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Showing posts from July, 2015

2015-07-29 TVN pre-interview

Eunkoo Lee and I had a GREAT time getting interviewed by a cable TV team. They originally wanted to feature me, as a foreigner doing something great in Korea, but at that time, I thought it was better to focus on TNKR rather than on me. It turned into this TVN special.

2015-07-24 Hitting the wall

My intern is also a tutor in TNKR, I think she has three or four students now. One of her students who is an absolute beginner at English comes to the office twice a week. The student is trying very hard, but after studying a month or two, many of the beginners start to hit the wall head-first. She has been studying for more than a month now.  I imagine that she is getting frustrated at the lack of progress. She is trying very hard, no doubt. At the end of every class I join in to give her a few minutes to practice what she has learned. It is kind of like the execution after taking a beating. But she seems to enjoy it, enough so that she even asked me a few questions in English today! www.lovetnkr.org/donate

2015-07-24 Casey Lartigue in KCrush magazine

So cool. I'm featured in the Anniversary Edition of KCrush magazine. Thanks to JeeHyo Jeong for interviewing me, and letting me say what I think (in my own words). You can order copies at  http://www.kcrush.com/  . And you can submit your own feature ideas to JeeHyo Jeong and like the page at  https://www.facebook.com/kcrushmagazine . www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Preparing for North Korean migration--Planning or freedom?

In the paper " Internal Migration in North Korea: Preparation for Governmental Disruption, " Sandra Fahy makes many great points, she did get me to think about what will happen later in terms of NK migration. But my random thoughts... 1)  I'm old enough that I remember when the Berlin Wall fell,and people were worried that East Germany would be abandoned. Although many East Germans did leave after reunification, many more stayed, and many have now returned. On page 118, the author even speculates about the "near emptying of North Korea." My guess is that many if not most NKs will stay where they are. That's the world, most people stay where they are, even when they have the freedom to move.  2) There was the Great Migration of Blacks after the Civil War, then during then during the 20th century. That has also reversed somewhat. It could be that North Koreans are more like former slaves rather than East Germans. Either way, there were also d

2015-07-22 TNKR is "Very Special"

One of the refugees studying in Teach North Korean Refugees dropped by our office today to chat. She has studied in a number of programs, she wanted to let us know that this has been the most effective of all for her. The main reason is the individualized attention she receives from tutors. In particular, she appreciates that she can choose her tutors and is so thankful that so many volunteers want to help North Korean refugees. When she first joined TNKR, she was surprised t hat she could choose. It took some time for her to realize that the tutors were really focused on her, that it was up to her to determine what she wanted to study, that she feels "respected" that she is allowed to choose. It was one of those "pick me up" moments that anyone who has created something can really appreciate. 2020 comment: At that time, TNKR was operating out of my desk at the Freedom Factory office. Eunkoo was working for a government agency. We were trying to develop TNKR so we w

2015-07-21 She spoke to me

I joined a TNKR class yesterday with a refugee who has gone from putting her head on her desk so she could avoid interacting with me to now initiating a conversation with me. One of the key main things we are hearing from refugees is that they gain confidence from talking with TNKR tutors 1 to 1. In classroom situations they get lost in the shuffle, they lack the confidence to try to speak. She  and Christine Kim are now studying together twice a week. www.lovetnkr.org/donate

2015-07-21 Catching up with Kimmy

Hard to believe that I have known Hooyeon Kimmy for five years. We met shortly after I first returned to South Korea. She was then a reporter on the Ewha Voice, she invited me to give a speech to the reporters. Now she is working as a professional journalist with a bright future ahead of her. She thanks me for giving her a lot of advice over the years. It just so happens that she is a great listener and I have a lot to say, so at some point, I may have accidentally shared some wisdom with her.^^ www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Got an app for that? Former TV star is still folding paper (Joongang-ilbo)

Ask your average 20 to 30 year old South Korean who grew up here to make something out of paper and you will be amazed by the results. It isn't genetic. Back during the 1980s-1990s, there was a popular show for kids about paper folding. The JoongangDaily writes does an interview with the host of the show. * * * My random thoughts: * These days, the kids might wonder if there was a paper folding app... * Mr. Paper Folder says that the adults who watched his show were so pure as they recently chatted with him. The next time someone asks me, "What should we tell kids about (the latest war or hot political topic)," I will answer, "Nothing. Let them fold paper and enjoy being kids." * He hasn't been on TV, leading people to conclude he hasn't been doing anything. As I often say: "The only things more important than being alive are being on TV and Facebook." He has avoided the spotlight, he says, on purpose.

College girl found dead; suspected kidnapper kills self (Korea Times)

I'm not a heavy drinker so I don't understand 1) getting so drunk 2) that you fall asleep on a street 3) trust a stranger to take care of your girlfriend According to today's Korea Times , it happened to a couple in Suwon. The woman is now dead, her alleged killer dead in a suicide. "The victim's boyfriend said the couple had fallen asleep while drunk on a street near Suwon Station in Gyeonggi Province around midnight on Monday. A man, later found to be Yun, woke him up and asked him to go buy some wet tissues so he could tend to the woman, who had vomited on the street. "When the boyfriend returned from a nearby convenience store, he found that both Yun and his girlfriend had disappeared, which he reported to police." * * * As a reminder, * 159 women are missing in Suwon . *  in 2010, there were 1,374 murders in Korea , an average of almost four a day.

2015-07-12 "I have a right to choose"

2020 comment: When Eunkoo Lee and I first started TNKR in 2013, the idea of refugees getting to choose was still fresh. It was so fresh that even the co-founders had to fight about it! By 2015 July, when the orientation session below was held, we were starting to become known for refugees having choice. At the orientation session below, the refugees made it clear how much they enjoyed having the right to choose and how unusual it was for them in their lives! Around the time of this 2015 session, we also were struggling with establishing TNKR. We didn't have an office, we were moving between two different locations so people who didn't pay close attention to emails would end up (a) getting lost (b) going to the wrong place (c) not showing up at all or (d) doing all of the above, then showing up really late! Another challenge was holding a separate orientation session. In the early going, we would squeeze the orientation and Matching session into one 2 hour session. That was in t

2015 6/28-7/04 World Bali Conference

I am back from almost a week in Indonesia at the World Bali Conference. So many wonderful memories and moments. * Three speakers about NK presented. At many conferences, I am the leading speaker on NK issues. But at this event, I was the third most important speaker about NK--that's because both Yeonmi Park and Shin Dong-hyuk spoke. :-) * I kicked off the talent show by swing dancing with Kenli Schoolland, then rapping to a song from the 1990s. It has been on while since I have rapped in front of an audience without the lyrics on the screen, so I did have to practice a few times in advance. I had meant to thank Shruti Sharma, she is the one who has been stalking me about rapping at one of these conferences. :-) * Special thanks to Li Schoolland and Ken Schoolland for inviting me to participate again in one of their conferences. It started back in 2012, when they visited South Korea, I had the privilege of hosting them in Seoul. Then in July 2012, I joined their conference in