This book presents a photographic study conducted under conditions of prohibition, in a country where the authorities control not only whether something will be documented but also how it will be documented. North Korea is perhaps the most isolated country in the world. Its historical title, the "Kingdom of the Hermit", seems more fitting than ever.

The photographs of Giannis Kontos depict another world, light-years away from our own reality. And this is their exceptional value: they provide a window into a world to which we would, under normal circumstances, have no access.

Images vividly strange and inexplicable, in terms of our (known, Western) logic. Girls holding Kalashnikovs? Crowds gathering in front of giant posters calling for the destruction of American imperialism instead of acquiring consumer goods? A metropolis of skyscrapers completely devoid of advertisements that plunges into darkness every night at ten? The baroque feel of the Pyongyang Metro and other public spaces? The portraits of the Great Leader emerging in every possible location, public or private? The sense of military ritual even in the most everyday moments of daily life...