From the moment you board the flight from Beijing, things feel different.  Like any flight, you expect to have to set your phone to airplane mode, but the feeling of going off-grid is tangible.  A final “see you in week!” text and Facebook update as the plane pushes away from the gate, and an air of resignation when the attendant asks you politely to switch off.  Some speculatively check for coverage upon landing at Pyongyang Sunan airport, but as foreign SIM cards can’t connect to the local network, there isn’t much point.