A Singaporean photographer has published the world’s first 4K resolution GoPro dashboard footage from the North Korean capital city, Pyongyang.

The video, recorded in July in conjunction with the China-based Young Pioneer Tours, features over an hour of ultra-high resolution video taken along some of the main arteries in Pyongyang.

“I did a GoPro City tour back in 2014,” said photographer Aram Pan about the context of the new video. “Time for an update since there have been many changes in the city since then.”

While his North Korean hosts required his car stick to the main roads of Pyongyang, a 360 degree version of the same footage posted on the DPRK 360 website also lets the user “peep down the side alleys,” Pan said.

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Despite multiple indicators showing traffic to have increased in Pyongyang since the early 2000s, the roads in Pan’s early-afternoon-filmed video are however notably empty.

“Roads only peak in the morning and evening,” Pan said of the lack of traffic. “Lunch time has the least traffic.

“I’m guessing it’s to do with the fact they have 90-120 minute lunch breaks,” he continued. “And they don’t “go out to eat” the way we do.”

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Pan has been filming and photographing North Korea since 2014, with his work receiving both positive and negative feedback from figures within the North Korea community.

Some, including journalists and long-time watchers of the country, welcome the output of his state-approved project, as the images and videos often showcase new developments in the country.

Others describe Pan as a propagandist of the North Korean state, naïve for thinking he can communicate anything but a state-approved depiction of the country.



Main picture: Aram Pan