Curious to witness a nation that is consistently in the news for all the wrong reasons, record numbers of tourists are booking visits to North Korea – although defectors who have fled a regime that has imprisoned their families and friends say they wish travelers would choose a different destination.

The vast majority of the tourists are from neighboring China , with the state-run Global Times newspaper reporting that there has been a sharp increase in arrivals from China in the first half of the year.

In the first three months of the year, as many as 2,000 people were crossing the border into North Korea from China. With limited tourist infrastructure – including hotels and restaurants – the North Korean authorities in March announced that a limit on foreign arrivals would be set at 1,000 people per day.

In total, around 100,000 tourists visited North Korea last year, all members of groups that were carefully taken to sites that the regime of Kim Jong Un wanted them to see. Those sites included the vast expanse of Kim Il Sung Square, usually seen on television with hordes of soldiers marching in long parades, as well as the Tower of Juche and a replica of the mountain hut in which North Koreans are taught Kim Jung Un, the father of the present dictator, was born.

Read more: US ban on North Korea travel comes into force

Mass Games spectacle

Another major attraction is the Mass Games, in which thousands of children perform tightly choreographed dances and performances in the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium – with 114,000 seats, the largest stadium in the world – in praise of the nation and their leaders. Performances for this year have been abruptly halted after Kim expressed his displeasure and it is not clear when they might resume – but still the tourists come.

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Glimpses of normality Despite its image of being secretive, North Korea invites foreigners to discover its attractions. But traveling as tourists comes with strings attached, as special guides shadow their every step. The restrictions haven't deterred Pierre Depont, who has visited the country seven times, capturing glimpses of the locals' daily life.

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Creeping capitalism Depont first traveled to North Korea in 2013 - and has since studied the changing face of the authoritarian country. During the last two to three years, he has observed "that in Pyongyang it has become acceptable to show off your wealth." With a growing middle class and a construction boom, the capital seems to be defying international economic sanctions.

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Pyongyang street style Connecting with everyday people isn't easy, says Depont. "I had a couple of random conversations with strangers - always overheard by one of the guides." In Depont's experience, most locals don't like to be photographed. "North Korean women are definitely getting more fashionable. But you can only see it in the cities."

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Urban vs. rural Commuting in style: this underground station in Pyongyang dazzles travelers with what looks like marble walls and chandeliers. To Depont, North Korea is "an amazing space for photography. You find no advertising at all, no distraction. It feels like a whole new game." But while the capital - home to the elite - seems to be thriving, other parts of North Korea remain mired in abject poverty.

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Hidden hardship To this day, North Korea remains a highly militarized, predominantly agricultural society. Tourists, however, don't get to see much of the living conditions of the rural population. "Every little piece of land is cultivated, every square meter is used."

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Staged abundance? Tourists interested in life outside North Korean cities are taken on guided tours to showcase cooperative farms. When Depont visited one such farm near Hamhung, the country's second-largest city, it featured a little market with a variety of neatly stocked goods. Depont recalls feeling like the shop "was just for show."

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Elite schools - a tourist attraction A stop at a model school is an important item on many tours' agenda. The renovated international summer camp Songdowon was re-opened in 2014 and has been visited by the country's current leader Kim Jong Un. "There is something unreal about it," says Depont. "The kids play in the amusement room, using very advanced arcade games and around 20 modern computers."

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Omnipresent militarism The military is central to the country's identity and the fabric of its society. Around a quarter of the population is employed as military personnel, while Pyongyang has one of the largest military budgets in the world relative to its economic output. From a very young age, North Koreans grow up with military imagery. Depont came across this miniature tank on a children's playground near Hamhung.

Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective Ritualized worship Alongside militarism, the high level of political control and the personality cult surrounding Kim Jong Un and his predecessors are ubiquitous. The everyday worship of the supreme leader has left a lasting impression on Depont. "You see the amount of money and effort that goes into holding up the story of the great leaders and their great statues." Author: Helena Kaschel, Christine Bayer



Gyungbae Ju wishes that they would not.

"Tourists should not set foot in North Korea," he told DW. "Anyone who goes there is being manipulated by the regime and told only what the North wants them to hear," he added.

"Unfortunately, if they have no other sources of information on what life is really like in North Korea, and they have no chance to see how miserable the lives of ordinary people are, then they will come out thinking that North Korea is a safe and happy place," the South Korea-based defector said. "It is not safe and it is not happy."

Read more: UN rapporteur demands inquiry into North Korean defectors

Ju fled North Korea in 2008 after becoming disillusioned with the regime. His father was a political prisoner and was taken from the family home when he was 9. One of his older sisters has also been sent to a political prison and he does not know if she is dead or alive, he said.

He believes his other sister is alive and still working as a doctor in the North, but he has made no effort to contact her in several years because it would be dangerous for her if the North's state security officials discovered that she was communicating with someone outside the country.

"Visitors to North Korea are being told about the 'victory of the Juche ideology' of the country. They are being told of the greatness of the Kim family," he said. "I know this because it is exactly what I was taught when I was at school. But it is a lie."

Read more: North Korea defection: Video shows soldier make daring border escape

Propaganda and cash

Kwangil Heo, who defected from the North in 1985 and took two years to reach safely in South Korea, says Pyongyang has two prime motivations for attracting more foreign tourists; one is to feed them propaganda, the other is to earn hard currency, he said.

"Since the United Nations introduced sanctions, they have been really struggling," he told DW. "Tourism is one of the few ways that they still have of making any money."

"The money that tourists spend to go there, and anything that they use when they are in the North, goes directly into Kim's political funds and is used to buy the loyalty of the political factions and the military leaders that he needs to keep happy to stay in power," said Heo, who is now chairman of the Seoul-based Committee for the Democratization of North Korea.

"Tourism is helping to keep the North Korean regime alive and I believe it should also come under the international sanctions to stop that money going to Kim."

Read more: US sanctions North Korean officials over human rights abuses

Interaction with the outside world

Not everyone agrees.

"Tourism does not support the North Korean regime and the people who visit the North are not expressing their support," said Simon Cockerell, general manager of a North Korea travel agency, Koryo Tours. "In the same way, no travel company that is taking visitors to China would say that their travelers were supporting the Chinese government."

Read more: N. Korea tourism agency launches website

Cockerell also denied that money from the tourism sector is funneled to the national government, pointing out that the hotels, restaurants and their other travel partners in the North all have to pay their own staff and have other overheads.

"Most North Koreans never have the opportunity to interact with a foreigner," he told DW. "These are people whose only understanding of foreigners is what they are told by their own government. So when they do meet foreigners, they have a very different perspective."

And when they realize that everything that the state has told them previously was incorrect, he said, they then begin to question other "truths" that they have been fed all their lives.