Rick Wood: Veteran Milwaukee photojournalist reflects on his rare trip to reclusive North Korea

EXPLORING KOREA: Stories from Milwaukee to the DMZ and across a divided Peninsula. This special series explores historical sites and cultural traditions from across the Korean Peninsula, building a bridge back to the search for identity in Milwaukee. From the occupation of Korea at the end of World War II, to Korean War veterans in Milwaukee, veterans from Milwaukee who served in later years at the DMZ, adopted South Korean children who grew up in Milwaukee, different waves of the South Korean diaspora who moved to Milwaukee to raise their families, and even a defector from North Korea, their stories share generations of Korean and American experiences. https://mkeind.com/koreanstories

Rick Wood had the rare opportunity to travel from Milwaukee to North Korea in 1995 to take photos as part of a humanitarian mission. At that time it was estimated that only about 200 U.S. citizens had been granted access to the reclusive country in nearly 50 years.

For Wood, the journey was more than just taking pictures. He saw it as an opportunity to connect with the people of North Korea, even if under the watchful eyes of the authoritarian government.

“I had established a lot of connections within the Milwaukee church I was attending. One day, a speaker named Jim Groen came to talk about the humanitarian work they were doing, including a project in North Korea. It inspired me to volunteer,” said Wood. “So after the talk, I approached him and mentioned that if they ever planned another trip there, I’d be interested in joining.”

Although it was a Christian organization, the Denver-based Worldwide Leadership Council did not promote religion or any faith-based doctrines with their projects. The focus was on building friendships and relationships in third-world countries.

After Groen looked over Wood’s extensive portfolio, he realized how important it would be to have a personal photographer document the experience. The organization had a trip planned for April 1995 and Groen wanted Wood to accompany him.

“Our plane was an old Soviet Ilyushin aircraft with bald tires. We flew from Beijing in the evening and as we approached North Korea, the lights below us just went out, it was completely black,” said Wood. “After we landed, all of a sudden I became the center of attention. The North Koreans were all photographing me instead of the other way around.”

As a photojournalist, Wood was used to being behind the scenes to tell stories, so it was an adjustment to be thrust into the spotlight. Most North Koreans had never seen a foreigner before, let alone a photojournalist.

His group was taken to see the famous statue of Kim Il Sung, and that night the State news reported, “After 30 years, Americans finally come to North Korea to honor Kim Il Sung.” Wood had been prepared to experience that kind of propaganda, but he still found it shocking.

“We heard people back in the United States saying we were being naive, that we were being used as tools of propaganda. I acknowledged that perspective but insisted that it’s important not to overlook the human connections we were making, even if only for a few moments,” said Wood. “Those interactions — the handshakes, the exchanges of gifts, the eye contact, the faces of curious children hoping for a better future — weren’t just propaganda. They represented a genuine desire for a human connection.”

Wherever Wood has traveled, his approach was always to build rapport with the people he met on the streets of those countries. North Korea was no different, but he was very aware of the scrutiny he was under. North Korea had become the most closed society in the world after the war. Very few foreigners were permitted entry, and foreign radio broadcasts were completely jammed.

“My belongings were searched and even taken apart, and that’s just part of the process. It’s one thing to hear about it, but experiencing it firsthand is a different story,” said Wood. “However, I was honestly and genuinely there to build connections, so while it was an inconvenience I wasn’t really concerned.”

Wood said he became very intentional about reviewing the itinerary and planning where the group would be so he did not overshoot. In uncomfortable situations, it would be easy to fall into the trap of taking too many photos. He also thought it would be disrespectful to be “machine gunning” pictures in rapid succession.

In 1995, digital cameras were still in their infancy and could not compete against the quality of 35mm film. Which meant that Wood had a limited number of pictures he could take at 24 frames per roll, even though he brought many extra rolls.

“I wanted to be more deliberate, capturing the right moments as they happened rather than just clicking the shutter continuously. It takes discipline not to press the button simply because you can. Anyone can take thousands of photos, but that doesn’t guarantee capturing the best ones,” said Wood. “So I focused on being patient and observing what was happening around me, and I looked for the best moments. My aim was to get close to the North Korean people, to listen to their stories, and to share some of my own. I wanted to connect on a personal level, talking about common experiences like our children going to school. I made it a point to ask a lot of questions, show genuine empathy, learn about what they do, and understand what they are passionate about.”

The approach allowed Wood to build trust, but not enough to feel comfortable to venture outside the areas the group was allowed to visit. What he was able to capture on film was deeply meaningful and unprecedented, and his arrival in Pyongyang came at a tragically historic time for North Koreans.

Kim Il Sung, the founding leader of North Korea, died on July 8, 1994. He passed away from a heart attack at the age of 82. Kim had been the leader of North Korea since its establishment in 1948 and was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il. His death marked a significant moment in North Korean history, and the country observed a period of national mourning.

