[KS] Striking photographs of the DPRK from AP's David Guttenfelder, in The Atlantic

Kwang On Yoo lovehankook at gmail.com
Sat Aug 6 20:06:19 EDT 2011


As long as outsiders are escorted by North Korean minders, we will always
see the same type of photos over and over again.

Let's hope when the Associated Press opens their office in Pyongyang, they
will be able to offer a little more insight into North Korean life.

Kwang-On Yoo

*

The Editors Weblog <http://www.editorsweblog.org/>.org*
*AP* *opens* *office* in Pyongyang, North Korea
Posted by Florence Pichon <http://www.editorsweblog.org/florence-pichon/> on
June 30, 2011 at 3:48 PM
 [image: kim-jong-il-smiling.jpg]<http://www.editorsweblog.org/kim-jong-il-smiling.jpg>
The* Associated Press* has covered a few events in North Korea over the
course of the past year, but it has not delved into the darker side of life
in the authoritarian regime. It sticks to softer topics, including a huge
magic show<http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110418/ap_on_en_ot/as_nkorea_magic_show_6>and
a
parade <http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11843525> that
revealed Kim Jong II's son, Kim Jong Un, would be the country's next
successor. Other *AP* news coming out of North Korea has stressed the
country's nuclear
capacities<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/northkorea/index.html>
.

That may change. After signing agreements with North Korea's state news
agency, *KCNA*, the *AP* announced that it will open an *office* in
Pyongyang. It will be the first permanent Western text and photo bureau in
the country. It will also be the exclusive distributor of video from KCNA's
archive.

The news bureau is not the first step the *AP* has taken into the country.
Five years ago, the *AP* Television News established an *office* in North
Korea.
 [image: Associated_Press_AP_427370910.jpg]<http://www.editorsweblog.org/Associated_Press_AP_427370910.jpg>
The *AP* prides itself on unbiased, international coverage, but in a country
ranked so low on the Reporters without Borders' *Press Freedom Index*, how
can it deliver? North Korea was ranked
second-to-last<http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html>
(177
out of 178, beating only Eritrea) in last year's index.

*AP* has previously been criticized for coverage in an authoritarian
country. *Newsbusters<http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2011/05/01/ap-report-cubas-may-day-reads-mostly-castro-propaganda-piece>
*, a conservative fact-checking website, condemned its coverage of the May
Day parade in Cuba this year, claiming it left out important details. The
demonstration was in support of economic changes by the Communist regime,
but the reporters left out facts about the government busing in
demonstrators or contextual details about food rationing.

The new *office* *opens* possibilities for Western media to more deeply
understand the situation in North Korea, if the news organization is
thorough in its reporting. *Kathleen
Caroll<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/ap-associated-press-north-korea-bureau_n_887147.html>
*, the AP's top
editor,<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/ap-associated-press-north-korea-bureau_n_887147.html>
 told *The Huffington Post* that the news agency would not surrender its
principles to satisfy the regime.

"The *AP* operates independently, regardless of Location. Period."




On Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 8:07 AM, McCann, David <dmccann at fas.harvard.edu>wrote:

> Isn't there a curious irony to the notion that on the one hand North
> Korea has a reputation for being forbidden or inaccessible, while on
> the other, any paying customer can visit the places the AP reporter
> photoed?  Especially given the fact that "large parts of North
> Korea ... are off-limits."
>
> The challenge of these notions,  though, is to determine where the
> crux of the irony is located.  What plays against what else for ironic
> effect?  For one set I would propose "sign up on a tour" versus
> "forbidden or inaccessible to foreigners."
>
> I have also heard it reported on good authority-- a former NASA
> astronaut with three space flights and continuing work with the
> Agency-- that in the not-too-distant future, space flights, earth
> orbit or eventually even the moon, will be available to anyone who can
> pay to go.
>
> What precisely is the point that Charles and Michael seem to wish to
> register?  That any schmuck with a camera can take pictures of those
> government-approved places and those people in North Korea?  I think,
> ironically, that Aidan made exactly that same point, only-- as Charles
> and Michael both noted-- they were indeed done well.
>
> David McCann
>
> On Aug 5, 2011, at 11:21 AM, Charles K. Armstrong wrote:
>
> > With all due respect to Aidan, I agree with Michael that there wasn't
> > anything particularly unprecedented or striking about the subject
> > matter of the photos, although they were done well. There is a
> > widespread notion that North Korea remains  forbidden or inaccessible
> > to foreigners, and while there are certainly large parts of North
> > Korea that are off-limits, pretty much any paying customer from North
> > America or Europe can sign up on a tour and see the sights that the AP
> > reporters visited.
> > --
> > Charles K. Armstrong
> > Professor of History
> > Director, Center for Korean Research
> > Columbia University
> > 930 International Affairs Building
> > 420 West 118th Street
> > New York, NY 10027
> >
> > Tel: 212-854-1721
> > Fax: 212-749-1497
> >
> >
> > Quoting "Robinson, Michael E." <robime at indiana.edu>:
> >
> >> These are very nice, but not new scenes.  Very standard by my eye,
> >> but nice to have a professional do them.
> >>
> >> Mike Robinson
> >>
> >> From: koreanstudies-bounces at koreaweb.ws
> >> [mailto:koreanstudies-bounces at koreaweb.ws] On Behalf Of
> >> Afostercarter at aol.com
> >> Sent: Friday, August 05, 2011 6:00 AM
> >> To: Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws; baks at jiscmail.ac.uk; members at asck.org
> >> Cc: coyner at gol.com; news at nknews.org; nkeconwatch at gmail.com;
> >> Philip at londonkoreanlinks.net; nkleadershipwatch at gmail.com
> >> Subject: [KS] Striking photographs of the DPRK from AP's David
> >> Guttenfelder, in The Atlantic
> >>
> >> http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/08/inside-north-korea/100119/
> >>
> >> Inside North Korea
> >> AUG 2, 2011 |
> >> 148<
> http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/08/inside-north-korea/100119/#disqus_thread
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Earlier this year, David Guttenfelder, chief Asia photographer for
> >> the Associated Press, along with Jean H. Lee, AP bureau chief in
> >> Seoul, were granted unprecedented access to parts of North Korea as
> >> part of the AP's efforts to expand coverage of the isolated
> >> communist nation. The pair made visits to familiar sites accompanied
> >> by government minders, and were also allowed to travel into the
> >> countryside accompanied by North Korean journalists instead of
> >> government officials. Though much of what the AP journalists saw was
> >> certainly orchestrated, their access was still remarkable.
> >> Collected  here are some of Guttenfelder's images from the trip that
> >> provide a  glimpse of North Korea. [37
> >> photos<
> http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/08/inside-north-korea/100119/
> >> >]
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
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