North Korea's Big Show
National Geographic Magazine India|May 2020
THE REGIME PUTS ON SPECTACULAR PAGEANTS WITH CASTS OF THOUSANDS. A PHOTOGRAPHER LEARNS TO LOOK BEYOND THEM.
DAVID GUTTENFELDER
North Korea's Big Show

EVEN BY NORTH KOREAN STANDARDS, the final event of the country’s 70th-anniversary celebration in 2018 was a jaw-dropping spectacle. Many thousands of torch-wielding students marched in waves around Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square. The electric flame on top of Juche Tower glowed while the sound of the students’ chants and the fireworks’ explosions echoed across the immense plaza.

These mass displays have happened often over the 20 years I’ve spent covering North Korea. I photograph them not only because they’re very visual but also because they offer a way to understand the image that the regime wants to project to the world. They present an idealized version of the country—sanitized, curated, united, strong.

この記事は National Geographic Magazine India の May 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は National Geographic Magazine India の May 2020 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。