CNN
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One of the biggest complaints among tourists visiting North Korea is their inability to get out and explore.
Tourism is highly restricted, so booking a guided tour with one of the dozen or so companies endorsed by the state-run Korea International Travel Company is the only way in – even for those flying solo.
Outside the hotel, a guide accompanies visitors at all times and every tour is carefully choreographed.
There are strict guidelines in place dictating what tourists can and cannot do in North Korea – and that includes photography.
London-based tourist and amateur photographer, Michal Huniewicz, discovered just that while on a recent visit to the reclusive country.
Though many of his photos were acceptable, he admits others were taken against the wishes of his minders.
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The photographs show different sides of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and pose a stark contrast to the tightly controlled image the government attempts to project both within and outside the border.
“All of the pictures I took are North Korea seen through my eyes,” Huniewicz tells CNN.
On smuggling – and publishing – the photos, Huniewicz says he’s “a little bit concerned” on whether that might mean trouble for the government minders.
“I don’t really know whether they’re [under] any real threat, because there’s nothing highly controversial in those pictures,” he adds.
Click on the below gallery below to see some of his North Korea snapshots.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
London-based amateur photographer Michal Huniewicz recently visited North Korea as a tourist. He snapped dozens of images during his trip -- some permitted, others not. Huniewicz took this photo from the window of a train as he pulled into Pyongyang from Dandong. "It looked like something you would see in a theater," he says. "It's a bit too perfect."
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
Huniewicz says this is just one of two photos in which he was able to capture a candid smile from local residents.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
North Koreans head down to the Pyongyang Metro. It's 100 meters underground thus riding the escalator down to the station takes a couple of minutes.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
"Who's American here?" the museum guide asks. "Grab the flowers, go to the monument, bow, and lay the flowers there." Huniewicz says North Koreans told him they single-handedly defeated the U.S. in the Korean War.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
A woman sells postcards, stamps and posters, many featuring themes focused on defeating the U.S. and destroying the White House. Huniewicz says he did send one such postcard from North Korea to the U.S. and it arrived with no problems.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
These settlements, captured from a speeding van, appear to be slums outside of Pyongyang, according to Huniewicz. He speculates that the tourist transport vans slow down when passing what the authorities are proud of showing and speed past less desirable sights.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
This may look like an ordinary scene in any country, Huniewicz explains, but in North Korea, he feels it challenges a local song about no mother's love being greater than that of the Communist Party.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
Riding the Pyongyang Metro. The underground network has two lines and 17 stations.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
This scene was captured during a dance held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Liberation from Japan at Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
Women in traditional Korean dress head to the dance. Though much of North Korea is without electricity, the portraits of the supreme leaders are illuminated brightly.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
The Pyongyang circus, Huniewicz says, is genuinely impressive.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
Huniewicz makes it clear that all his pictures show North Korea through his eyes.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
Huniewicz doesn't think his pictures capture anything highly controversial.
Courtesy Michal Huniewicz
North Korea's apartments remind Huniewicz of the ones he saw in Eastern Europe, the photographer tells CNN.
Inside North Korea, the world’s most reclusive country