2019 calendar captures face of North Korea [PHOTOS]
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| May | Four North Korean children take a peek at life outside their playpen in South Hamgyong Province. It is common for parents to send their children to daycare centers and nurseries and for households with working parents to send sick or malnourished children to local institutions until they recover. Courtesy of NK News |
By Jung Da-min
A 2019 calendar showing the everyday life of North Koreans is available from an online shop run by NK News, a subscription-based North Korea monitoring website.
Calendar photographer Pierre Depont snapped the images in different parts of North Korea, including Pyongyang, Wonsan, Masikryong, South Hamgyong Province, Rason and Kaesong in 2017 and 2018.
Through the photos, the photographer has tried to show life beyond the politics of North Korea. All those featured are North Korean citizens.
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| January: "Sunday at the Masikryong" | A large screen featuring the Mokran state channel sets the background of a ski slope. If it weren't for the screen blaring out North Korean TV, it would feel like you could be at any ski resort in the world, with its well-groomed pistes and high-tech facilities. Courtesy of NK News |
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| August | An employee works the control panel at the Kangso Yaksu Mineral Water Bottling Plant. This high-tech plant is a showpiece, with most of its machinery imported from Italy. In the background hangs a large portrait of leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the factory. Courtesy of NK News |
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| November: "Us and them" | A young service woman looks out at a group of tourists at a hotel in Nampo, while the woman on her right checks her phone. A necklace hangs on a duct-taped picture frame. Courtesy of NK News |