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What it's like to ride on the North Korean subway

NK subway
Pyongyang Metro. Matt Paish/Flickr

Subway rides are usually a dreary experience.

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If it's not the trash, it's the graffiti. Maybe it's the noisy passengers. Or maybe it's the rickety ride and train car plastered with advertisements.

Not in North Korea.

Photographer Aram Pan has visited the locked-down country nine times over the last two years, and each time he uses a 360-degree camera to capture the full North Korean experience.

Pan's Pyongyang metro footage reveals an immaculate, beautifully designed, ad-free system that looks like it could be straight out of a Wes Anderson movie. Murals coat the soaring platform walls, ushering in subway cars painted green and red. 

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The ride does, however, carry an unsettling air. The murals pay tribute to the dictatorship that has controlled North Korea for decades, and the red-green color scheme reflects the country's national flag. Everything is designed to reinforce North Korea's image of supremacy.

Hop aboard for yourself. Just click and drag to get the full effect.

North Korea Photography
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