The sacred peak of Paektusan is the highest mountain on the peninsula and where the Baekdu Daegan ridge — known as the energy life-line of the Korean people — begins.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The Baekdu Daegan ridge begins at Cheonji lake on Paektusan mountain in DPRK and contorts its way south for 1050-miles to the sacred peak of Jirisan in central South Korea.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The main core of my team consisted of three members of the NZ- Korea Friendship society that helped me obtain permissions to go to these remote zones of the Baekdu Daegan Mountains.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Young cadets of the Korean People’s Army take shelter under an umbrella in the famous larch pine forests of the Paektu-gowon plateau.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Due to fierce bombing by the American-led United Nations forces of the Korean War, most of the Buddhist temples in the North were destroyed. A total of 65 remain in reasonably good condition in DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Often my journeys saw us taking breaks by the seaside to recuperate our bodies and minds. Here a brother and sister play on a pristine beach called ??? Hwajin-po.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The spectacular Myogilsang Buddhist relief carving (918-1392 A.D.) in the famous Inner Kumgangsan Mountains, which previously had been closed since the fatal shooting of a Korean tourist.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Me standing on the Paektu-gowon plateau in front of Paektusan mountain in July 2012.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
This young girl, dressed in Chinese PLA uniform from the Korean War, was a local guide for secret camps for anti-Japanese revolutionists.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The squeaky spokes of the bicycle of a young mother and baby were the only sounds I heard as I sat on the side of the road in the tranquil silence of the North Korean countryside. As a New Zealander, the sound of silence is like medicine to me.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
A seaside village near North Korea’s sacred Chilbosan mountain, located on the east coast of Hamgyeongbukdo.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Podokam hermitage, located in Inner Kumgangsan Mountains, is alleged to have been built in 627 AD.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The Koreans believe that their founding Kingdom was by King Tangun (born around 2333BCE). He is supposed to have obtained the immortal status of Mountain Spirit on Kuwolsan Mountain in Hwanghaenamdo province in what is now DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
A cinema in the small town of Eunheung located on the flanks of the Baekdu Daegan in Kaema-gowon, Yanggangdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The famous Kaema-gowon plateau aka "roof of Korea" in Yanggangdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The roof of Korea is a 1800 meter high plateau where the local people's lifestyle includes farming goats, sheep, cattle, and growing a staple diet of potatoes, as rice cannot grow in these attitudes.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
The border town of Hyesan on the roof of Korea. China is in the background.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
A group of young boys get curious with me in the township of Eunheung in Kaema-gowon near the Baekdu Daegan in Yanggangdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Tigers in Korea are now extinct, although rumors abound they may still exist in parts of the Baekdu Daegan mountain system in DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Farmhouses in the north are not too dissimilar to the old ones in the south — peaceful abodes made from timber and clay.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
A tractor had broken down on the muddy mountain road we were driving on near the Duryusan mountain, and we camped there for the night.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Hwang Sung Chol of the NZ-Korea Friendship Society taking a break on our difficult hike on the unchartered slopes of Duryusan (1323 meters).
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Someone had filled most of our plastic water bottles with acorn soju (distilled wine) instead of water. By chance a brother and sister were effortlessly passing over the mountain and led us to a hidden spring where we replenished our bottles.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Me checking out the next photo angle with Duryusan guide Mr. Pak Geum Chol. We carried an array of foods with us on our hikes, including wild honeys and potatoes we roasted over our camp fires.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
My team on the summit of Duryusan mountain. What was to be a one hour hike turned into an 8 hour ordeal.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Magnificent views from the ridge on Duryusan (2309 meters) in Baegam- gun, Yanggangdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
A farmer and his ox on Korea’s Kaema-gowon plateau, Yanggangdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Loggers sending timber down a stream near the Baekdu Daegan in Eunheung-gun, Yanggangdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
My team on the summit of Huisabong (2117 meters) on the Baekdu Daegan in Deoksong-gun, Hamgyeongnamdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
Chilling out after a hard climb up to Hyunam hermitage near Jangsusan mountain in Hwanghaenamdo province, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.
A shepherd takes his goats to pasture up the mountains near the Baekdu Daegan in Sinyang-gun, Pyeongannamdo, DPRK.
Pictures and commentary courtesy of Roger Shepard.