Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Photos Show North Korea's Shiny New Airport

Chances are a visit to North Korea is not in your future plans. But photos of the country's shiny new airport give you a virtual glimpse at what some tourists experience when they arrive in the Hermit Kingdom.

Singaporean photographer Aram Pan, whose DPRK 360 project aims to capture panoramas of North Korean life, was the first passenger to clear customs when he arrived at the new Kalma International Airport as part of a special tourist group. On his website, Pan says the purpose of DPRK 360 is to "encourage understanding of the country and uncover the mysteries that lay hidden" without addressing sensitive political issues.

The new airport, located in the coastal Wonsan area, will start welcoming regional flights in November, with plans to go international soon after. The airport expects only about 2,000 passengers per day; for comparison, New York's JFK welcomed almost 146,000 passengers a day in 2014.

After having visited other small-scale airports, Pan says he was highly impressed by how modern North Korea's was. 

"It blew me away," Pan told HuffPost. "Everything was so well-made, you simply have to see it for yourself." Good thing he took photos.

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