From 1945 until the fall of the USSR, only a small number of foreign guests were welcomed to visit North Korea, with the majority of visitors arriving from Communist bloc or non-aligned nations. Distant memories and scattered tourist snapshots aside, few archives remain of this fascinating time.  But now, thanks to the work of Christopher Graper at Koryo Tours, we're able to revisit some of these lost memories through  vintage postcards and tourist pamphlets that showcase North Korea during its 1970s and early 1980s heydays.

In the second part of our collaboration with Chris we're happy to showcase a selection of North Korean postcards designed to promote the Pyongyang gymnasium, a huge public building completed in 1973, when the socialist economy was still booming...