[.ca] Inside North Korea (ISBN 0811857514)

A propaganda paradise:
I recently reviewed Philippe Chancel's excellent photographic book 'North Korea' (ISBN 0500543291) and Mark Harris in his book has filled in more of the jigsaw. The Chancel book essentially covered the capitol Pyongyang and Harris contributes twenty general shots, too. Additional capitol coverage includes the amazing Arirang Mass Games, the Children's Palace, the Korean film studio and five shots of the USS Pueblo. The strength of this book is the coverage outside of the capitol. No doubt under strict supervision Harris visited Kaesong, Geumgangsen, Sinuiju, Paektusan and the Tumen River along the northeast border region. The photos show the countryside and rather bleak looking cities and towns. Everywhere bikes seem the principal means of transport and everywhere there are the slogans of good cheer to inspire the masses. On page 135 there is photo of a hillside above the town of Sanbong with huge letters spelling out: 'Bravo Mr Kim who is the Greatest Sunshine of the 21st Century!' No doubt it keeps hillside typographers busy. The last section covers the countryside along the Demilitarised Zone with its two and a half mile wide strip of land 151 miles long. The photos here are a mixture of military presence and agricultural folk existing (on either side) in this volatile flashpoint. One photo shows the world's tallest flagpole, 525 feet high, towering above the village of Kichong-dong (wouldn't such a structure make a super espionage something or other?). I liked the book with its mixture of travel and politics (SS Pueblo, DMZ and Panmunjeom) presented in slightly raw, gutsy photos whereas Chancel's style is photographically softer and his book is the more elegant of the two. Both books are certainly worth a look if you want see a little bit of a forbidden country and you'll most likely see more of it than many of the people who live there.