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Showing posts from 2014

Authoritarian mentality lives on (Korea Times, 12/31/14) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Authoritarian mentality lives on By Casey Lartigue, Jr. The next time Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon speaks about innovation and new ways of doing business being "deeply rooted" in city administration, I hope he will surround himself on stage with police officers and prosecutors. The authoritarian mentality is still alive in Korea, as  Mark Clifford  wrote in his 1994 book " Troubled Tiger ." Korea remains a "country of elite control" in which "the state oversees everything from wedding ceremonies to corporate investment." Korea then had 500,000 local government officials, reaching into every sector of Korean society. Two decades later, there is still no issue too trivial for Korea's numerous politicians to get involved in, with even former President Lee Myung-bak discussing in a 2011 cabinet meeting ― yes, a presidential cabinet meeting ―  whether men working in host bars should be considered a

2014-12-23 Talking Talking Talking...

Meeting #1: This morning I joined a weekly news discussion. Even though they use the Economist as the foundation of discussions, I join anyway. Right, I'm not a fan of The Economist, I often spend half of the discussion ranting about the Economist. Thanks to Van SD Hur for inviting me and keeping me updated anyway! Jenny later joined TNKR as a tutor, and was the first bilingual tutor who took English-only seriously. Meeting #2: I also had a lunch meeting, but forgot to take a photo... At one point, I mentioned that I had recently been asked why I have a "problem" with North Korea. I said, "I'm doing fine, it doesn't matter what I think about North Korea. It is North Koreans who are trying to escape from North Korea who have a 'problem' with North Korea." Meeting #3: I met with John Lim to discuss his project with the Center for Asia Leadership Initiatives. The organization will be bringing 40 talented youngsters from around the world. I w

Mulmangcho Christmas Party (2014-12-21)

In late 2012, shortly after I became the volunteer International Adviser to the Mulmangcho School (for adolescent North Korean refugees), I talked with school founder Prof. Park Sun-young about us holding a Christmas Party for the kids. I quickly concluded there was no way I could do it on my own so I dropped the idea and ignored her when she tried to remind me about it.^^

Teach North Korean Refugees launches new project (2014-12-20)

In March 2013, Lee Eunkoo and Casey Lartigue co-founded Teach North Korean Refugees. The main goal was to give North Korean refugees opportunities to study English with volunteer English tutors. We weren't the first to do it, but we added a few twists to it by allowing the refugees to choose the tutors themselves, and to choose as many as they wanted. We didn't benchmark the program by studying others, we just did what we thought made sense based on the situation. So far, we have matched 147 refugees and 11 South Koreans helping NK refugees with 205 tutors. We recently expanded beyond English to add Spanish and Latin, and later may add more languages. But we have now launched a project that promises to be really special. We are splitting TNKR into two main parts; Track 1: Finding My Own Way Track 2: Telling My Story Track 1 will be the original project connecting refugees with volunteer tutors to study for standardized tests, employment, school, personal enr

Christmas Party--Yonsei Severance Hospital (2014-12-17)

Two words that don't go together--"kids" and "cancer." Yesterday HOPE (Helping Others Prosper through English) hosted a Christmas party at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in the Childrens' Cancer war. It was the second year in a row, first inspired October 2013 when my buddy Nick Adams visited South Korea. Jungah Ji joined us last year, as she did for the Christmas Party last year and then again this year! Some of you may recall that I decided to hold a Christmas Party at the hospital in late 2013. I wrote about it here (with photos). http:// caseylartigue.blogspot.com/ 2013/12/ inspiration-from-lousy-visi tor-korea.html

Rushing to judgment on a defector (The Korea Times, 12/17/14) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Rushing to judgment on a defector By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Have you ever read an article that you knew was wrong or incomplete based on your inside knowledge? That was the case as I read a 3,000-word commentary by reporter Mary Ann Jolley challenging statements by North Korean refugee Park Yeon-mi. Jolley questioned if Park had really witnessed the execution of a friend's mother for watching a Hollywood movie, in Hyesan, North Korea. Jolley quoted North Korea scholar Andrei Lankov who questioned the likelihood of the account, as well as an unnamed 59-year-old refugee from Hyesan who "laughed" that such a thing had happened there. The problem? Park didn't say the execution occurred in Hyesan. I know this because since last April I have recorded hours of detailed interviews with Park to help document her story. Park was born in Hyesan and later lived in Pyongyang, but moved to the countryside after her father was impr

