©Mark Edward Harris, Pyongyang Traffic Officer

Over the past year, I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Mark Edward Harris. Not only is he a remarkable photographer, but also a generous and deeply enthusiastic visual storyteller whose suitcase seems perpetually packed. His name appears everywhere—photographing the Olympics, speaking at international an photography festival in Japan, or embarking on yet another assignment that takes him across the globe. Over the course of his career, Harris has traveled to more than 100 countries, creating a body of work that bridges documentary photography, portraiture, and cultural exploration with curiosity and empathy.

What distinguishes Harris’s work is his ability to move beyond surface observation. Whether photographing Hollywood icons, remote communities, or politically charged regions, he approaches each subject with an openness that allows complexity and humanity to emerge. That sensibility is especially evident in his photographs of North Korea, a country often reduced to spectacle, ideology, and isolation in the Western imagination.

Rather than relying on sensationalism, Harris’s images reveal fleeting moments of tenderness, ambiguity, and individuality. His photographs navigate the tension between access and restriction, propaganda and reality, offering viewers a rare opportunity to consider the nuances of a nation that remains largely inaccessible to the outside world.

An interview with the artist follows.

©Mark Edward Harris, North Korea, Pyongyang – April 16, 2012: North Koreans bow to the newly unveiled statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang at the Mansudae Grand Monument.

North Korea

On July 27, 1953 an armistice agreement was signed by the United Nations Command, the Korean People’s Army, and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army that stopped – but did not officially end – the Korean War. The Korean peninsula is still divided by a 154-mile long and 2.5-mile demilitarized zone (DMZ).

To better understand North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), one must travel back at least two centuries. For it is in the history of the Korean Peninsula, not just the land above the mid-20th century division, where an integral part of the bigger picture reveals itself.

The 19th century Opium Wars in China had an isolating effect on Korea, helping to create what became known as the Hermit Kingdom. While now often used as a synonym for the DPRK, this label was originally given to the entire peninsula.
In the 1870s Japan began flexing its military muscle, crisscrossing the East Sea (Sea of Japan) in an attempt to subjugate Korea. These actions culminated in the annexation of the country in 1910. Japanese occupation would last until the end of World War II in 1945, when the United States took control of the southern half of the peninsula and the Soviet Union, having entered the war against Japan only a few weeks earlier, occupied the northern half. These are the seeds that grew into a divided Korea.

©Mark Edward Harris, Pyongyang Military Parade

In 1948 with the Cold War in full swing, North Korea and South Korea declared independence from each other, each claiming to be the rightful government for the entire peninsula. On June 25, 1950 the Cold War turned hot as Northern troops flooded into the South. By the time an armistice was signed on July 27,1953, more than a million soldiers and civilians had been killed. At the time, U.S. General Mark Wayne Clark’s headquarters in Tokyo issued a statement addressed to all members of the United Nations Command: “I must tell you as emphatically as I can, that this does not mean immediate or even early withdrawal from Korea. The conflict will not be over until the Governments concerned have reached a firm political settlement.” Seven decades later, peace is still not at hand.

©Mark Edward Harris, 2011, Children perform at a kindergarten in Chongjin, North Korea. (Photo by Mark Edward Harris/Getty Images)

At times there was room for optimism. I have traveled north of the 38th Parallel on the Korean Peninsula 10 times and seen vast changes since
I first stepped onto the tarmac at Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport in 2005. Thousands of cars now traverse the once empty streets of the capital city. There is an Italian pizza parlor, an Austrian coffee house, and a British-style pub in Pyongyang. Traveling to other regions of the country away from the showcase city, I saw historic changes that could not be passed off as propaganda created for foreign eyes. At one point it seemed that Swiss-educated Kim Jong Un’s familiarity with the West could be significant in reducing tensions. Those hopes have faded and for the foreseeable future, the land north of the DMZ will remain “The Hermit Kingdom.” – Mark Edward Harris

©Mark Edward Harris, A young girl in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang during the visit of the New York Philharmonic. Pyongyang, North Korea.

After graduating with a Master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles in Pictorial/Documentary History (a program he developed), photography assignments have taken Mark Edward Harris to more than 100 countries on all seven continents. His editorial work has appeared in publications such as Vanity Fair, LIFE, The New York Times, The Wash-ington Post, Time Magazine, GEO, CNN, Newsweek, Conde Nast Travel-er, National Geographic Traveler, Hemispheres, AFAR, Paris Match, VICE, Wallpaper, Vogue, Architectural Digest, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, and The London Sunday Times Travel Magazine as well as all the major photography and in-flight magazines. Among his numerous ac-colades are CLIO, ACE, Impact DOCS Award of Excellence, Aurora Gold, New York Book Show Book of the Year and IPA awards. His books in-clude Faces of the Twentieth Century: Master Photographers and Their Work, The Way of the Japanese Bath (four editions), Wanderlust (two edi-tions), North Korea, South Korea, Inside Iran, The Travel Photo Essay: Describing A Journey Through Images and The People of the Forest, a book about orangutans.

