The last few weeks

I am almost done with my trip to America. I arrived on April 9 and will be leaving on May 7.
The highlights so far:

* Atlas Think Tank MBA in Virginia

It was 11 grueling days learning about strategic thinking, strategic planning, fundraising, personnel management, financial matters. The Atlas people were wonderful, it was a wonderful experience and I have connections with think tank leaders around the country. I successfully graduated from the program, thanks for asking.

* Atlas Experience in Colorado.

I was one of the featured speakers. It was a great opportunity because many of Atlas' funders and supporters were there. I received great feedback and was invited back to Colorado to lead a training session on grassroots organizing, building coalitions, and running campaigns.

* Heritage Resource Bank in Colorado

I got to meet many of the leading conservative intellectuals and activists. I was surprised by how many of them were familiar with me.

* Protest
I participated in a protest in front of the Chinese embassy in DC to protest the Chinese government sending North Korean refugees back to North Korea. Meaning, that I protested in front of the Chinese embassy in both Seoul and D.C. during the month of April.

Conferences

* I also attended a huge conference about North Korea's gulags as well as a few other events about North Korea in DC and Virginia.

Rep. Sun Young Park (R) is the Korean Congresswoman who had a 12-day hunger strike to protest China sending NK refugees back to China. We met at a few protests in Seoul. Hannah Suh (L) attended a roundtable discussion in Seoul I hosted with NK refugee Lee Hyeon-Seo just before I left Seoul. Then we met a few days in later in DC.

Rep. Park invited me to join at a rally she was speaking at in front of the Chinese embassy in D.C. I also got to meet Suzanne Scholte at the conference and rally.

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Freedom Factory Shareholder Meeting (2015-01-31)

Re: Building something out of nothing Freedom Factory is a very small company, of which I am a shareholder. Yesterday we had our annual shareholder meeting. Freedom Factory is allowing us to "incubate" TNKR until we can stand on our two own feet--or at least crawl on our four hands and feet. (Consumer Rights Watch is in the same position). I owe special thanks to FF CEO 김정호. He is a "true believer" in the cause of freedom, so he is allowing both projects to grow out of FF. That's even though Freedom Factory is a small start up with the CEO, staff and supporters wondering how we are going to achieve our dreams with such a tight budget. So when I say I am so thankful to the volunteers and donors of TNKR, it isn't just lip service. Volunteers--along with Freedom Factory, the Atlas Network, donors--are helping us to create something out of nothing, helping North Korean refugees find their own way and tell their own stories. Like the FF CEO, I also don...

2018-09-28 Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens

Most of the people who contact us at TNKR naturally want to tutor North Korean refugees. Many potential volunteers are shocked shocked shock ed to learn that they can volunteer with TNKR in other ways. I tell many of them: "Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens. There are also delivery people, accountants, marketers, personnel, and a host of other positions." Earlier this year, we began developing the TNKR Volunteer Leadership Academy. I'm still waiting for someone to take over that little project. Until then, I will continue with developing it. And be developing it, I mean telling people, "Don't write me a long business plan about what you would like to do. Just start doing it, keep me updated and in the conversations, then let's talk and update." We have had a recent influx of volunteers who want to help TNKR in other ways. Jackie Cole is now running our Instagram. She constantly surprises me with the flyers and videos she posts. I made it clear from the ...

2018-01-25 Refugees to Defectors

One of the worst things one of our volunteers said a few years ago when one of the North Korean refugees in FSI (formerly TNKR) was scheduled for another speaking opportunity: "Oh, I've already heard that refugee's speech, so I won't be missing anything." She didn't mean to be rude, I'm sure. It is mainly a misunderstanding about what we are trying to do with our public speaking program. So many people look at refugee speakers as a snapshot, that when they hear a refugee once, they've got that refugee's story, and they are ready to move on to the next refugee. What they don't know is that many refugees develop their speeches. We don't expect them to be perfect or polished speakers when they first join us, we expect them to develop. There are many refugees who have no concept of public speaking when they first start with us. And even though many reporters and their editors want to hear from refugees who have just escaped from North Korea, ...

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