North Korea, as seen through an iPhone and Instagram in real-time
North Korea's had a busy month. After conducting a third nuclear test and angering just about everyone, North Korea is finally letting foreigners access the Internet on their cellphones through Koryolink, the country's only mobile provider.
With the new relaxed mobile policy, foreigners will be able to present the real unaltered North Korea, as it happens. The Associated Press' chief photographer for Asia, David Guttenfelder, is one of the first people to post photos taken with his iPhone directly to Instagram.
As a photographer, Guttenfelder says he feels that it's his duty to present North Korea in its true state:
“I feel I can help open a window into a place that would otherwise rarely be seen by outsiders. As one of the few international photographers who has ever had regular access to the country, I feel a huge responsibility to share what I see and to show it as accurately as I can.”
Interestingly enough, while foreigners will have access to the full uncensored mobile Internet, North Korean citizens will not be getting mobile Internet access on their cellphones. We're expecting plenty of photos from North Korea to start popping up on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook over the next few weeks, but for now, Guttenfelder's 'grams below provide the purest look into the bizarre nation.
David Guttenfelder's Instagram, via Gawker
All captions and photos by David Guttenfelder for Associated Press.
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From Guttenfelder: "A North Korean guide uses a pointer at the start of a tour of an historic site. On Jan. 18, 2013, foreigners were allowed for the first time to bring mobile phones into North Korea. And this week the local service provider, Koryolink, is allowing foreigners to access the Internet on a data capable 3G connection on our mobile phones. In the past I could post geolocated phone photos to my Instagram feed by turning my online laptop into a hotspot to link my iPhone or iPod touch by wifi. But, today I'm posting this directly from my phone while riding in the back of a van in #Pyongyang. The window on to North Korea has opened another crack. Meanwhile, for Koreans here who will not have access to the same service, the window remains shut."
From Guttenfelder: "A North Korean doctor and a bank of video monitors inside a #Pyongyanghospital."
From Guttenfelder: "North Koreans ride an escalator past a model of the country's Unha-3 rocket as they enter an exhibition in #Pyongyangof #Kimjongilia flowers named after the late leader Kim Jong Il."
From Guttenfelder: "My pool playing partners for the night at the Hyangsan Hotel at the base of North Korea's Mt. Myohyang."
From Guttenfelder: "North Korean commuters pass by propaganda posters in #Pyongyang."
From Guttenfelder: "Example haircuts on display at a barbershop in #Pyongyang."
From Guttenfelder: "And here are some style choices for women. #Pyongyang, North Korea."
From Guttenfelder: "A frilly dust cover protects a desktop computer inside a #Pyongyang, North Korea office."
From Guttenfelder: "This excellent decorative fake plant was placed in a dark corner of the restaurant where I had dinner tonight in#Pyongyang, North Korea."
From Guttenfelder: "A surreal mass synchronized swimming performance in #Pyongyang, North Korea tonight."
From Guttenfelder: "Early morning, #Pyongyang, North Korea."
From Guttenfelder: "This little North Korean dude ,and his school buddies, were playing with one of my cameras this morning at Mansu Hill in #Pyongyang."
From Guttenfelder: "A model of North Korea's recently launched Unha-3 rocket hangs in the lobby of a #Pyongyang hotel."
From Guttenfelder: "North Korean babies rest in a row of cribs at the #Pyongyang Maternity Hospital."
From Guttenfelder: "A dressmaker's window display in#Pyongyang, North Korea."
From Guttenfelder: "Snow blankets Ryongsan-ri, a North Korean village south of Pyongyang."
