About Koryo Studio
Our Story
Koryo Studio
Koryo Studio is the first Western art gallery to specialise in North Korean art (DPRK, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).
Founded in 1993 to display a collection of rare North Korean art and film posters, Koryo Studio opened our first gallery nine years later at the Red House in Beijing, China. In 2008, we opened our gallery space in central Beijing. Here, we display both North Korean art collections and works for sale.
We have one of the finest permanent collections of North Korean art for academic use, museum exhibition, and sale of commissioned North Korean artworks. We also work to develop the profiles of the most outstanding North Korean artists and introduce them to the global art scene.
Koryo Studio Mission
Koryo Studio is a British-run company based in Hong Kong and China, we are an independent organisation and have no affiliation whatsoever with the DPRK (North Korean) government.
Our goal has always been to commission work, rather than simply buy from North Korean art studios. North Korean artists work to a brief set by founder and director Nicholas Bonner.
This differs from the mundane and repetitive themed works their studios dictate. It frees them from the limitations and constraints of the North Korean art world. Moreover, it gives them more latitude to experiment. The recorded commission process gives provenance in a system where copy work abounds.
In 2008, we opened our gallery space in Beijing San Li Tun District and are currently setting up an art-space in Italy to show our permanent collection. We pride ourselves on our close contact with the North Korean artists and studios, as well as the collectible and uniquely individual pieces we commission.
We also work to develop the profiles of the most outstanding artists and introduce them to the global art scene. See the artworks
As well as pieces for sale, we have one of the finest collections of North Korean art ranging from the 1950s to the present day. To encourage discourse, we exhibit works from both our collection and commissions at galleries and educational institutions around the globe.
We have shown our collections to international public and private organizations. We have published books on photography (Welcome to Pyongyang, 2002) and art (Art of the DPRK, 2008).
We continue to produce documentaries on North Korea as long as they fit the remit of creating a better understanding or questioning of the country. In 1996, we shot our first travel documentary in North Korea. From 2002-2006 together with VMS Productions and the BBC, Koryo Studio produced 3 award-winning documentaries.
Our feature film ‘Comrade Kim goes Flying’ premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 and became the first North Korean film to be shown to a South Korean public audience. We are the foreign coordinator of the Pyongyang International Film Festival which provides one of the few opportunities to show foreign films to a local audience.
Includes Printed in North Korea, which was published in September 2019, following on the success of Koryo’s best-selling 2017 Phaidon book, Made in North Korea. We have also published books on photography (Welcome to Pyongyang, 2002) and art (Art of the DPRK, 2008).
Koryo Studio’s Nicholas Bonner
Nicholas Bonner was born in England. He earned his degree in landscape architecture from Leeds Metropolitan University, where he also served as a lecturer. He first visited North Korea in 1993 with his friend Joshua Green. The two of them set up Koryo Tours in Beijing. Nick has lived there ever since.
For over two decades he has been returning monthly to DPRK. He works with tourism, art projects, and other forms of cultural engagement. He has collaborated with Pyongyang artists, commissioned pieces for international exhibitions, and advised on art publications such as Art Asia, among others.
Find out more about the Koryo Group team.
For details of the major cultural projects we have worked on, take a look at or download our Koryo Studio Koryo ABC (PDF) brochure packed full of information and exciting projects.