Instagram: @MarkEdwardHarrisPhoto

©Mark Edward Harris, Chilldren on a farm in Kangwon Province, North Korea.

Tell us about your growing up and what brought you to photography.

Mark Edward Harris: I owe so much to early family road trips for who I am and what I do. I was born in New York but my father who worked in radio and television publicity got a new job in San Francisco at KCBS Radio so we moved out to the West Coast when I was two. ­We lived on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge but my mother, brother and I would go into the city to meet my dad and have lunch or dinner, most often  in Chinatown. Though I had no clue at the time, that planted something in me about Asia, a seed that sprouted years later.

We would also do family road trips on most weekends and every vacation and early on I started collecting postcards, keeping diaries, and taking pictures as by father’s unofficial photo assistant. The camera was a part of his work in PR so he knew what he was doing with a camera even though he could use only one hand to operate it due to polio. He definitely was a role model. But it wasn’t until I was going for a BA in History at California State University, Northridge that I truly discovered photography in a darkroom class. Watching a print come up in the developer was life changing. That feeling I had at that magical moment is as strong today as it was over four decades ago.

©Mark Edward Harris, A guide at Secret Camp No. 1 where North Korean history books claim Kim Jong Il was born in near Mt. Paektu AKA Mt. Baektu.

 How do you choose your subjects?  How do you recognize that a subject such as North Korea is worth years of work rather than just a single trip?

 MEH: A lot of it is by instinct. In other words, it just feels right. After I earned my BA at I continued on for a Master’s Degree in a special major I created at California State University, Los Angeles, called Pictorial/Documentary History. So early on I had an interest in documenting the world around me combined with history. The question always is, “How did we get to this current place and time?” We make much more educated decisions when we have a clearer understanding of the past, how one action leads to another. Unfortunately we’re living in a time where we don’t seem to be paying attention to the lessons of history. I’m very fortunate that my parents had created a major library in our house that I delved into all the time.

Growing up in the US during the Vietnam War and seeing what was happening in Southeast Asia on television – it was the first televised war – had a major impact on me and my first true photo essay was on Vietnam in the early 1990s as the US and Vietnam were moving toward establishing relations. I learned the basics of storytelling with a camera there using establishing shots, environmental portraits, detail shots and closing shots to truly present what I saw in photo essay form. Up until then I was basically taking random images. North Korea is a variation of the same theme.

©Mark Edward Harris, Students in a high school English class in Pyongsong, North Korea.

I know that photographing in North Korea is very restricted, how did you get in?

MEH: My first trip was in 2005 to Kumgangsan – Diamond Mountain – that was a special zone created is a magnificent mountain range with hundreds of jagged granite peaks. It was a highly restricted area but it did bring me face to face with North Koreans for the first time other than my visits to the DMZ from the South Korean side at Panmunjom for the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Anyone could sign up and go to this North Korean enclave. Unfortunately access to Kumgangsan ended in 2008 in part due to a South Korean tourist being shot and killed by a North Korean guard after wandering off from the tour along the beach and running when she was ordered to stop.

My big break was in that same year when I was invited by the New York Philharmonic to cover their historic concert in Pyongyang. That coverage led to an exhibition of my work at the Korean Society in New York and at Washington University in Washington. The North Korean ambassador to the United Nations came to the opening at the Korean Society and said how he appreciated my balanced coverage of the country and told me he would sign off on future visa applications. That opened the door for my 10 trips to the country. That door was slammed shut in 2017 after the Otto Warmbier incident. He had been convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster from the Yanggakdo International Hotel where I had also stayed a number of times. Otto was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with hard labor but ended up in a vegetative state and died in 2017 soon after being released by the North Koreans.

©Mark Edward Harris, Waitresses at a restaurant in Wonsan, North Korea. (Mark Edward Harris/Getty Images)

Did you have a fixer who watched what you were documenting or were you able to shoot anywhere and anything?

MEH: You can’t move around on your own but the more I went there the more relaxed things became since I often traveled with the same guides and security people. We would have meals together and genuine friendships developed. We tend to have the idea that people living there are automatons. But that’s not the reality. They are much more interested and aware of what’s going on in the outside world. While what they see and hear on television is highly restricted, they see television from Russia and China so there’s lots of exposure to the outside world. That doesn’t mean that they can discuss things openly that are not in line with their government’s position. There is zero tolerance for that. It was frustrating at times to see things I wanted to photograph as I traveled throughout the country and was told in effect, “We don’t have time to stop, we need to get to the next statue.” But over time enough opportunities happened that I could present want I feel is an accurate picture of the country in my book, “North Korea” (Shashin Press) which was awarded “The Book of the Year” at the IPA Awards. One photo that I was able to venture out on my own and get was of the traffic officer in Pyongyang in 2008. During the New York Philharmonic rehearsal I went out the back door and walked in about half a mile to get that photo. I kept the piece of music they were playing in my mind, American in Paris, to make sure I got back undetected before it ended. When I returned one of the guides or security asked me, “Did you have a nice walk?” I said, “Yes, thank you” and we both moved on with our days.

