled, and I saw but only a glimpse of the country that is home to more than 30 million people.

I visited North Korea with a South Korean tour group, and from the moment we crossed the border along the demilitarized zone the differences between the divided peninsula were drastically apparent. In a matter of one hour I went from a country full of parks, shopping malls, well-dressed business people, and coffee shops to a city with few cars, stores, and restaurants. All day it felt like my eyes were playing tricks on me. Staring out of the bus window onto the desolate streets felt like watching a movie filmed 60 years prior. I kept blinking to make sure the scene on the other side of the glass was real. The few people walking or riding their bikes along the road were dressed in clothing reminiscent of 1940’s America…knee length pencil skirts, white blouses, dark-colored ill-fitting suits, flat brown loafers, and the occasional fancy hat. Every building looked the same…. made of concrete, square, no flowers or curtains in the window. Drab to say the least. North Korean military guards littered the streets as they monitored our every move. I have never been watched so closely. All day I couldn’t help but wonder what it must feel like to wake up every morning in a place where propaganda posters praising the suppressive communist dictator, Kim Jung Il, are plastered on billboards and windows. How does it feel to long for independence but to know that your chance for it might never arrive? This weekend I gained a new appreciation for my freedom.

I wish that I had more interesting photos from North Korea to post as I think the few below are a fairly inaccurate representation of the country. I was allowed to bring my camera on the trip, but the use of it was heavily monitored. All visitors were only allowed to photograph the “tourists traps” (as I prefer to call them) that we visited throughout the day. Therefore, my North Korea photo album consists mainly of beautifully restored temples and monuments, perfectly manicured parks and waterfall, and women wearing traditional Korean han-boks. While much of the North Korean countryside is beautiful and green and mountainous, I was not permitted to take photos of those places. Any chance of capturing a shot would have been shut down immediately by the North Koreans that accompanied us on the bus, or by the military guards that lined the streets. Regardless, images of the country will be ingrained in my memory forever.

A few photos from the north...


north korean military officials driving in front of an old office building. i was allowed to photograph this side of the street, but the opposite side was off-limits as it was under construction and might give the impression that the country is poor and undeveloped. crazy.


an old department store in the city of kaesong.


the infamous kim jung il.


holding a north korean postcard/piece of propoganda that I smuggled out of the country. shhh…don’t tell.

the demilitarized zone.

This past weekend a few of my friends and I visited the most heavily fortified border in the world- the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. I didn’t have many preconceptions about this area before visiting, and went into the trip thinking it would be nothing more than a good photo opportunity and a neat thing to write home about. However, I quickly felt the tension between the divided peninsula, and realized that I was standing in a place where intense conflict still exists. From the moment we arrived our group was given specific instructions from the American military guides to not take photographs of certain things, to be mindful of our actions, and to think about our conversation topics as we were most likely being spied on by the North Korean military. It was surreal to stand on a hill over-looking Kim Jung-Il’s oppressed nation, tour an old war tunnel, visit a United Nations boardroom that was literally divided down the middle between the North and South, see North Korean guards stare at our tour group with binoculars from across the border, and to learn more about the Korean War. It was such an interesting day...


taken during a slide presentation shown to help our group understand the situation between the two countries and the role the united nations plays in trying to promote reconciliation.


guarding the DMZ on a rainy saturday afternoon.


photo of a north korean guard looking at me, looking at him.
(taken with a telephoto lens).


commonly called "the bridge of no return." during the war korean people chose to take this path either north or south, thus determining where they would spend the remainder of their lives.

Next month I’ll actually be going INSIDE of North Korea to a small city named Kaesong. I realize it might not be the smartest trip I’ve ever signed up for, especially in light of the current situation (a South Korean tourist was shot and killed there last weekend), but I am so eager to see a place that remains shut off to much of the world. Should be interesting…