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NORTH KOREA by David Guttenfelder
David Guttenfelder was chief photographer in Asia for
the Associated Press when it became the first international
news organization to open a bureau in North Korea. He
started making frequent trips to the country, which had
been largely off-limits to foreign journalists and virtually
hidden from public view for nearly 60 years. Guttenfelder
dutifully chronicled the official events and stage-managed
pageants in Pyongyang, but his eye kept wandering to the
scenes of daily life just beyond the guided tours. In early
2013, North Korea made a 3G connection available to
foreigners, and suddenly Guttenfelder had the ability to
share those glimpses with the world in real time. On Janu-
ary 18, 2013, he used his iPhone to post one of the first
images to Instagram from inside the notoriously secretive
country. “The window [into] North Korea has opened
another crack,” he wrote on his widely followed account.
“Meanwhile, for Koreans here who will not have access
to the same service, the window remains shut.” By using
the emerging technology of the sharing age, Guttenfelder
opened one of the world’s most closed societies. He also
inspired other visiting foreigners to do the same, creating
a portrait of the monotony of everyday life not visible in
mainstream coverage of the totalitarian state and bringing
the outside world its clearest picture yet of North Korea.