Skip to main content

2015-02-09 Cherie Yang's debut (at Naples, Florida)

 


Cherie Yang had her debut as a public speaker, yesterday at Gulf Coast University. And what a wonderful debut it was! She was graceful and poignant in discussing her escape from North Korea. Thanks to her speech coach, Karissa Bryant, in particular, for helping her with speaking tips and feedback to get her prepared for her big day, and tutors Julie Meyer Super, Seán Brophy, Kristi Cashin.

Cherie and I spoke to a crowd of more than 80 students in the morning. After more than 10 minutes, she began to cry when discussing what happened to her father after they escaped from North Korea. 

I asked the students for tissue, and I noticed that many of the female students were also crying. She finally composed herself but was covering her face with her speech notes. Later, we reviewed the video, and she was surprised that she didn't start crying until she had almost finished the speech--she thought she had cried the entire time.

Then last night, we spoke to the Foundation for Government Accountability. This time I was prepared with tissue, but she insisted she wouldn't need it. I said that I had prepared it--just in case I started crying. She was doing fine, until she was about halfway through the speech when she began to cry again, but at a different point of the speech. It was a reminder about the hellhole that North Korea is for people who want to leave to find their place in the world and the anguish that lingers.

She's a participant in both Tracks 1 and 2 of the Teach North Korean Refugees Project, so she should be doing more public speaking in the future.

We had a great time, thanks to the Atlas Network for inviting us, and to Florida Gulf Coast University and Foundation for Government Accountability for hosting us.

Update: Two years later, she was on the TEDx stage.



Her business, Avec Nature https://avecnature.com/


Cherie began crying, so I stepped up, encouraged the audience to applaud for her.

Casey: "Anyone have tissue? 
Audience members fighting through tears: "Here you are.")






















Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

"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 ...
Read more

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...
Read more

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...
Read more

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
Read more

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...
Read more