North Korea

North Korea is truly like no other place on earth. The rulers of this rogue state, the late Kim Il-sung and King Jong-il, have expanded the cult of personality to unprecedented lengths. No other country, no other system, has ever created an environment of such ubiquitous propaganda. In one of the most distinctive photographic collections of the year, Philippe Chancel shows how the political has been transfigured into a breathtaking and allencompassing aesthetic, a totalitarian vision for a totalitarian regime.