Writing for a website called NK News garners a whole gamut of reactions. On social media as well as in real life, people hear that I am writing about the goings on in Pyongyang and they sometimes feel uncomfortable. Furthermore, when they come to realize that my articles are not intentionally designed to demonize an enemy or advocate war and imperialism, they become even more unsettled.

I often feel that I could ease their minds by saying that I report on the horrible human rights violations that are happening, investigating the development of their nuclear weapons or documenting the tyrannical reign of the Kim regime. It would be much easier for people to accept were that the case: much easier, I think, because those concepts, words and stories are what we are used to and get fairly frequently from major news outlets.