At the Borderland of History

Drawing on field observations in Dandong and Sinuiju, corresponding border cities in China and North Korea, respectively, this extended visual essay meditates on the mutual imbrication of landscape and history in this border-contact zone. Whereas Chinese soldiers and tourists passing through Dandong once used North Korea—real or imagined—as the photographic backdrop to construct their socialist imageries from comradeship to the industrializing future, mainland tourists today regard North Korea as an economic and political failure vis-à-vis China's high-speed growth. Aside from being a trade hub, Dandong has become a giant theme park for those who seek to consume everything North Korean. Meanwhile, amid the sense of Chinese superiority over their neighboring country on the other side of the Yalu River, China's own past, much like the murky river that divides the two historic port cities, has become more disarticulated than ever.