Balmy beaches, red-leaved trees, mellow sunshine... who would have thought this was North Korea? In one of the world's most isolated nations, as described by travel writer Pico Iyer in his anthology "Falling Off the Map", it appears that people do lead a life. It may not be easy to get a visa to North Korea, but this slideshow will transport you there!
North Korean women carry a parasol to shield themselves from the sun as they emerge from an underground commuter walkway in Pyongyang, North Korea.

A North Korean couple on a bicycle coast down a hill past farm fields outside the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, North Korea.

North Korean farmland on the edge of Pyongyang, North Korea, is seen from the air.

An exclamation point on a sign stands in a rice field along a rural road outside the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, North Korea. The sign was the last of several sign boards written in Korean punctuating an encouraging message for farm workers during the harvest season.

A North Korean man rides a bicycle along a road past farm fields at a collective farm near the town of Sariwon, North Korea.

North Korean figure skaters train at an ice rink in Pyongyang, North Korea.

North Korean hikers cook using grills as they have a picnic lunch in the forest on Mount Kumgang, North Korea.

Leaves turn autumn colors on North Korea's Mount Kumgang.

North Koreans look out at the sea from a restaurant on the beach in Lake Sijung, North Korea.

North Koreans enjoy a ride at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park in Pyongyang, North Korea.

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