The Casey Lartigue Show!

In the beginning of one of Will Smith's movies, his character says: "Life isn't how many breaths you take, but it's the moments that take your breath away." I hate such corny lines. Except when such corny lines become reality. :-) www.lovetnkr.org/donate There are some days that I look back at what we have done, and think: Damn, did we do all of that? When I think about posting about it, sometimes I am not sure which story to highlight. So I started putting together collages to capture the many moments. The day started with an interview with Eunhee Park for her YouTube channel . She does it all-editing, production, interviewing, camera work. Last week, I was featured along with a TNKR student on the Channel A Show "Eye Contact." Today Kuang-ok stopped by to meet a possible mentor. Hailey visited us earlier this year along with a mutual friend. She was watching TV last week when surprisingly she saw me on TV. The TV show is finis

TNKR co-founders Casey Lartigue and Eunkoo Lee were featured guests at a TNKR High School Global Union concert fundraiser for the Durihana School for North Korean refugee adolescents. I remember when two high school students (Jun and Eugene) came to me, saying they wanted to be volunteer tutors, but I challenged them to think more broadly. We have many volunteer tutors, but we urgently need to build up the organization's capacity. We occasionally have high school kids pop up, want to volunteer for a day or for a few weeks, then ask for a certificate. It is rare to get high school kids who adapt to what we need, then build an entire project out of it. Jun and Eugene have built an incredible project that has now raised about 9 million won ($7,800) for TNKR this year and have another 8 million won ($6,900) pledged in the future through 2022. We are saving this money for our eventual move to a new office. Last night, the Global TNKR High School Global Union raised 3 million w

South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee was fond of slogans to whip up enthusiasm among workers, businessmen and bureaucrats, according to Mark Clifford in the book Troubled Tiger. 1966 was the "Year of Hard Work." 1967: "The Year of Progress." 1968: "Fight While Working, Work While Fighting." Somehow, all of those slogans fit TNKR quite well! 2020, it will be "TNKR's Year of Mentoring." www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Some people suggest that I am a workaholic, but it isn't true. The reason I look like a workaholic? TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee. I was planning on taking a few days off, playing video games until I reached nirvana (or if my thumbs went numb before then). Instead, Eunkoo lined up several meetings, then she was confused why I was as thrilled as a military draftee at the start of a war. I wonder: Were even Santa's Elves working today? www.lovetnkr.org/donate

* Korea Times bloggers' luncheon * Street interview * Minwoo's donation * Mentoring * Eye Contact www.lovetnkr.org/donate

In the morning, a grumpy old man played the role of Santa loved by kids! After that, I returned to the office for several meetings. www..lovetnkr.org/donate ******************************************************* The first meeting was with representatives from a local community center. They learned about us recently, and began looking us up, watching all of our videos on YouTube.  They brought us gifts which we will donate to students and staff who happen to visit the office. What I remembered: I got them to subscribe to TNKR-related YouTube channels . What I forgot: To take individual photos. ******************************************************* The next meeting was with a mother and daughter. The daughter is a high school student who wants to volunteer with TNKR. We talked about the good and the bad, challenges and opportunities, and our high expectations. What I remembered: To take a photo with them individually. What I forgo

"The interview is the honeymoon, publication is the divorce." --Shinae Chun I had a GREAT and FUN interview today with a reporter from Japan. Let's hope publication will also be great! www.lovetnkr.og

I had a great time speaking today at Daejin Girls' School, those lovely girls cheered and applauded like I was a pop star! Whenever I speak to any group of youngsters below the age of 25, I am never sure what the response will be.

I'm not famous, but there are some times that I get recognized. Today was one of those days.

