2019-11-24 Planning meeting 1, "North Korea: Send his father home."

On December 8, 2019, a few days before the 50th anniversary of the hijacking of a South Korean airplane by a North Korean agent, Hwang In-Cheol will visit Imjingak near the DMZ to call on North Korea to free his father who was abducted to North Korea in that hijacking. The main point will be at Freedom Bridge, the bridge that Mr. Hwang and 10 others were not allowed to cross.

How many people will join Mr. Hwang that day? We know that at least six people will be there, we all pledged it last night. A former Unification Ministry official has said he will be there. One of Mr. Hwang's relatives will join. So that means at least 8 of us will be there.

Before our planning meeting, we wrapped up a Track 1 orientation for new tutors. Mr. Hwang arrived early, as always, so I asked him to speak for a few minutes about his rally and campaign. As I told him in 2016, he is always welcome to present at our meetings to recruit volunteers to his effort.

__________________________________________________________________________________

A television team was there to have interviews and to record our planning meeting. First Mr. Hwang met with TNKR's co-founders to discuss December 8th.

__________________________________________________________________________________

They then interview me, which was hilarious. When they wanted shots of me at work, I opened my email and sent messages to friends and TNKR volunteers.

The reporter asked sharp and pointed questions. That was bad timing, because I had been working on several things on Sunday, after staying up most of the night listening to college football.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Planning meeting

It was then time for the main reason we were there: planning meeting for December 8th's trip to Imjingak! Jennifer, Michael and Allan are the volunteers who joined us. Such plannings are when the truest of true believers show up. Events don't happen on their own, it takes behind the scenes planning that often doesn't attract media. But in this case, media was there to document what was going on!

As far as the meeting, I outlined the history of the project, discussed what happened the last time we went to Imjingak in 2016, and what we had discussed with Mr. Hwang.

We then brainstormed the timeline and activities for December 8th.

Current schedule:

11:00 AM: Departure from Seoul.
12 noon: Arrive at Imjingak, gather at Indoor Center. DMZ생태관광지원센터
1-1:30 PM: Read and sign petition
1:30-1:45 Move to Freedom Bridge
2:00-3:00 Rally on Freedom Bridge
Please consider making a donation to this effort, the fee for using Freedom Bridge is about $200 USD.

All are welcome, you can RSVP here to get announcements related to this rally at Imjingak.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-korea-send-his-father-home-tickets-83533664439

Last night we had an initial planning meeting to get prepared for the rally. We aren't done, many things need to be done. We need things such as placards, to recruit people to join, a banner, raise money to cover costs (probably about $300 on the low-end).

__________________________________________________________________________________

The TV team then had a second interview with Mr. Hwang.

I made it clear three years ago that Mr. Hwang could use our office for meetings or interviews. He doesn't have his own office for such meetings, so our office is more comfortable than meeting reporters at coffee shops or renting a room at a business center.

Join us on December 8th.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-korea-send-his-father-home-tickets-83533664439

Support his campaign: https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/KAL1969

Watch his YouTube playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-6_xImxyTAKr06xx029WeeS31UHzPwkf

My Korea Times column about joining his effort: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2016/06/137_208087.html

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 ...

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...

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

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...

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 ...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog