Associated Press photographer Wong Maye-E tries to get her North Korean subjects to open up as much as is possible in an authoritarian country with no tolerance for dissent and great distrust of foreigners. She has taken dozens of portraits of North Koreans over the past three years, often after breaking the ice by taking photos with an instant camera and sharing them. Her question for everyone she photographs: What is your motto? Their answers reflect both their varied lives and the government that looms incessantly over all of them. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

In this May 17, 2015, photo, two men walk past pagodas at Ngwe Saung beach, Pathein township, about 145 miles from Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo by Khin Maung Win/AP Photo)

A woman poses for a photo in a vehicle parked on the street as a tourist attraction, in Bangkok, Thailand on July 29, 2019. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

A young girl taking part in a hairdressing contest during the 5th Abilympics Russia vocational skills championship for people with disabilities, at Moscow's VDNKh exhibition centre in Moscow, Russia on November 21, 2019. The competition is aimed at ensuring social adaptation and job opportunities for people with disabilities. (Photo by Valery Sharifulin/TASS)

Maddie Stanton (L) and River compete in Helen Woodward Animal Center's 18th Annual Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon at Del Mar Dog Beach on September 10, 2023 in Del Mar, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)

On the July 10, 2025, an elderly couple in Eonam-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon, who finished their field work, cooled off by sitting on a bench in the yard near the water tap. (Photo by Shin Hyeon-jong)

“YagYang”. The Apatani are tribal people living in north east of India in the region of Arunachal Pradesh. Tattooing and stuffing of large nose plugs is the particularity of these women. YagYang 75 years old, her husband passed away few months ago and she feels very alone, during my visit I was very fond of this woman and I wanted to spend some more time with her, so I asked her which was her favorite dish. The next day i returned with the fresh fish, as she mentioned, and when she saw me she was very happy and welcomed me with a big smile. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Passarini Mattia/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A sculptural artwork depicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and headless presidents shot by a hooded high school student (not pictured) is seen at the Contemporary Art Museum in Santiago, December 2, 2014. The artwork, part of the “El ladrillo angular” (The angular brick) exhibition, portrays a student fighting against the ongoing continuity of dictatorship because of a political and economic system which has been impossible to destroy, according to “Papas Fritas” the artwork's creator. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)