Teach North Korean Refugees Project

On November 1, we will be holding the 20th "Teach North Korean Refugees Project" session. The project launched in March 2013 when Casey Lartigue Jr. and Lee Eunkoo matched 5 North Korean refugees who were teachers in North Korea with 5 English speaking volunteers. The refugees wanted to improve their English in order to improve their chances to become teachers in South Korea. We met at a Toz in Gangnam, matching them.

We have directly matched at least 117 NK refugees and 8 South Koreans who assist NK refugees with 164 English speaking volunteers. We have since hosted numerous sessions with a number of themes matching NK refugees with volunteer English speakers:

* Staff at NGOs helping NK refugees (to help refugees working at NGOs and also helping NGOs build up their capacity) * special summer or winter study sessions (for students who have more free time during the break, look for another session in late December and early to mid January 2015) * Bring or recommend a friend (so many refugees recommend there friends, so we have held two sessions focused on them). * Refugee ladies on TV cable show * Open sessions * Newcomers or beginning speakers (we had two ladies who just gotten out of Hanawon 3 weeks before that join our session) * Rematching sessions (for refugees who lost their teachers for one reason or another)

We have two main tracks:

1) For self-improvement. Some want to study for standardized tests, business English, writing, pronunciation, travel. Most of our time is spent on them because they are 90 percent of the refugees who enter our project. Most of them have no desire to become advocates, many are low-profile and just want to improve themselves to make themselves more competitive in this world.

2) to become advocates. We have had a few refugees who also had potential to become advocates for NK human rights.

We allow the refugees to take the road that is most comfortable for them, to state their interest in studying so they can be matched with appropriate teachers. It is win-win for both. Some of our volunteers have never met refugees before this, and some go on to volunteer at NGOs, to become advocates, to get involved in other ways. One former tutor is now making a documentary, another has arranged a major speaking opportunity for one of our refugee students.

It is a great program, we are always seeking volunteers. One of the special features about the program is that we allow the refugees to choose as many teachers as possible. This gives them the flexibility to study at their convenience, to find which matches are the most appropriate. Some students are happy with one teacher at a time, although some have chosen two or three at time. And then there is the incredible case of Yeonmi Park, who has studied with 18 teachers through the program. During the last winter break, she was studying at least 35 hours a week with her teachers to improve her English. When I recognized her potential, I invited her to join me on a podcast I was planning. She has since become an international star! I will be lucky if she is still returning my messages within a few months.^^

Last week at the Oslo Freedom Forum,there were two North Korean refugee speakers at the Oslo Freedom Forum last week: Hyeonseo Lee and Yeonmi Park!

In 2012, I was co-chair of the committee trying to get Hyeonseo Lee onto TED (telling her personal and escape story). And of course I have been teaming up with Yeonmi Park (her personal story with a bit more analysis because that's what she does). What an honor to have had a role in helping to raise their profiles onto the international stage. Hyeonseo was never a student in our project, but the experience with her did teach me some lessons that I have applied in collaborating with Yeonmi. She spoke on TED in February 2013, we started TNKR a month after that (although that was combined with my experience helping at the Mulmangcho School where I had begun working with volunteers who were eager to teach North Korean refugees). http://caseyandyeonmi.com/2014/10/20/yeonmi-park-hyeonseo-lee-nk-ladies-of-liberty-at-2014-oslo-freedom-forum/

To make a donation:

Domestic: -Bank account: (Woori Bank) 1006-201-405817 -Name on account: TNKR

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-International bank account: (Woori Bank Seocho Umyeon Branch) 1006-201-405817 -Name on account: Eunkoo Lee(TNKR) -Swift code: HVBKKRSEXXX -Bank address: Taebongro 70, Seochogu, Seoul, South Korea -Bank phone number: 02-3463-9596 * * * paypal (just mark that you want it to go to TNKR) http://caseyandyeonmi.com/donate-casey-yeonmi-show/

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"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 ...

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working." She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."

Humanitarian with a guillotine (Korea Times, February 1, 2013) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, `` I’m from the government, and I’m here to help .” For many well-intentioned activists, politicians, and intellectuals, that should be updated as: ``We are here to help you. You’re under arrest.” For example, ``sex workers” around the world oppose anti-prostitution laws. Prostitutes may not know the theoretical arguments but they do know in reality that prohibiting prostitution means they lack protection in dealing with abusive pimps and madams, violent patrons and crooked cops. Locally, a Korean woman busted for prostitution recently appealed to the courts pleading , ``I cannot survive without this job. I don’t want to be treated as a criminal for making a living the only way I can.” How should someone who genuinely wants to help her respond? If you say ``arrest her” then you are qualified to be a “harmful humanitarian.” In your desire to help, you have elimin...

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h...

2020-07-24 Pandemic Tutoring

The question comes in various forms, as a request, a recommendation, a plea, an insinuation, an accusation, and sometimes (or most of the time) it is a demand and complaint at the same time. In my in-box yesterday: "And I wanted to know if TNKR also transitioned to online services as any other educational institutions globally under the pandemic." This was from a previous volunteer who is now in the USA, so I took more time to answer him, and will expand it now so I can share it with others asking. As context, TNKR started in 2013 as an informal volunteer group connecting North Korean refugees with volunteer tutors. In 2016, we became an official organization despite lacking funding. Mainly because we have limited resources we keep focused on our main mission, but try to expand based on the needs of North Korean refugee learners. We have developed a learner-centered organization that has a great reputation among North Korean refugees. That means we are not a social club or re...

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