Monday 11 September 2017

Rare Images Of a Mercurial Nation And The Real People Who Suffer Behind The Veil. These Photos Got This Photographer Banned For Life (38 Pics)

When photographer Eric Lafforgue took photo’s of North Korea this year, he never expected to be banned from the rogue state for his entire life. North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, was strongly opposed to anyone seeing these photos because the images reveal the shocking extent of the deprivation suffered by people who live there. Here are the photographs of North Korea that ultimately got Lafforgue banned for the rest of his life.

North Korea does not allow you to photograph anyone who appears to be suffering from malnutrition.

You are not allowed to photograph anything that resembles poverty.

It’s okay to take photos of kids on computers, just not when it shows that the computers have no power.

He was asked to delete all photos of malnutrition like this photo above.

He was told to delete this photo because they feared that this photo would say this man was dead. He was actually alive, but just resting after a long day.

This photo portrays poverty which is illegal to photograph.

The power went out during this photo. He was told to delete it and was told that when the power goes out, it’s because of the American embargo.

Taking pictures of people who ride their bikes for hours to get to work is forbidden.

North Korea says foreign aid is a war debt and taking photos of any WFP sign is forbidden.

North Korea doesn’t allow any photographs of soldiers to be taken. Especially when soldiers are pushing a broken down bus. 


The picture above is a rare example of an undisciplined kid. The bus was driving, when this boy stood in the road. Pictures of undisciplined citizens are definitely illegal in North Korea. 

This picture was banned because it shows that poverty exists.

This photo was not supposed to be taken because officials do not allow pictures of the army.

Soldiers seemed to be everywhere Eric was allowed to go. Taking pictures of the soldiers is banned making most of his shots illegal.

This image shows women and children doing manual labor which is also illegal to photograph. 

The regime considers pictures showing smiles under portraits of the leadership to be disrespectful. ‘Never take a picture where you can see people doing silly things in front of the Kim portraits,’

The photographer got in trouble for taking this one because ‘the painting was unfinished.’

You were allowed to take photos of animals, as long as soldiers were not in frame, but it was hard because soldiers made up 99% of the crowd.


According to officials, this photo represents that North Koreans have to eat grass to live.

More images of poverty in North Korea.

He was asked to delete this image because it shows a building in need of repair. 

The photographer was told to delete this photo because it included the tunnel.

He was told to remove this one because it showed children working.


Officials wanted him to delete this photo because it shows a man bathing in a river.

Although cars are becoming widespread in Pyongyang, most citizens aren’t used to seeing them. Kids play in the middle of the road just like they did when the cars didn’t exist. 

The photographer was also told not to use flash because it would scare people.

Again, no photos of military at all.

He was only allowed to take this photo after this guy’s shirt was straightened.

Officials hate photographs of North Korea that show anything with soldiers, especially when they rest.

‘North Koreans are very paranoid. I was asked to delete the picture since the guides were certain I would have said those people were homeless – they were just resting’


‘You are supposed to see fun at the Songdowon Children’s Camp but some come from the country and are scared of escalators which they’ve never seen before’

Officials took issue with this photo for two reasons: The teen is wearing his cap in a strange way (according to my guide), and there are soldiers in the background.

‘Queuing is a national sport for North Koreans,’ says Lafforgue. This photo shows people waiting for a chance to catch the bus to work.

It is forbidden to take photos of people if they are not well dressed, manicured or clean.
These photographs from North Korea prove that they are very worried on how the rest of the world views them. So much so that they completely limit what you can photograph, that is if they even allow you to visit their country. To completely ban a person from ever entering the country again seems a bit extreme to me, but this is coming from a very extreme place with a very extreme ruler. These photographs from North Korea are not at all what I was expecting to see.

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