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't receive a salary from Freedom Factory--because I am a shareholder, that means that I have given more money to Freedom Factory than it has given to me. But the staffers, supporters and shareholders have provided me with emotional support, to the point of cheerleading, and also have reached into their empty pockets when I did need paid assistants in the past.

Some people ask me why I call it the "Teach North Korean Refugees PROJECT," and not a program.

The reason is that I do hope to grow it into something bigger, that it is the start of an organization. That's why I am so thankful to the Atlas Network for making me a Fellow.

I was touched yesterday when several other shareholders came to me, letting me know how much they admire the work we have done so far. Of course, they know me, because of the original 39 founders, I am the only non-Korean. But I can feel it when they tell me, as they did yesterday, how much they admire what I do. I'm sure they are also "true believers" who don't ever expect to make money from the FF project, but hope that it can do its part to increase freedom in the world.

Today is Sunday, I will be at the office meeting with a couple of volunteers who are interested in learning about TNKR's Track 2. A few days ago, I was saying that I am engaged in projects that don't require me to be at the office, and that is true. And yet, I have probably worked for 34 days in a row without a break...

https://www.facebook.com/events/657859324343405/

2021 update: Freedom Factory did not make it. In August 2016, it shut down after a three year run.

TNKR did grow into an organization, and we recently changed our name to Freedom Speakers International (FSI). We would not have made it without Freedom Factory giving us space to breathe in our early days.

When people say that South Koreans don't care about North Koreans, I can't agree or disagree completely. I do know that FSI would not have survived without support from South Koreans in our early days and could not have expanded now without support from South Koreans.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

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

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

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 ...

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 ...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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