Absolute purity and 100% employment, but mainly lack of information and abstinence. Traveler Cinema introduces North Korea.

The world behind the Iron Curtain and the bustle of tough communism offers unusual and rare adventures. How do people live in this isolation? And how do the tourists choose to be there under the unexpected, eye-catching eyes? What are the rules and traditions of this nation? The Traveler's Cinema will focus on North Korea on Wednesday 11 October at Kine Hviezda in Trenčín. Accompanied by photographer Roman Harák, visitors take a surrealist trip to the country, which is characterized by effective propaganda, adamant censorship and controversial political leaders.

North Korea is not a typical tourist destination, and it's not so easy to get there. Roman, how did you get there and how long you were there?

Roman Harak: I was in North Korea twice. Once as a member of the group, once as a companion to the head of a humanitarian organization that has been authorized in the country to operate bakeries whose products were intended only for children in schools and nurseries. This project was completely financially and logistically covered by an organization outside of North Korea, and I got to the people, locations and experiences that a Western traveler does not experience. Getting to North Korea is now very easy. But this country is packed with such a mystery that many people think getting into the country is extremely difficult. In both cases I have been in the country for almost two weeks.

What did you have to prepare for and how surprised you after arrival?

RH: I have to be prepared for many restrictions. Do not shoot what the regime does not do, do not break the politics with the locals, do not try to engage in inappropriate contact, do not get rid of the guides, do not have a camera lens over 300mm. Since the arrival in the country, I have been surprised by absolute cleanliness, the city is still sweeping, cleaning the curbs, manually digging the grass. Small children are already involved in this process, we have seen as they sweep the motorway during the fall when the leaves fall. On the second and next day they did the same, instead of being in school.

It is a country living in isolation from the surrounding world where the hard hand of Communism prevails. How does life look like and who are North Koreans? How do they nourish and spend their free time?

RH: During my second visit to the country, I had the opportunity to look into the ordinary life of people, which is impossible for ordinary tourists under the guidance of "guides". People are often forced to engage in absurd activities, only to be one-hundred-year employment. The biggest problem is, in my opinion, the absolute detachment from the world and the lack of information. Especially in the countryside, where people have one TV channel and one newspaper full of misinformation and propaganda. The Internet and independent news are absent there and people have very distorted views of the world. They did not even know that there had been an uprising against the dictators in the world, for example, as the local regime of such information consistently filtered.

What is it like to see in North Korea?

RH: Definitely the capital of Pyongyang, to some extent it is a trip to the past: trains and buses from Czechoslovakia or GDR in contrast to the latest Hummers and Mercedes's local elite. In the capital, you must definitely experience a fascinating spartakiáda, during which one hundred evenings will bring up to 100,000 trainees. Exciting is the world's smoothest border between the two Koreas and the demilitarized zone where you can take a few steps to South Korea. A great place to visit is also the highest mountain of Mount Paektu, which is about the size of our Gerlach and is considered by the locals to be sacred and was not born there according to local nobody other than Kim Jong Un.

If someone decides to visit this country, what would you recommend before the trip to prepare?

RH: I would recommend that everyone be careful about behavior. Respect local customs, be bizarre or absurd. Sometimes a little bit is enough, and in the best case, the guides will just "sit down" and delete your photos, or they will not be able to take pictures. In the worst case, problems ending with exile, or even for our banality, from our point of view. You have to take a lot of memory cards with you, as inspiration for photography will be a nuisance, and as North Korea is a country that is mostly only once in your life. In North Korea, they accept the euro, but it is necessary to take with them many coins or banknotes of smaller denominations. When you want to buy somewhere in the remote area of ​​the mineral water and you have only 20 euro in your hands, they will tell you that they do not have to give up small ones and stop tomorrow, but you will be the next day at the opposite end of the country. You should also be aware of the magazines or books you bring to North Korea. Local authorities may regard these papers as Western propaganda and can cause you problems.

Roman Harák

is a photographer and traveler who works in the IT and e-commerce sphere. It belongs to people who do not take beach resorts for holiday, but rather attract their less common destinations for traveling. His photographs from North Korea have already seen several million people and have been used in media such as CNN, Reuters, BBC or The Guardian.

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