Tale Of Two Countries: Amazing Photographs Which Show The Stark Differences Between North And South Korea -- Daily Mail
These extraordinary photographs show the extreme differences between everyday life in North and South Korea.
The two countries were culturally identical before they were split into the communist North and capitalist South - but now they are almost unidentifiable.
German photographer Dieter Leistner travelled around both countries, capturing images which demonstrate the huge gulf between them.
South Korea's capital Seoul appears modern, prosperous and busy, while Pyongyang in North Korea is desolate and underdeveloped.
Mr Leistner was given official permission to travel to Pyongyang in 2006, and returned to the peninsula six years later to take complementary photographs of Seoul.
He sought out comparable locations in order to capture a set of photos which would highlight the similarities and differences between the two nations.
In Seoul people can be seen chatting on the subway, whereas those on the metro in North Korea seem to be more subdued.
The photos of North Korea showcase bronze statues of Communist heroes and wide avenues with very few cars and people.
The bustling streets of Seoul could not be more different, choked with cars and people and late-night shopping.
Mr Leistner's book, Korea-Korea, reflects on the parallels with the situation in his own home country, which was for decades split between West and East Germany.
His images are supported by excerpts from two diaries. The first was written by Philipp Sturm, who grew up in East Germany and accompanied Mr Leistner to Pyongyang.
The second was written by Ahn Hehn-Chu, who was born in Germany to Korean parents, and has regularly visited Seoul since she was a child.
In her diary entry, she described how dynamic Seoul is. She wrote: 'I've been to the former night market in Dongdae-mun at 4am to go shopping before but this is the first time I've gone to a hair salon that's open 24 hours.'
Mr Sturm's account of North Korea, by contrast, highlights the strict regulations imposed on visitors, and what they are allowed to photograph and record.
After landing in Pyongyang, he wrote: 'Once inside, border guards stamp our passports and ask us to hand in our mobile phones for the duration of our visit - for security reasons, they say.'
He also recounted visiting the Mangyongdae Children's Palace, where school children can part in extracurricular activities in line with their talents.
'Countless children appear, as if ordered and perform for us and our escorts on command,' Mr Sturm wrote.
Mr Leistner studied photo engineering and visual communication in Cologne, Essen, and Wuppertal.
In 1999, he became a professor of photography in the design department at the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences.
