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Inside North Korea: Live From the Games, an hourlong documentary special featuring live commentary from host & correspondent Bob Woodruff, premieres Sunday, Feb. 11, at 9pm ET (6pm PT) on National Geographic.
North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world—international travel is highly regulated and freedom of movement within its own borders scarce. The lack of demand for air travel combined with global sanctions has had an unintended effect: The country is frozen in the golden age of Soviet aviation.
“North Korea is an unusual country that is fascinating to many people, and I think people are curious to see what an airline might look like in such a strange context,” says photographer Arthur Mebius, who took 24 flights with Air Koryo over the course of three separate trips. His photo book, Dear Sky, the Planes and People of North Korea’s Airline, is a tribute to the dedicated airline crews and his own love of aviation.
SOKAO (Soviet–North Korean Airline)—the airline now known as Air Koryo—was originally established in 1945 to connect Pyongyang and Moscow. In...
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