The following article is the tenth in a multipart series by Taylor Darby, a pseudonym for a foreign diplomat that worked in Pyongyang for an extended period of time before being forced to leave in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Views expressed in columns are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

After an extended amount of time in Pyongyang, any long-term resident or expatriate will yearn to travel outside the boundaries of North Korea’s capital city. This could mean for work, a countryside escape or to check out the exciting nightlife in Dandong,