"There are nearly no fat people in North Korea" - Photos of Life in North Korea

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

A customs officer talks to a passenger at a railway station in Tumangang, North Korea.

The North Korean government is notoriously secretive. Upon entering the country, visitors are instructed on what they can and cannot take pictures of. Customs agents inspect your cellphone and other digital devices, including cameras, tablets, and storage cards, for banned content.

These restrictions prompted Getty photographer Xiaolu Chu to travel by train through the country in August 2015, documenting everyday life through his phone lens. While some images were deleted during run-ins with the police, Chu shared the remainder of his trip with us. See more photos
 

The train ride from Tumangang to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, lasts a day. It was canceled because of a dispute between North Korea and South Korea. Xiaolu Chu/Getty

 

Tumangang, North Korea.

"Fortunately, we had a whole day to go out and take some pictures in the village," Chu says. Xiaolu Chu/Getty

 

He saw scores of people living in abject poverty. Many begged for money.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

 

"There are nearly no fat people in North Korea, everyone looks very thin," Chu says. Xiaolu Chu/Getty



 

Many of the residential buildings looked run down and in need of repair.August 19, 2015, in Tumangang, North Korea.

 

  He noticed portraits of the country's former leaders and the words "long live" scattered throughout.   Xiaolu Chu/Getty

 

  At night, these shrines were the only structures lit up in the village. Other buildings were consumed by darkness.  Xiaolu Chu/Getty

 

    

The next day, he boarded a train for the nation's capital.Xiaolu Chu/Getty



 The train chugged along, giving Chu snapshots of everyday life. This boy was collecting corn cobs beside the tracks.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

Many people rode bicycles, as seen at a railway crossing en route.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

Some scenes were quaint. Children took an afternoon dip in a river.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

But anytime the train pulled into a station, there were painful reminders of the poor living conditions. This little boy begged for money at a station in Hamhung.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

Korean People's Army soldiers rested on the tracks.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

                                            

Whenever he hopped out, Chu shot photos on his phone. "DSLR is too obvious to take pictures in that condition," he says, "as people in the village were extremely vigilant."

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

A general view of the North Korean countryside.

Several locals reported him to the police. "A policeman and a solider stopped us and checked our cellphone. I hid most of the pictures, [but a] few pictures were deleted," he says.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

People cool down in a train-carriage door.

 

Photography of anti-American protests is also welcomed. These students were marching against South Korea and the US.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

Xiaolu Chu/Getty

Pyongyang Station in Pyongyang, North Korea.

                                      

Photo credit: Xiaolu Chu/Getty