My gajang chinhan chingu and I traveled to North Korea in September 2015. While endless ink has been spilled about the country’s diplomatic and political choices, people rarely ever speak about its awe-inspiring, otherworldly beauty.

It tickles the mind to think of this place as contemporaneously existing in the world as it is today. A capital city free of all forms of commercial advertising. People walking the streets looking ahead, not down at their phones. Subway stations lit by stained-glass chandeliers. It seems like a dream, or at the very least a different era. But yet it’s here: an example of a different system.

The country’s immediacy, grandeur, and cohesiveness came across exceptionally well in photos, some of which are shared here. Use them respectfully with an attribution back to the gallery. Send an electronic message if you're interested in working together.