AFP photographer Ed Jones is one of the few Western journalists allowed to enter North Korea on a regular basis. In addition to photographing mass military parades and spectacular propaganda events venerating the country's leaders past and present, Jones captures daily life on the streets of Pyongyang.
His photos are remarkable for just how unremarkable everything seems – commuters travelling to and from work, children playing football or visiting museums – but as has been well documented, they do not reflect the reality of life in poverty-stricken rural villages outside the showcase capital.
A man eats at a table outside a restaurant in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPPeople check their mobile phones as they wait at a trolley bus stop in Pyongyang. Buses and trams are by far the most common means of public transport in the capital of around three million people, where access to private cars is rare. Tickets cost five won each (less than half a British penny)Ed Jones/AFPWomen look at a mobile phone as they ride a tram in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPPeople shop for food at the Kwangbok, or Liberation, department store in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA girl tries on a pair of sunglasses as she sits in a trolley at the Kwangbok, or Liberation, department store in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPTwo men play pool at a bowling alley in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPPeople have their hair cut at a salon in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA man sits with a pet dog near Kim il-Sung square in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPYouths play tennis in a public square in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPYouths wait to play tennis in a public square in front of Kim il-Sung stadium in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPPyongyang’s 300-odd traffic ladies are chosen for their looks and have a finite shelf life, with compulsory retirement at just 26. North Korean authorities ensure a steady supply of photogenic young women who are a favourite subject of visiting tourists and journalistsEd Jones/AFPSnack vendors wait for customers in an underpass of the Arch of Triumph in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA man cycling along a street in Pyongyang, with the skyscrapers of Mirae Scientists Street seen over a fenceEd Jones/AFPA couple with a child cross a road in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPUniversity students walk on a street in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA man looks at a mobile phone on an escalator in a subway station of the Pyongyang metroEd Jones/AFPA man leans on the balcony of an apartment building in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA boy drinks from a bottle on a street in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPSwimmers gather in a wave pool at a water park in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPSwimmers walk between pools at a water park in PyongyangEd Jones/AFP
Pyongyang is easily the most developed city in North Korea and is relatively comfortable for the increasingly affluent segment of its three million inhabitants. Smartphones, traffic jams, restaurants, taxis and gleaming new high rise apartments blocks – this could almost be any city in the world (were it not for all the portraits and statues of Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-il and propaganda posters trumpeting recent successful missile launches).
Men push their bicycles past the portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-iI, on Kim il-Sung square in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA woman sits in a doorway near a poster showing a missile in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA boy looks at a display showing images of missiles launches and military exercises in a public square in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPChildren prepare to perform a dance routine as part of activities marking Children's Union Foundation day in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA group of men wait to pay their respects before the statues of the late North Korean leaders at Mansu hill in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA young girl cleans the steps in front the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-il at Mansu hill in Pyongyang as the country marks Victory Day, on 27 July 2017Ed Jones/AFPPedestrians and vehicles pass portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-il in PyongyangEd Jones/AFP
Jones's movements are closely controlled, but he is generally allowed to photograph whatever he sees within Pyongyang and on supervised trips outside the city. In an interview with Korea Photo Review, he said: "During trips outside Pyongyang we often pass towns and villages that I would love to stop and shoot in, but which for obvious reasons is for the most part not possible."
A group of women sell fruit beside a road on the outskirts of Sinchon, south of PyongyangEd Jones/AFPWorkers maintain a section of the West Sea Barrage – an 8km system of dams and locks separating the sea from the Taedong River – near the city of NamphoEd Jones/AFPA woman carries a child as people dance at the West Sea Barrage beachEd Jones/AFPA boy with a karaoke machine waits at the West Sea Barrage beach outside the coastal city of NamphoEd Jones/AFPA hostess cooks clams using petrol, at the West Sea Barrage beach outside the coastal city of Nampho, southwest of PyongyangEd Jones/AFPA member of the military crosses a street in the coastal city of Nampho, southwest of PyongyangEd Jones/AFP
AFP opened a bureau in Pyongyang in September 2016, allowing Jones to travel from Seoul to Pyongyang (via Beijing) every six weeks or so, spending up to 14 days at a time there. Although North Koreans are still wary of foreign media, Jones has been working on a portrait series, Faces of Pyongyang.
"Initially," he said, "We approached people who we felt were more likely to agree to have their photos taken, such as tour guides at the various monuments around Pyongyang that are easy to visit. But we were quickly able to expand our approach to include others." Jones says most people are pretty happy to have their portraits taken, and he often visits them on subsequent trips to take them prints.
Tour guide and Korean People's Army (KPA) captain Choe Un-Jong (26) poses for a portrait at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPHan Gwang-Rim (34) poses for a portrait with his daughter Su Ryon (3) at a supermarket in Pyongyang.Ed Jones/AFPRi Song-Hui (21) poses for a portrait at the Munsu Water Park in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPJo Ye-Song (6) poses for a portrait as she practices rollerblading on Kim Il-Sung square in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPKorean People's Army soldier Lieutenant Kim poses for a portrait at the military demarcation line on the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area with the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating North and South KoreaEd Jones/AFPHairdresser Kim Hae-Jong (30) poses for a portrait at a leisure and health complex in PyongyangEd Jones/AFPSteel worker Kang Chol-Su (38) poses for a portrait at the Chollima Steel Complex, south of PyongyangEd Jones/AFPPetrol station attendant Kim Su-Hyang (18) poses for a portrait near the town of Sinchon, south of PyongyangEd Jones/AFPKim Su-Ryon (24) poses for a portrait at the West Sea Barrage beach, near the city of NamphoEd Jones/AFP
Jones told IBTimes UK: "Covering North Korea presents a number of unique challenges. Access to places, events and people is often restricted. Photographing daily life is very much a priority. Even the most mundane events or outings can often yield worthwhile images that, taken together, provide some insight, even if the wider picture is often obscured or out of view completely."
