Fotopedia releases new visual gem: North Korea

The mobile app features 1000+ professional photographs from North Korea

Fotopedia, which struck gold with such riveting photography apps as Heritage, National Parks, Paris, and more, has released another visual gem: Fotopedia North Korea. The free app, which is available on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, offers a rare glimpse into the secretive country, courtesy of professional photographer Eric Lafforgue.

As with every other app released by Fotopedia thus far, the images in North Korea are stunning. The 1,000+ professional photos are organized into different categories for the user’s browsing convenience, including a slideshow option, which takes the viewer through the photos in no particular order; the Arirang Festival, a gymnastics and artistic performance festival; and Propaganda, which hosts a photographic array of images promoting the Worker’s Party of North Korea.

As is the case with all Fotopedia apps, the images come with a helpful toolbar that allows users to get information on the photos from Wikipedia, pull up a map of the location of the photo, bookmark individual photos for your favorites collection, and search for other photos in the categories of Arirang Festival, Propaganda, North Korean Leaders, Korean People’s Army, Traffic Officers, Places, People, and Themes.

All of the photos were taken by photographer Eric Lafforgue, whose portfolio includes photos from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Angola, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Venice, and more.

“I traveled to North Korea four times between 2008 and 2010, always under strict supervision. Taking pictures was a constant game of cat and mouse,” said Lafforgue, in a statement. “I chose to photograph everything I could, without passing judgment, even if some images could be considered shocking from the point of view of the rest of the world.” 

Lafforgue has published his breathtaking photographs in National Geographic, Lonely Planet Magazine, Archeology Magazine, CNN Traveler, The New York Times, Le Monde, and more.

The North Korea app follows Fotopedia’s other successful apps—Heritage, National Parks, Memory of Colors, Paris, and Dreams of Burma, which have collectively seen 3.5 million downloads to date. The average user spends 16-25 minutes per month in the apps.

In November 2010, Fotopedia Heritage became one of only 50 iOS apps to be inducted into the App Hall of Fame.