Land of the Drunken Tiger

The Korea Times and Korea Herald both report today that the nation's tourism slogan, "Korea, Sparkling," may be dropped.

The "branding chief" says that, and "Dynamic Korea" need to be replaced with another bland name that won't attract anyone. Those weren't his exact words, but that's what will happen.

Has Korea tourism ever had a slogan that would attract tourists? If so, why did they scrap it? It might be better to find something that works, and stick with that.

But with a "branding chief" in place, there is probably always someone under pressure to come up with a snazzy name. The branding chief's suggestion of "Miraculous Korea" sounds more like it is a religious cult.

I would guess cheap airline tickets would probably get more tourists to Korea. Cheap hotels would probably also attract more folks. Cool stuff to do? That's not clear before you get here what would be cool to do. Fixing the situation with North Korea might also help. Unfortunately, there are constantly headlines with North Korea threatening to turn South Korea into a "sea of fire" or some such thing. That is not attractive to tourists.

I'd recommend "Drunken Tiger" (which is also the name of a popular Korean singing group).

Last night I went out with my colleagues. We had great food and drinks before going out singing. I sang Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio in a mix of English and Korean.

I wish I could say some of us got drunk. It would be more accurate to say that the whole company got drunk. I'm not much of a drinker, but I did put away quite a bit of Yogurt Soju. They say it is a girlie drink, in which case I became a full-fledged woman last night based on the amount I drank.

How many are having the Korean soup Heh Jang Guk (해장국), which Koreans have after a night of heavy drinking? I usually get to work about an hour early. I got in about 30 minutes later than usual, I wasn't sure that anyone would be sober enough to open the door.

* * *

Cato Institute, in the Korean press

The Korea Herald reported on a forum held by my former colleagues at the Cato Institute. The Korea Times published an op-ed by Indur Goklany, author of various Cato Institute publications

* * *

WOW! Nice car!

This might help with tourism more than any slogans. Oh, and Kia Motors is launching a new hybrid.

First photo is from the Korea Herald. The second is from the Korea Times.

Let's not shake hands (Korea Times, July 2, 2014) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Let's not shake hands By Casey Lartigue, Jr. While there are many things that I love about Korea, there are two things that drive me crazy. One is that, in my observation, most Korean men don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. I know some people get defensive about non-Koreans commenting in a negative way about Korean culture and life, that they want to attack the messenger and the messenger's native country. So I will start by clearly stating that many men in America don't wash their hands either. According to the Website Stop Handshaking , while 92 percent of adults in America say they wash their hands in public restrooms, an observational study of 6,076 adults sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) found that only 66 percent of men actually washed their hands in public restrooms (88 percent of women did so). As an aside, I am curious how they "observed" that many peopl...

2019-02-18 TNKR media mentions coming soon

We had two media interviews at our office today. We also have some media outlets who will be covering our speech contest on Saturday, doing interviews before and after the contest. The two interviews today were with an international media outlet and a prominent Korean one. As usual, the international media outlet didn't want to commit to mentioning TNKR although 1) they had promised that when they first contacted us 2) we found an interviewee for them 3) organized it 4) hosted the interview. Update: Yes, NPR you are terrible, once again using non-profits for stories, then ignoring them when it is time for publication. NPR reporters blame their editors back at headquarters for choosing not to name organizations, I am now used to their process. So after this case, I decided when an NPR (or New York Times) reporter contacts me, I will ask the reporter if I can speak to their editor at the start. Perhaps I should also ask to speak to their mothers. www.lovetnkr.org/donate

2019-09-06 Interesting Person of the Week

2019-09-06, I was the "Interesting Person of the Week" on TBSeFM, interviewed by former National Assembly member Jasmine Lee. We first met about six years ago when she was in the National Assembly, but we lost contact a few years ago when I changed jobs and went through a cell phone change. We were in-studio, live on the air, for the “Interesting Person of the Week” feature on Jasmine Lee’s show, 10 Everyday. Podcast: https://audioclip.naver.com/channels/106/clips/12008 The main thing I liked about it: The interview was interactive. She wasn’t just interviewing by going down a list of questions, then jabbing at me occasionally. She had her own thoughts and experiences and would mention them within the context of what I was saying. When she introduced me, I was tempted to say, “If I’m so interesting, why did you wait to interview me? I didn’t get interesting until this week???” Well, even Michael Jordan wasn't MVP every year even though he is one of the all-time greats!...

2015-11-12 Case Study of TNKR by Columbia Teachers College

--New York, New York-- If TNKR can make it here, it can make it anywhere... * Wanna know how good TNKR is? Even great people at Columbia University believe it is great. Teach North Korean Refugees is now being analyzed by graduate students at The Teachers College, Columbia University as part of a case study. TNKR wasn't even an official organization until May 2015, but we have already had many great things happen. With both the professor and students in the class analyzing us--yes, asking some pointed questions, too--then TNKR should be even stronger in 2016 in helping refugees find their way and tell their stories. * Have you ever told someone that you were honored by something they were doing, and they try to convince you that they are even more honored to collaborate with you! That's what happened tonight with the professor at Columbia University who opened her classroom to me. She and the students were asking me plenty of pointed questions about TNKR. Based on their respo...

Paperwork versus real work

Yes, we have fun at Freedom Speakers International! So much fun that some people seem to be surprised to learn that we are an official organization requiring an actual budget, are accountable to our donors and sponsors, and must keep accurate records of our activities. Freedom Speakers International (FSI) has been officially registered as a 501(c)3 tax-deductible organization with the IRS in the USA since mid-2017, and we have had similar status in South Korea since 2016 (tax deductions for individuals, not corporations). And being an official organization means we spend a lot of time on paperwork instead of real work! In the photo, you can see the mountain of paperwork that FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee and FSI accountant Sharon Jang have kept track of and had me sign today. My role: being the rascal coming up with the projects and activities causing so much paperwork, then signing it all when they corner me. * * * Some people used to ask why we needed money because we had vol...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog