From the publisher:

“Guardian journalist and photographer Oliver Wainwright takes us on an eye-opening tour behind closed doors in the most secretive country in the world [North Korea], revealing that past the grand stone façades lie lavish wonder-worlds of marble and mosaic, coffered ceilings, and crystal chandeliers, along with new interiors in dazzling color palettes.

This collection features about 200 photographs with insightful captions, as well as an introductory essay where Wainwright charts the history and development of Pyongyang, explaining how the architecture and interiors embody the national 'Juche' ideology and questioning what the future holds for the architectural ambitions of this enigmatic country.”

Speaking on his work, Wainwright said in a statement from Taschen: “My photographs are an attempt to offer a glimpse inside North Korea, revealing Pyongyang to be a place of candy-coloured apartment buildings and pastel-hued interiors – a series of precisely composed stage sets that could be straight out of a Wes Anderson movie.”

21 x 27.5 cm | 240 pages | hardcover

Oliver Wainwright is a critic at The Guardian, where he covers architecture and design.