Left: The Pyongyang subway system in North Korea is nearly 400 feet underground. All photos by Eric Lafforgue on flickr. Photos taken with the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP Digital SLR Camera

While browsing train and subway photos on flickr recently, I stumbled across this photograph of the Pyongyang subway by professional photographer Eric Lafforgue.

Like the tunnel in the photo, his photostream led me down a deep rabbit hole of consistently outstanding photographs of this mysterious country.

My favorite photo is not of the concrete, lifeless irony of Pyongyang streets, nor the beautifully haunting military portraits. My favorite photo is of three women leaving an evening mass dance.

Although, like most North Koreans, they exhibit a look of apprehension at the foreign photographer, I like to think they are secretly happy in this photo. While we are so used to seeing images of the spectacle of the mass games, this photo reminds us that the individual participants are not just pawns in Kim’s cultish games, but living, beautiful, individual human beings - so much more interesting individually than as part of the whole.

There are other photos in the set which show North Koreans simply enjoying themselves, which adds a touch of humanity to North Korea which is rarely seen. I recommend you view them all - and especially read the photographer’s excellent annotation for each.

PS His website is also outstanding!