At the Musée des Confluences, North Korea through the lens of Stéphan Gladieu

The Musée des Confluences in Lyon is presenting an exhibition of photographs by French photographer Stéphan Gladieu, taken during five visits to North Korea between 2017 and 2020. The images capture everyday life in the isolated dictatorship—from young women at a shooting range to a married couple at the zoo—using a frontal flash technique that gives the scenes a staged, almost surreal quality, though Gladieu insists everything depicted is real.

The exhibition matters because it offers a rare, humanizing glimpse into one of the world's most secretive and controlled societies, countering the usual propaganda imagery with portraits that restore individuality to North Korean citizens. By presenting these works in a major French museum, the show also raises questions about the ethics of photographing under surveillance and the power of documentary photography to bridge cultural and political divides.