Imagine being able to stand next to the equivalent of you, somewhere else in the world? Arguably your lives resemble one another’s, at least on the surface. You might have the same job or be the same age. And yet you live in completely different countries, countries which have completely different ways of operating.

This dichotomy is what the Seoul-based photographer Ed Jones has set out to capture, at least metaphorically, in his series on North and South Korea. Jones is the chief correspondent in Korea for the global news agency AFP (Agence France-Presse) and uses his photography to move public opinion away from the stereotypical images associated with North Korea.

Jones has been travelling to the country since 2012. After frequently submitting imagery of parades or buildings, he decided to focus on the people of North Korea, on portraits and the humanity at their core. This was not an easy task to undertake in a country that is inherently suspicious of foreign press and of a quick, candid photo.

In a gallery compiled on the Guardian’s website, Jones’ portraits of both North and South Korea are displayed with a moveable slider button which allows the viewer to decide how much of each image they want to see. You can either look solely at the photo from the South or just the North or, by sliding the control, you can view half and half simultaneously.

The distinction between the two countries is brought into stark contrast. The military style uniforms of the North sit alongside the trainers and branded t-shirts of the South; the advanced technology of the South lies next to the 20th century era computers of the North and even the country’s water park supervisors, one barefoot, one uniformed, differ considerably.

The photos of North Korea makes you feel as though you’re looking back in time, at photos of an era decades previous while the portraits from the South depict a country progressing into the 21st century. But that’s the beauty, and the power, of Jones’ photos. As he said himself, “You can put the pictures side by side but the people can’t stand side by side in real life and there’s something inherently captivating about that.”

Visit the Guardian’s website to see more of the series.