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Showing posts from September, 2011

"New employee" Casey Lartigue

I just got a double hit in the Korea Herald ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION The roundtable discussion I organized featuring Andrei Lankov got quite a bit of media coverage by the Korean press. Here's the text of a Korea Herald article . As the host of the event, I had many considerations. 1) Three different speakers who all have a lot to say about North Korea 2) More people than I expected showed up. 3) Keeping the spirit of a "roundtable discussion" while having a lecture from Lankov and discussion with special guests invited. RAP VIDEO The Korea Herald followed up with a nice little article about our rap video . The Korea Herald, September 29, 2011 Signs of market economy in N.K. emerging: expert A market economy and new business class have emerged in North Korea since the 1990s even though their government will not acknowledge it publicly, a panel of experts said Wednesday. Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Center for Free Enterprise in Yeouido, Seou

"We Can Do It" music video

I am the "referee" in a new music video produced by The Center for Free Enterprise. Here is the link at the CFE site. I will be posting the translation and other information related to the video there, so bookmark it for updates. Yes, I have a tough job. Who would have ever thought a think tank geek would be making a music video?

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him

Yogi Anjuseyo

People often ask me, now that I am back in Korea, how things are different. My main responses: 1) I'm different. 2) Koreans seem more open-minded 3) The expats seem more educated, but have many of the same complaints and are using the same analysis I was hearing then. Robert Neff writes in the newest edition of the Korea Times about the recent fight on the bus. He mentions: "Scribblings of the Metropolitician brought up an interesting observation ― one that bothers him a great deal ― the empty seat. According to him, regardless of how crowded the bus is and the number of people standing, the seat next to him is always empty. It is insulting to him that no one wants to sit next to him. "But not all expatriates in Korea have that problem ― some find themselves with unwanted seatmates." Seoul subway line 5, Sept 8, 2011. --Casey Lartigue, Jr.. That is one of the low-rent issues I remember from the 1990s. I have learned that Scribblings of th