©Mark Edward Harris, Conductor and driver for a historic bus in Pyongyang, North Korea.

What was your take-away about the people in North Korea–were they guarded, friendly, challenged?

MEH:  If you treat the people who come before your lens as photographic subjects rather than objects a natural rapport is possible. I’ve seen this countless times throughout the world. People are all basically the same. They want their children to not go hungry, get an education, at least a basic one, and stay out of harm’s way. Unfortunately geopolitics and/or religious fervor get in the way all too often and people can be motivated to do horrible things to their fellow humans.

©Mark Edward Harris, Daily life in Sonbong, North Korea.

You’ve traveled all over the world, do you have a favorite place to travel to…and a favorite assignment?

MEH: There’s something about the Japanese culture and aesthetics that I connect with. I’ve spent years studying Japanese as well as martial arts. Without that language ability I never would have been able to do my book, “The Way of the Japanese Bath” which is now in its 4th edition. It helped as well when I covered the aftermath and recovery of the 2011 tsunami that devastated the eastern coast of the Tohoku region.  I also studied Korean which helped in my work in the two Koreas and Persian for my book on Iran. Of course we can’t learn every language for every place we go but even a few words in local language opens up doors.

©Mark Edward Harris, The Golden Lane bowling alley in Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK)

Who or what inspires you?

MEH: I have been so fortunate to have interviewed so many incredible photographers including you and have learned from all of them. I have worked too hard to say “lucky” which I define as pure chance. Ironically one of the few photographic greats of the second half of the 20^th century I didn’t meet, W. Eugene Smith, is perhaps my biggest inspiration. His photo essays such as Spanish Village, Country Doctor and Minamata are textbooks on how to tell a story through a set of images. The photographers I’ve had the honor to spend time with and have been inspired by include Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andreas Feininger, Carl Mydans, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Mary Ellen Mark, Gordon Parks, Horace Bristol, Annie Leibovitz, Helmet Newton, Eikoh Hosoe, Ragu Rai, Sebastiao Salgado…the list goes on. They have all been a “sensei” to me. The word teacher doesn’t quite convey the profoundness of how fortunate I am to have been in their presence. Out of the photo realm, Will and Ariel Durant and their book series “Story of Civilization” was a constant resource growing up. Their last book, “Lessons of History,” a summation of what they had learned from their studies, is a must read. I would also suggest Gordon Parks’ “Voices in the Mirror” as a guidebook for young people on how to rise above all the issues we face growing up regardless of race or religion.

©Mark Edward Harris, Pyongyang Arirang

What is your next destination?

MEH: I’m heading back to Japan to teach a workshop for Nobechi Creative and then to have two exhibitions at the Karuizawa Foto Fest. My workshops these days are heavily focused on helping participants develop the tools to create powerful photo essays rather than a series of disconnected imagery. I will probably extend the trip to photograph some new onsens as I continue my “The Way of the Japanese Bath” book and exhibition series. As I wrote in the intro to the book, “My first Japanese hot spring experience in Beppu, a town often shrouded in water vapor on the southern island of Kyushu, converted me into a furo-aholic (bath-aholic) in the early 1990s. More than three decades and four editions later I still find the magical waters an endless source of both visual and visceral pleasure.”

©Mark Edward Harris, Children playing in a schoolyard in Sonbong, North Korea.

You have had an exceptional career that is still in full swing, having traveled to over 100 countries, but you still return to Los Angeles. What do you love about coming home?

MEH: I’ve created a great environment to comeback to. I’m surrounded by books on photography, art, history and salon hung photos and other pieces of art. My yoga classes help keep me physically and mentally in shape as do the incredible network of hiking trails we have here.  Also, the simple reality is the weather here is great and LAX is a great airport to fly in and out of. That said, I plan to spend more and more time in Asia. Not sure if I’ll completely pull up SoCal roots but it might be time to do some gardening.

©Mark Edward Harris, Tourists visit the Joint Security Area at Panmunjeom with North Korean soldiers in the foreground and South Korean troops in the background on September 16, 2014. The South Korean government on December 9, 2024 ordered an overseas travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol as he faces investigation on possible rebellion charges over the recent emergency martial law declaration. Opposition lawmakers continue to pursue impeachment for Yoon who accused the opposition-controlled parliament of paralyzing the government and sympathizing with communist North Korea, with whom South Korea technically remains at war..