This is the final article our team at The Readable will publish, as we shut down operations.
As the founding editor-in-chief of The Readable, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our readers, who have been part of our journey for the past three and a half years. My farewell letter, published in the magazine’s final edition last June, appears at the end of this article.
In this special article, I also want to express my deep appreciation for my team.
Sawol, which means April in Korean, is the best design company I have worked with. The work of Sangseon Kim, Areum Hwang and Daeun Lee greatly improved the quality of images in cybersecurity reporting. I believe in the power of visuals, and these three designers, with their remarkable talent, helped readers engage more deeply with cybersecurity issues. The design team was with me throughout the entire journey of The Readable, producing seven editions of the magazine and two experimental editions in the early phase. I was fortunate to have their support for every image The Readable needed in reporting news and raising public awareness of cybersecurity.
Arthur Gregory Willers is the most dedicated and passionate copy editor I have ever met. Thanks to his careful work, our team — writing in English as a second language — made far fewer mistakes in our reporting. I found comfort, even while traveling across distant time zones, knowing Willers was always ready to review our drafts, no matter when we sent them. He was also the first reader of my articles, including this letter. His comments on my stories always gave me fresh perspective and the courage to continue our reporting.
David DiMolfetta kept me sharp in my reporting by sharing flawless, thoughtful stories shaped by his deep knowledge of both cybersecurity and journalism. As a contributing writer at The Readable, he published 13 articles on topics ranging from Chinese hacking campaigns to undersea cable security. Reading his work was a learning opportunity for me. Beyond the news, DiMolfetta is one of the finest people I have ever called a friend. I will always remember his kindness, integrity and modesty — all perfectly balanced with a great sense of humor.
Laurent Garrigues treated me with respect as editor-in-chief, despite his nearly two decades of additional experience in journalism. It was an honor to have him as a contributing writer and to publish his original interviews with leading cybersecurity experts. In the months we worked together, Garrigues published 10 articles on The Readable platform. His broad perspective on information security enriched our readers. I felt real joy whenever he emailed a new pitch, because it opened another window for us to learn about security and challenge complacency in the field.
Lastly, I want to thank a few people outside the newsroom who encouraged me to uphold journalistic integrity and keep moving forward.
Thanks to Cormac Callanan, former cybersecurity coordinator for the EU’s Enhancing Security Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA) project, The Readable was able to expand its readership across Europe. I will not forget that he found time to meet with our team despite his overloaded schedule in Seoul.
Nathaniel Kent, political secretary at the British Embassy in Seoul, will always be my favorite diplomat for his deep understanding of journalism’s role in the public interest. Conversations with him taught me more than I expected and often reminded me how thrilling it is to work as a cybersecurity reporter in this critical era.
Belinda Lim and Jimi Kang, both at Google Cloud, trusted me as an independent journalist and welcomed me to their world-class conferences. They gave me the opportunity to interview Google’s top executives in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, and, perhaps more importantly, they each offered invaluable advice for me as a female professional navigating this field.
Ultimately, what connected all of these individuals — from designers, editors, and writers to diplomats and technology leaders — was the same quiet dedication to amplifying truth and broadening understanding. Each of them left an indelible mark on this publication and on me.
The Readable’s website will go offline after October. Most of our news articles were printed in our magazines, which will be preserved at the National Library of Korea as part of the historical record. Nothing is lost.
Once again, thank you for supporting The Readable.
Dain Oh
Editor-in-Chief, The Readable
7th edition (2025 Spring), The Readable
Letter from the editor
As far as I remember, it was the first time that I saw hundreds of journalists rising to give a person a standing ovation. In most circumstances, journalists do not even applaud their counterparts because we, as the agents of democracy, have been taught to question them, especially the ones in power, and not to approve them. In early May, however, there we were, at the ICE Kraków Congress Center, full of the watchdogs of society, all standing up to show our appreciation for Lech Wałęsa, the former president of Poland who democratized Poland and ushered in the end of the Cold War, which eventually made him a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1983.
Wałęsa voiced the importance of solidarity to fight authoritarian regimes during his speech at the 76th World News Media Congress which took place in Kraków, Poland, from May 4 to 6. I was there in person on a self-funded trip during the “golden week” in South Korea. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the holidays than joining in discussions with fellow journalists and media experts. With the astonishing backdrop of Wawel Castle and Kraków’s beautifully aged old town, shaped by medieval construction, I indulged in liberating conversations with newspeople who, like me, chose this journey—both in their professional careers in journalism and in their commitment to attending the Congress.
I live my dreams. And I was able to feel this more vividly in Kraków while listening to Wałęsa. Journalism exists to hold power to account, the reason that a society calls journalists “watchdogs” and news organizations the “Fourth Estate.” It has been a decade since I started making my living as a “journalist,” a calling I had dreamed of following since I was 10. In 2021, I was named “Journalist of the Year,” the award presented by the most prestigious academic organization in information security in South Korea. Moreover, I became an “editor-in-chief” in my seventh year as a journalist, which is considered relatively fast compared to global career norms in the news industry. I feel lucky to be living the life that was once my childhood dream.
Out of 10 years of my professional career in journalism, I devoted 9 years to the cybersecurity domain. Information security was the perfect topic that I could delve into for years, making it more “readable” for non-technical audiences, hence serving public interests. I felt tremendous joy when my articles changed outdated regulations and enhanced the security posture of society. I never overlooked a single piece of feedback from readers, because they were the reason I reported the news. Over the past several years, I have stood before hundreds of public officers, diplomats, businessmen, researchers, and students to share my knowledge as a cybersecurity journalist. I believe that these intense years that I invested in cybersecurity journalism have propelled my career to where it is today.
Although there is much to be done in cybersecurity journalism, I have decided to expand my coverage beyond this. This letter is to express my gratitude to The Readable’s readers, so I won’t reveal my plans here. It will be a few more months until my departure. Until then we will continue publishing stories on The Readable’s online platform; however, this magazine will be the last edition in a printed version.
Over the last three and a half years, The Readable has taught me many things and made me global. The human network that was built through The Readable reaches to Dublin, Leuven, Singapore, Malaysia, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and more. Building a news organization from scratch was challenging, but from that very experience, I have come to realize that I am an entrepreneur who loves to be challenged and overcome hurdles to achieve something greater than private interests. While I pursue personal goals like happiness and financial success, I find deeper joy when my work serves the greater purpose of journalism and benefits the public.
As of this writing, The Readable has published over 720 articles. With this amount of content, our team has achieved incredible milestones, joining in partnerships with international organizations and bringing some of the brightest minds in the world into our community. As the founding editor-in-chief of The Readable, I know that all of it would have been impossible without you. Thank you for supporting us throughout this amazing journey.
Dain Oh
Editor-in-Chief, The Readable
