The beautiful side of North Korea they don't mind you seeing: Official tourist trail paints a very different picture of secretive state
- Ulrik Pedersen travelled around North Korea accompanied by two guides, a driver and government officials
- Was amazed at how normal peoples' lives in the secretive communist state seemed compared to his own
- However he soon realised the regime were deceiving him into believing all was well under dictatorial rule
- Said he left feeling regime was worse than he thought because the guides hid so much of the country from him
From concentration camps to starvation and public executions, life inside North Korea is often thought of as a harsh and brutal existence.
But as this set of pictures shows, the closed off country can also be picturesque and even beautiful despite the dictatorial regime of leader Kim Jong-Un.
The images were taken by Danish photographer Ulrik Pedersen, who spent two weeks travelling around the one-party state last month.
Welcome to North Korea: Photographer Ulrik Pedersen has captured the softer side of the isolated nation, including air hostesses from state-owned Air Koryo that met him before his flight in
Just married: This newlywed couple couple are photographed sitting on the grass near a fountain in Pyongyang, North Korea, just after their big day
The picture project captured the softer side of North Korea, including this couple heading to get married in the capital Pyongyang (left) and these family pictures hanging on the wall of a house in Chilbosan in the country's north
Among the snaps were idyllic-looking shots of farmland and countryside taken as Pedersen passed above it in a plane while on his travels
The series includes shots of flight attendants from Air Koryo, North Korea's national airline, young women relaxing in the Kaeson Youth Park, and a marriage ceremony with the bride in an ornate pink gown.
The trip included a chartered plane flight to the north of the country, allowing Pedersen to capture aerial images showcasing the country's natural beauty.
But while these pictures may appear to show a softer side to the country, the New York-based photographer is well aware that he was shielded from the true harshness of life under the regime.
Despite the tranquil experience, Pedersen said the journey left him convinced that North Korea is actually worse than most people think because they are hiding so much
Pedersen said that, while he was allowed to take more pictures than he originally thought, his travel was extremely restricted and carried out to a set itinerary
Big news: Kim Jong-Un covered the front pages state-owned newspaper The Pyongyang Times after winning an election in which every single vote went to him
One for the photo album: While Pedersen said he was amazed at first at what normal lives the North Koreans were living, he quickly realised it was all a show
Danish photographer Pedersen said he didn't believe any of the stories the tour guides told him, and noticed that fake buildings had been set up to trick him (pictured, jets on a runway in Chilbosan)
Pedersen said: 'I was there two weeks, so I went from feeling like going to a zoo - looking at the people and being amazed they have normal lives and go to work - to reaching a point where I wouldn't believe guide's stories about simple things like the number of lakes.
'With the stories, itineraries and fake buildings - built to justify the stories - the only thing you can rely on is just the book you read about the country.
'There is so much which is hidden for foreigners that I actually think the situation is worse that I thought. When you hide that much there must be a lot to hide.
'When you look at the standard itinerary you have to choose it is very very boring: statues, cooperative farms and museums. So the interest is the different layers from what you see to the political and stories you read the country.
At first Pedersen was amazed to see people living normal lives - such as these women in a 'youth park' in Pyongyang - but he quickly realised he was being deceived
As well as tranquil countryside Pedersen was allowed to photograph some of the more gritty, urban landscape around the capital Pyongyang
Mist hangs low over blocks of apartment buildings in this shot Pedersen took in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang while being given a guided tour of the country
Ad fad: There are no adverts in North Korea, instead billboards are covered with propaganda posters such as this one urging people to work harder for their country
Not the Shard: This building could almost be mistaken for the Shard in London, but it is in fact the Pyramid Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea
'Traveling around North Korea is like if Jesus was still on earth. You go to a place and there is a list of times the leaders have visited, including a small museum with the chair he was sitting on.'
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea describes itself as a socialist state but it is widely viewed by the international community as a totalitarian dictatorship, with an elaborate cult of personality operating around the ruling Kim family.
Although elections are held every five years, supreme leader Kim Jong-Un was elected to the highest legislative body in March without receiving a single vote against him - and with no-one else on the ballot.
Pedersen was required to travel around the country with the mandatory two guides and a driver - and the occasional government official checking up on them.
Get to work: Commuters in Pyongyang wait in a long line in order to catch the bus to and from work in the city centre on the country's poor public transport system
On the move: A female train guard waits for a train on North Korea's metro system in front of a mural painted on the far wall
Hard at work: The regime in Pyongyang have previously banned photographers for taking images of people relaxing, but are keen to promote snaps of people at work to promote the country
Working hard or hardly working? A woman in Hamhung's fertiliser factory answers a telephone (left) while yellow smoke billows from the factory chimney (right)
He added: 'I was there to take photos but also to try to understand the different lives people have under different regimes and political situations.
'Most people foreigners meet are used to having their pictures taken and are somehow okay with it.
'It is difficult to get in contact with other people so when you do it is mostly how you approach them. With a smile they seem to be interested in communicating with foreigners but guides will often try to stop any contact.
'I was often told not to take photos but talking nicely to the guides and sometimes pushing them a bit I was allowed to take more photos than I expected.
'I was allowed to go on several walks, both in Pyongyang and other cities in North Korea.'
Isolated: Pedersen said that with a smile most people in the sparsely populated country are willing to talk, but guides will often stop them from speaking
Glorious leader: This square in Pyongyang is named after the founder of the Kim dynasty, Kim Il-Sung, which was inherited by Kim Jong-Il before being passed to Kim Jong-Un
Seen from above: While Pedersen's photography was restricted while he was on the ground, in the air he was able to capture shots from the window of his plane
Guarded: Pedersen said he was forced to travel around the country with two guides and a driver - and the occasional government official keeping tabs on where he was