“I was there for the April 15 festival they held in honor of Kim Il Sung, almost a year after his death. It was the annual birthday celebration of Kim, and the first time that North Koreans marked the day without their ‘dear leader.’ I saw people weeping, genuinely grieving, and my first thought was if they were just putting on a show for the cameras,” said Wood. “But then I had to reconsider. I realized that, regardless of how we might perceive it, their emotions were real to them. Rather than passing judgment on whether their feelings were genuine or not, I recognized that it was important to meet them where they were, just as they were meeting me where I was.”

Wood joined an estimated 50,000 spectators for an hour-long “Mass Display of Appreciation for Kim Il Sung.” The stadium crowd formed elaborate murals by holding up books of colored paper, their presentation accompanied by music.

“Each cue happened precisely, and when the colors shifted a new scene was revealed. There were several compositions, starting with a compassionate Kim Il Sung standing in a wheat field. Other murals followed displaying patriotic scenes,” said Wood. “On the field there were groups of young children who displayed their gymnastics talents. After each performance, I could see they were visibly emotional and crying as they left. Their grief was echoed by parents in the stands beside us, who also broke down in tears.”

At one point in their trip, Wood and Groen were taken for a drive on the Reunification Highway, also known as the Pyongyang-Kaesong Motorway. It had opened just three years earlier in 1992, as a project initiated by Kim Il Sung after reunification talks with South Korea. The highway connected the capital city of Pyongyang with the city of Kaesong, near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated North and South Korea. Wood remembered Groen telling their hosts that he looked forward to the day when North Koreans, South Koreans, and Americans could walk across the DMZ by way of the highway.

“The real value of the trip, for me, was the opportunity to interact with the local people. Even though everything was tightly controlled, it was a chance to let them see an unfiltered American and to try to have genuine conversations about their lives,” said Wood. “It was striking how terrified people were of us on the street. We had these little friendship pins with the American and North Korean flags that we tried to hand out, but people wouldn’t come near us. They were afraid because accepting a pin could lead to being stopped and questioned by authorities. It was clear how structured and controlled their society was, but within that, even a small gesture like a smile or a handshake could mean a lot.”

Those were the intimate moments that Wood endeavored to record on film. For more than 40 years, from 1978 to 2020, images taken by Wood could be found almost daily in the pages of the local newspaper now known as the “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.”

“Every night, I would take notes and write in my journal, filling pages with my observations, the names of places, and people I met. By the end of the trip, I had maybe four or five notebooks full of notes,” said Wood. “What really helped me process everything was taking the time afterward to decompress and reflect on what I had seen. Sorting through the photos also played a crucial role, as the images often helped to shape the story.”

While Wood worked for a newspaper, the editors did not send him on the assignment to North Korea. His primary goal for going was to document the trip for Groen’s organization and to participate for his own personal fulfillment. The notion of journalism was secondary.

So it was not a foregone conclusion that his photos or story would be published. But upon his return to Milwaukee, Wood decided to pitch the newspaper’s editors on the idea of sharing his experience with the public.

He was fortunate to work with some excellent editors who helped him construct the narrative of the story. But before that loomed a larger question, “Why should a Milwaukee-based newspaper care about what was happening in North Korea?”

“My response was that the ‘Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’ was a major national paper that takes pride in telling important national stories. We had a budget, a history, and a tradition of covering significant events, and this was my effort to honor that tradition,” said Wood. “The editors I worked with were committed to upholding that standard and they, along with some great writers, helped me craft the story, ask the right questions, and delve into the details. Their support was invaluable to me.”

The “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” was created through the merger of two newspapers, the “Milwaukee Journal” and the “Milwaukee Sentinel.” The merger took place on April 2, 1995, just days before Woods left for North Korea. His essay and photos were published on June 25.

Over the course of his four decades as a photojournalist, Wood captured moments that defined history, culture, and humanity. From a small neighborhood in Terre Haute, Indiana where he grew up, to the Twin Towers in New York on 9/11, Wood’s journey was marked by a relentless curiosity, a deep sense of compassion, and a commitment to telling stories that matter.

“I took a high school class in photography and just fell in love with it immediately. The idea of putting a piece of paper in the developer liquid and seeing the image come up, it was like mesmerizing,” said Wood. “I found that working for the school newspaper and the yearbook gave me access to all sorts of things. People wanted to be in the paper. They wanted to be in the yearbook. And I enjoyed being that conduit for taking those pictures to tell stories.”

His experiences, both personal and professional, shaped his approach to photography and journalism, making him a respected figure in the field beyond Milwaukee. Wood not only documented the world but also deepened the public’s understanding of it, one frame at a time.

“When I hear news about North Korea or other places I’ve been, I don’t just see it as a headline. I think about the people I met there, the relationships I built,” added Wood. “It’s easy to get caught up in the politics, but at the end of the day, it’s the human connection that matters. We can agree to disagree, but we have to respect each other as people. That’s what I’ve tried to do in my work — capture those connections, those moments of understanding, and share them with the world.”