Capturing North Korea: Why this photographer keeps going back | NK News
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September 27, 2026Sep 27, 2026

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Capturing North Korea: Why this photographer keeps going back

Pan says critics 'fail to see the good that can be achieved by helping the people'

Why does Singaporean photographer Aram Pan – best known for his increasingly prolific DPRK 360 project – spend so much personal time and money going to North Korea?

“Simply to do whatever I can to help North Korea integrate into a worldwide community,” Pan tells NK News, just a day after returning from his 12th visit to the country.

And Pan says his government-approved photography project – combined with efforts to improve tourist access of the country and trips which bring “common people” out of it – can both help outsiders get a “better understanding of them, and help