2015-01-02 Asia Leadership Institute

Friday night I was one of the speakers at an event with about 40 members of the Asia Leadership Trek--a collection of geniuses from Harvard, MIT, Tufts. I spoke along with three Ambassadors from the Teach North Korean Refugees project.

The students responded really strongly! In my case, some of the students were pleading for the opportunity to help TNKR. And they were telling me specific ways that they could help out, so there could be some real opportunities. A few of them said the same thing--they follow many issues (talking and analysis), but it isn't often that they can see real opportunities to get involved.

Our three Ambassadors all gave speeches that touched the audience in different ways. One with her call to action, another with his personal story, and another who had the courage to give her talk in English even though she is still new to TNKR.

Special thanks to John Lim and Samuel H Kim for allowing TNKR to present at their event, and to the students who gave us such a strong response. A few of them... amazing, they didn't want to leave. The organizers were saying it was time to go, but one group at the end refused to go, they wanted to talk with me even more, to find out more about me and my activities helping North Korean refugees.

Actually, I gave two speeches that night. One was about Harvard, the other about North Korean refugees. We (organizers, handful of NK refugees students and TNKR Ambassadors) were waiting for the Asia Leadership Trekkers to arrive, so I gave a speech to the 10 or so refugees giving them background about Harvard. Then as soon as the Asia Leadership Trekkers arrived, I switched to my PPT about North Korea. I was the first speaker to arrive and the last to leave, talking to the last group for quite a while. The people at the building may have been wondering if they would have to call security to escort me out of the building...

Even then, I wasn't done... I was introducing two friends so they could talk about how to collaborate... so I met with them after the Asia Leadership Trek crew finally left...

https://fsi21.org/?zMeR5Cfu

Michael Breen discussion at 10 Magazine

Yesterday I attended a discussion with writer Michael Breen, hosted by Barry Welsh. Very often, when I attend a speech or discussion about a topic I know a lot about, I often think about ways the speaker/facilitator/discussant could have done better. But I didn't feel that way about Breen, it was one of those times that I really felt like I had a lot to learn and should listen more than talk. He's been in Korea for three decades, working as a reporter, commentator, communications specialist. He reminds me of Andrei Lankov in that his analysis seems to be based on observation of how things work rather than trying to get the world to fit his biases. I don't know him, so his friends may say he is a raging ideologue, but that's not the impression I had yesterday and based on his writings. Michael Breen (L) and Casey Lartigue I first read his book The Koreans about a decade ago. It was a delightful read, that was both warm to Koreans but also critical at times. Yes...

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

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...

"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 ...

2020-04-26 "May I choose more teachers?" TNKR Matching session #102

2020-04-26, TNKR Matching session #102 The Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) humbly began in March 2013 with 5 tutors and 5 NK refugees being matched together. We held that first session at a TOZ business center in Gangnam. Seven years later, TNKR has now matched 455 North Korean refugees with 1,027 tutors, coaches, and mentors. Today we held our 102nd Language Matching session at our slightly expanded office near the Sangsu Subway Station. Instead of just being something that Casey and Eunkoo did short-term, TNKR is now an official organization in both South Korea and the USA, we have been featured in media and by other organizations (just yesterday, we were featured by KOTESOL), and we have fans and donors from around the world.

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog