Hanging out at the beach in North Korea – in pictures

Visitors to the DPRK expect to have their every move monitored, so it took travel blog The Velvet Rocket by surprise when they were dropped off at the beach unsupervised for a couple of hours. They set about meeting as many locals as they could, taking photos as they went. The results are a refreshing change from the stage-managed images often seen emerging from the country

Having been under the close supervision of minders every moment our trip, it took us by surprise when we were dropped off at a crowded beach near Nampho with instructions to be back in a couple of hours. Photograph: Justin Ames

We had never been prevented from speaking to PEOPLE, but they were often shy and cautious when our guides were around. We saw this as a chance to get an unfiltered sense of daily life: the contrast was remarkable. Photograph: Justin Ames

From volleyball, to inflatable rings the scene was familiar to many seaside towns around the world. Photograph: Justin Ames

We took a walk to see what PEOPLE were up to. Some were having barbecues... Photograph: Justin Ames

This man was enjoying oysters washed down with cold beer, looking out over the bay. Photograph: Justin Ames

The PEOPLE we met were tremendously hospitable, some invited us to hangout. Photograph: Justin Ames

These dancers were quite insistent on us joining in with their routine. Photograph: Justin Ames

All in all, it felt like we had crashed a big beach PARTY. Photograph: Justin Ames

All of our pit stops meant it took a while to get to the end of the beach. Photograph: Justin Ames

PEOPLE had used a various modes of transport to get to the beach, we saw PEOPLE piling in military vehicles and cargo trucks. Photograph: Justin Ames

Some villagers had commandeered buses for the trip. Photograph: Justin Ames

People suggest that every stop on a visit to North Korea is staged-managed: visitors arrive, neat scenes of ‘everyday life’ are on show, visitors leave, it’s all packed up and life returns to normal. But nothing felt staged about this visit, we saw every aspect of life. Photograph: Justin Ames

via: The Guardian