Posted by Bana TV: 19. 12. 16 오늘은 '배나무 이사회' 89회를 촬영했습니다. 'TNKR (Teach North Korean Refugees) 활동에 대해'를 주제로 2015년 한국 입국, 현재 TNKR에서 영어를 배우고 있는 평양 출신 나민희 님께서 사회를 보시고, 2013년 TNKR을 공동 창립, 현재 공동대표를 맡고 계신 한국 출신 이은구 님과 미국 출신 Casey Lartigue 님 모시고 말씀 나누었습니다. 나민희 님은 "지식을 떠나 사랑을 나누는 이런 단체에 더 많은 관심이 있어야 한다고 생각해 배나TV에 모시고 나왔다"라고 말씀하셨습니다. 이은구 대표님께서는 "TNKR은 비영리민간단체로 탈북민들에게 미래를 위해 무료로 영어 학습 할 수 있는 기회를 제공한다"라며 "탈북민들에게 더 다양한 기회를 제공하고자 하는 것이 설립 목적"이라고 하셨습니다. Casey Lartigue 대표님께서는 "TNKR은 탈북민 학생이 중심이 되어 선생님 선택도 직접 한다"라고 하시며 일반영어, 영어 대중 강의, 취업능력 향상 프로젝트 등 구체적인 교육내용에 관해서도 소개해 주셨습니다. 영어뿐 아니라 탈북민들에게 자신감, 세계에 대한 지식을 늘리는 기회를 제공하고 싶으시다는 말씀도 하셨습니다. 어떻게 이 일에 관심을 가지게 되었는지, 설립 초기의 에피소드, 어려웠던 점, 도움 주신 분들, 자원봉사자, 함께 한 학생들, 기쁘고 보람되었던 일, 가장 기억 남는 순간, 향후 계획, 후원 요청 등에 관해서도 이야기 나누었습니다. '배나무 이사회' 89회는 12월 24일(화)에 업로드됩니다. 많은 시청 부탁드립니다.

:-) I had a great time at a discussion group yesterday. One of the members said she was amazed that even though I talk about serious issues, I do so with a smile on my face. There are three main reasons:

Q: Hi, for applying for Track 3 mentorship, do I need to submit any new documents? A: Please check this page for the application process.  https://lovetnkr.org/mentor/ Q:  I just saw the announcement of Track 3 and would like to apply (all dates are fine with me). Do we need to provide the resume, ARC and waiver letter again or is it fine what I have provided earlier? A: Please submit everything again, we have three tracks, things can get confusing, and the resume needs to be updated just a bit! Q:

Yesterday started with TNKR Special Ambassador Cherie Yang  getting interviewed on TBS eFM radio about her new YouTube channel . It would have already been a big day if we had taken the rest of the day off. But we didn't! This, of course, will alarm my number one cheerleader,  Eben Appleton , who wants me to continue saving the world, but she is also always worried that I'm not getting rest and not socializing enough.

TNKR Special Ambassador Cherie Yang was interviewed live on the radio today . Some special things about it: * Yes, LIVE on the radio. You can listen here . * Cherie was interviewed along with me for a podcast a few years ago, but today was her first 1:1 live interview * And it was in English. Even if I live to the age of 400, I am sure I will never do a live interview in Korean. Cherie has been a regular panelist on TV talk shows, given speeches around the world including the USA, UK and South Korea, but she was nervous about this interview. I gave her tips during the week and met with her to help her get prepared. Cherie's Youtube channel (SUBSCRIBE!) Cherie's fundraiser for TNKR ! Cherie's TEDx Talk Cherie's first live radio interview

Each of the three Harvard University events I've been to in Cambridge and Seoul in the last month have been special in different ways. Of course the conference TNKR hosted at the Harvard Graduate School of Education from Nov 15-16 was super special. The annual alumni dinner on December 1st was fantastic yet again. But last night's Happy Hour was absolutely unforgettable. What were some memorable things about last night? * Workable Words:  Very often at such gatherings, people chit-chat without focus. Yes, I know, it is a Happy Hour, so I expect Happy Talk. But as the evening went on--but before the more serious drinks got poured--it seemed that we were going to breakup into working groups. This is more of what I expected a few years ago when I began attending Harvard alumni events. There are influential, smart and well-connected people at many of these gatherings--but there usually aren't many workable words. After reflecting on it, I will suggest we alternat