For nearly a quarter-century, Swiss aid worker Kathi Zellweger traveled to one of the world’s most closed-off countries, delivering food, seeds and medical supplies while quietly documenting life far beyond the polished image North Korea presents to the outside world.
Now, previously unseen footage she captured during those years is offering a rare look inside the isolated nation, from the hardship of the 1990s famine to the gradual changes that reshaped its capital in more recent years.
Zellweger has also shared her experiences in a new book, Miss Kathi: Saving Lives in North Korea, written with longtime journalist Mike Chinoy. The book chronicles her 75 trips, her life among foreign residents in Pyongyang and her interactions with North Korean staff and communities.