![]() ![]() Kim points out that this is ironically the kind of fieldwork and narrative “that typically wins acclaim for narrative accounts of investigative journalism.” At events, audience member, “often white, often male, inevitably hostile” would challenge her work and tell her North Korea wasn’t as bad as she said or say she, a woman born and raised in South Korea, “had merely returned ‘home'” rather than undercover. When Kim’s book was released, critical readers accused her of writing a “kiss-and-tell memoir” and dismissed her as reckless, unreliable and deceptive for endangering her former pupils. This mislabeling had other consequences as well. This shift from journalism to memoir is more indicative of how she was “being moved from a position of authority- What do you know?-to the realm of emotion: How did you feel?” something that Kim says should feel “familiar to professional women from all walks of life.” ![]() She cited the code of ethics from the Society of Professional Journalists, took measures to ensure her students would be safe, and conducted a decade of research. ![]() While there is nothing wrong or less compelling about memoirs (although there’s plenty wrong with Eat, Pray Love), Kim’s goals, intentions, and undercover work were journalistic in creating Without You There Is No Us and ignoring her profession for sales (memoirs sell better) comes across as patronizing. ![]() “This is no Eat, Pray, Love,” I argued during a phone call with my editor and agent. ![]()
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