Psy

2014-12-07 Yes, it is true, I met him. Last night at the Harvard Club of Korea's annual dinner. 2014-12-07, the real Psy met the real KC. Of course, I told him about TNKR (now @freedomspeakersinternational). After winning the talent contest in 2012 or 2013, I am glad I didn’t sign up for 2014. Psy was there. Geum Na-Ra was there. Ho-Young Ju of TheSeeYa was there. And a real Harvard rapper, Kent Kim, was there! It was an incredible night. By then I had decided that I would stay in Korea after returning from another long trip to the USA a few weeks before. I don’t know who will be the entertainment at the 2022 Harvard alumni dinner, but I won’t be signing up as part of the entertainment or a talent show.

Rejecting a dream job - and loving it (The Korea Times, 2014-11-19) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Dearest Casey, During your current trip to the USA to give a series of speeches in New York, D.C., Tennessee and California, you were delightfully blindsided by a job offer that would pay you more than three times as much as you are now making in South Korea. A few years ago, after a health scare, you began reflecting on your life and decided that you would only do the things that you wanted to do. People who try to pressure you to do things you don’t want to do have a 100% chance of failing. As you tell such people: "I don’t have to eat everything put on my plate.” People who give advice you reject are told: "I promise, I won’t stop you from taking your own advice.” You value every moment that you are alive, and will enjoy the rest of your life on your own terms. For more than two years, you have been focused on helping North Korean refugees , typically using your own funds. You are lucky that Freedom Factory and the Atlas Network both came through with suppo

2014-11-13 Atlas Liberty Forum

I am now in New York City, been living it up the last few days at the Atlas Liberty Forum. We had worked closely together during the year, doing a podcast, speaking together in China and Hong Kong, and then in the USA. I was the moderator of a session with her. There were so many people expressing interest that the session was moved to a larger room. She was great, as usual, had many people in the audience (men and women) crying as we discussed her story. She will go on to bigger and better things, I know! * My Atlas colleagues went out of their way to praise me and single me out. It was a great moment, to have so many people so focused on what is happening to North Koreans. Many were asking what they could do to help. At the final dinner, Yeonmi was invited to give a toast to freedom! * The keynote speaker at the dinner was legendary chess champion Garry Kasparov. He has already achieved fame and fortune, there is no reason for him to be hanging out with us. But he speaks firmly in fa

N. Korea owes S. Korea $961 million by 2037--but what is LiNK doing?

NK News takes on Liberty in North Korea, writing a well-research editorial with sources asking if LiNK has the right priorities, if it is spending its money well, etc. There's an old joke where an economist walking down the street: Friend: "Joe, how is your wife." Joe: "Compared to what?" LiNK raised a record $1.5 million last year, and since 2010 has spent $1.3 million on its "changing the narrative" campaign. Is LiNK spending its money well. Well, compared to what? $724 million : South Korean government loans to NK government, 2000-07, unpaid $257 million : South Korean government assistance to North Korea during Lee Myung-bak's administration, 2008-13 $199 million : World Food Programme budget for food aid to North Korea, 2013 $150 million : U.N. appeal in 2013 $29.4 million : U.N. appeal for emergency situation in DPRK, 2013 $15.1 million : U.N. humanitarian fund, 2013 $13.3 million : South Korean humanitarian aid to NK

A Meaningful Experience (The Korea Times, Nov 5, 2014) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Dearest Casey,   Congratulations! Your colleague  Yeonmi Park  has been named in the  BBC's Top 100 Women in the World 2014 . This has meant she has given speeches around the world and been  featured in major media  such as the  New York Times  and  Huffington Post . This all occurred in the last two weeks of October. Who would have believed she would become so well known internationally?   Actually, you did. You have known it since  Feb. 14, 2014, when you spoke together at an international school located outside of Seoul . On the subway coming back from the discussion, you told Yeonmi, one of the 124 North Korean refugees in your  Teach North Korean Refugees Project  (TNKR), that she had the potential to become a leading advocate for liberty. She didn't believe you, but you offered to help make it happen: "If you don't become a star for liberty, raising awareness and attracting others to get involved, then that will mean I have failed. I feel like a college