The following article is the fourth in a multipart series by Gareth Johnson of Young Pioneer Tours about being a North Korea tour guide. Views expressed in columns are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

Tour companies that facilitate travel to North Korea often attract considerable criticism. This ranges from the reasonable — a debate about the ethics of engaging a country like North Korea — to the unhinged — we have been at the end of death threats before.

Tourism to North Korea is a thorny issue — we understand that fully. Thus