Photographer captures photos of North Koreans' daily life in summertime - and it's bleak
With few cars, highly-regulated entertainment venues (Pyongyang has about 8 cinemas in total), and frequent electricity shortages, most North Koreans go to bed early.
In the North Korean provinces, people often go swimming in streams and rivers.
Source: Associated Press
North Koreans still occasionally find bombs and mortar rounds from the Korean War that started in 1953.
Source: Associated Press
Former bomb squad member Jong Il Hyon, 44, has this photo of an unexploded bomb his team found near the railway running from Hamhung from Pyongyang.
Source: Associated Press
The poverty is even more abject in the North Korean countryside.
Source: Business Insider
In recent years, North Korea has seen an increase in food shortages. Two in five North Koreans are undernourished while basic staples such as soy sauce, eggs, meat, and cooking oil are sometimes hard to come by in local stores.
Source: BBC and The Guardian
While the country has few restaurants or cafes, larger offices have canteens where workers can eat lunch or buy snacks.
Source: The Guardian
North Koreans also come to the library for classes, such as the Chinese language class in the photo below.
Despite the high number of white-collar workers, most North Korean offices operate without internet or even computers.
Source: The Guardian
The Grand People's Study House is Pyongyang's central library and one of the only places in the country with public access to intranet, North Korea's closed-off computer network system.
Source: Associated Press and BBC
Most of the country's cars belong to state organizations — ordinary citizens usually bike, walk or take public transit to work.
Source: The Guardian
Many North Koreans live in densely-packed high-rise apartments such as this one. Many buildings see frequent shortages in electricity and elevator breakdowns.
Source: Associated Press
At school, North Korean children are taught patriotic songs, salute portraits of current leader Kim Jong-Un, and study the life of former leader Kim Il-Sung closely.
Source: The Guardian
North Koreans start their days early, as approximately 59% of the population works outside the home.
Source: The Guardian
Associated Press photographer Wong Maye-E has been documenting life in North Korea since 2013. Even though she is accompanied by a government minder at all times, she still manages to capture candid moments such as this one.
Source: Associated Press and TIME
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