North Korea

I've always been excited to travel and explore new lands. If you've followed my past blogs you would have seen that I've been lucky enough to visit a number of different places in my life. However, none of these places were to compare to North Korea.

A year has passed since I stepped off of the plane in Pyongyang, the capital city of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. The trip was a year in the making, A trip I will not soon forget. 

 When it first sunk in I was going to one of the most closed off and secretive countries in the world. I have to admit I had my anxieties and a few sleepless nights. So I did some reading and leaned on the experience of some new friends to get passed it. By the time we finally boarded our Air Koryo flight in Beijing I was excited, I was ready.    

It was a whirlwind trip which lasted six nights in total. Five in Pyongyang then one last evening in Kaesong, a small city not far from the South Korean border. There we visited the North Korean side of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). I tried to take as many photos as possible. At times I was asked not to photograph certain things due to their more sensitive nature. Being seated on a bus due to the torrent pace of going from place to place didn't lend itself to much time composing photographs. There are certainly some photos I'm definitely proud of. It was a fun but hectic time. 

Please enjoy. 

Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong Il statues at Mansudae Grand Monument 

American flag underfoot

Grand People's Study House

Downtown Pyongyang 

View from our Hotel on a cloudy day. 

Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum 

Early morning with the towering Ryugyong Hotel

Waiting line for a bus or tram

The Woman in yellow

The streets were covered in patriotic flare. 

On the escalator going down to one of the deepest metros in the world

The opulent metro stations

Father taking a picture of his son

One of the many pins worn by North Korean citizens

Triumphal Arch 

Tae Kwon Do Demonstration

Monument to the Korean Workers Party

Portraits of their past leaders are never in the dark

Juche Tower to the right, 150 000 seat Rungrado May Day stadium

Kaesong

Kim Il-Sung standing watch to the south in the morning fog

Long climb up to the watching statue

This was the only statue of Kim Il-Sung that we saw without the vibrant smile

DMZ

#ShareLove Pride of Vancouver

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Hi guys, 

I just wanted to pass along some photos of a quick project I did in tandem with Vancouver is Awesome and Telus for Pride week here in Vancouver. 

I was asked to take a few of portraits the week before the Pride Parade. The individuals I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet are all local leaders who exemplify the inclusion and visibility of the LGBTQA2+ community.

Danny Ramadan – Author, journalist and Volunteer Coordinator at QMUNITY, Vancouver Pride Grand Marshal 2016

Shanda Leer – Performer, BRATPACK

Tru Wilson – Trans-rights activist, one of Vancouver Magazine’s 2015 Power 50

Mandy Randhawa – Event producer, Flygirl Productions

Brandon Yan – Program coordinator, Out in Schools

 

I'm sure a few of you have had the chance to see the images already, but I wanted to compile their images together here on my blog. It was a cool little project and a bit more eye-opening to me as I am not quite aware of everything and everyone that is a part of the fabric that is the lower mainland. I'm always interested to hear about the lives of individuals and what amazing things they are doing to change our community for the better. 

You can find out more about these amazing leaders here. 

http://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2016/07/29/sharelove-danny-ramadan/

http://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2016/07/29/sharelove-brandon-yan/

http://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2016/07/27/sharelove-shanda-leer/

http://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2016/07/27/sharelove-tru-wilson/

http://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2016/07/26/sharelove-mandy-randhawa-of-flygirl-productions/

 

-Broda