Korea is a divided land. In a new book by Dieter Leistner, a German photographer who was given permission to photograph public spaces in Pyongyang, North Korea, and later on Seoul, South Korea, he was able to put together a gripping book called Korea-Korea.
The book contains eye-opening images of North and South Korea, which boldly show striking juxtaposition of how radically different life is in each Korea.
City Street in South Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
City Street in North Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Architecture lecture at Daelim University, South Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Language course at the Grand People’s Study House, North Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Suburb of Seoul, South Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Fields in the Gangdong district, North Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
A hat seller on Insa-dong Street, South Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
A policewoman on Janggwang Street, North Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun Square in front of Gyeongbok Palace, South Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Geumsusan Palace and Kim Il Sung Mausoleum, North Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Mass Transit, South Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
Mass Transit, North Korea
Dieter Leistner / Korea Korea / Gestalten
(Source: Gestalten, H/T to Huffington Post)
The division of North Korea and South Korea happened in the aftermath of World War II, setting the nations on widely divergent paths. And the photos above simply say it all.