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North Korea Datazone Project 2005-2014

Philippe Chancel

Philippe Chancel travelled to North Korea seven times for his Datazone project between 2005 and 2014. He visited Pyongyang, Wonsan, Kaesong, Panmunjom, Nampo, Masik and Myohyang.

North Korea is frequently portrayed as one of the world's most enigmatic and least understood nations. It is a place defined by a total ideological submission that the Western mind often finds difficult to comprehend. This inquiry is central to a modern way of thinking that goes much deeper than just labeling the country as the last survivor of Communism. Within this system, propaganda is treated as a legitimate art form. To really understand how this country works, you have to look at the small details of daily life; that is where the true nature of power becomes visible and real.

This detached perspective is incredibly powerful, as it reveals how people are unified under a single ideology and how their reality is turned into a scene. The goal is to find a new way of seeing a subject where every existing image follows the same repetitive pattern.

North Koreans often appear cheerful. When photographed as individuals, couples, or families, they seem to project a certain sense of joy and happiness, but what does this really tell us?