2016-09-28 drop-ins, in-house tutoring, orientations, fans

TNKR moved to its first independent office on July 8. For the first month, I didn't post the address. I wasn't sure what would happen and how many gate-crashers we would get. Well, it turns out that lots of people--fans, student and tutor applicants, and curious people--would show up unannounced! It happened twice today, surprising me so much that I was still wearing a sweatshirt and hadn't gotten ready for the day.

In-house tutoring: we have re-started, more organized than ever. It helps that Prof Young Seh Bae taught me a few things during her trip to Korea. So I did a counseling session and also helped a refugee develop a study plan.

Orientation: to get prepared for the October 1 session, I held two more individual orientation sessions.

Office assistant: we had a new office assistant start, she will come in a few hours every week.

TNKR National Director Eunkoo Lee held an orientation with a few of the refugees who are slated to join this weekend's Matching session, Almost midnight, I just sent her the resumes of the tutor applicants. She will format them to send to the refugees tomorrow so they can review them.

Feedback from the refugees during orientation:
* I have heard a lot about TNKR, the way I have been studying English has not seemed effective. I am now focused on studying TOEIC, I am studying on my own, and I hope I can also find three tutors who can help me study in a more effective way. After I heard about TNKR, I read many articles and watched videos about it. It seems that the organization is not strong financially but they have a lot of heart, so I should study hard. I know I can't waste this opportunity, I always remember: "Don't miss this chance."

* I did study English when I was in North Korea, but that was a long time ago. I lived abroad for a few years, so I learned conversational English, but I don't know or understand English. I thought I was too old to learn English, but then I saw a story about a 60 year old man studying English, so I thought I could do it too. I hope that by learning English properly that I can inspire my son as he struggles with it. I waited more than a year before I applied to TNKR, and I'm so glad I did, I am so impressed by what Casey and Eunkoo do. I hope I can get three teachers to help me improve my English.

* I came to South Korea in 2010, I was shocked by the level of discrimination that I suffered. I was embarrassed to tell anyone that I was from North Korea. I did get a job, it didn't take me long to see that English is part of the every day life here in South Korea. I came across TNKR in an Internet search. The words jumped out at me. I am ready to study like crazy, I hope I can get 4 to 8 teachers.

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 ...

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."

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 ...

Why I won't go to North Korea (Korea Times, December 27, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. “Have you ever been to North Korea?” This is the question I am almost always asked here in South Korea when people learn that I have become an activist for North Korean escapees. My response is curt: “No.” “Do you plan on going?” they ask next. My answer remains the same: “No.” When they start to ask a follow-up question, I cut them off: "No." People are often just trying to make conversation, I know, but I am blunt for a reason: I am not interested in going to North Korea as long as North Koreans are held captive. I could go one day, but for now, I can do without a government-guided tour by " men-stealers and women-whippers ," to borrow a phrase from American abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. I don’t mean to criticize people who have gone to North Korea for political, educational, business, religious reasons or just plain curiosity. However, some people push me on the issue, ― and I push back. A good friend wh...

Last weekend: Suicide, Kim Young Ha, NK

Credit: Joanne Cho Event 1: Friday night I went to a talk given by Fulbright junior researcher Joanne Cho. She did a great job putting together statistics about some of the most commonly cited reasons that so many Koreans commit suicide. Probably the most provocative tidbit: Cho watched 86 dramas from the spring of 2012 to now, she says that 63 had "scenes depicting or discussing suicide" in a favorable light (as a way to solve problems, that troubled people can be forgiven for their sins and are even seen as sympathetic). Another interesting tidbit: While it is often cited that Korea is number one in the world in suicide (among countries reporting reliable statistics), what I had not realized or had forgotten is that Korean men are number 8 in the world compared to men in other countries with reliable statistics, Korean women are #1 in the world when compared to women in other countries. My questions for the speaker: 1) What was a finding in your research th...

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