2019-12-01 Harvard annual alumni dinner

It was great, as usual, I have attended several years in a row. Some of the usual dignitaries were there, I renewed acquaintances with some Harvard grads I only see at the dinner.

They are all fans of TNKR, including Songmi, a new student joining TNKR! She will probably be in both Tracks 1 and 3.

Update: Songmi and I wrote a book together, she talked about how incredible the night was for her. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2022/09/137_336202.html

Mr. Kwon of Goldman Sachs delivered the keynote address.

"You can always tell a Harvard man but you can't tell him much."

Mr. Kwon, the keynote speaker who I'm sure has forgotten more about economics than I have ever known, was a bit surprised I knew some specific things about trade issues. Once upon a time, I did have a life before co-founding TNKR.

Prof. Park has also had some interactions with North Korean refugees, especially youngsters.

They were showing previous activities, one of the other attendees mentioned, "It seems that you are in many of the photos."

President of the Harvard Club of Korea.

The Harvard Club of Korea was more active in 2019 than it has been in recent years. Any ideas for events? They are listening!

The MCs for the night!

Photo time! They are also on my TNKR email list!

Charles is also on my TNKR email list!

Mr. Dr. Prof. Congressman Jin Park, former president of the Harvard Club, giving a toast. His resume is probably as long as chapters in books. He has had so many titles, been affiliated with so many organizations. And he is a TNKR fan.

High school students from an international school performed opera.

I won a prize and also helped a North Korean student win a prize when I whispered the answer to her. I also won a prize last year--I used to give tours about Harvard's history.

The host of the quiz was hilarious, politely letting those Harvard graduates know that they don't know much about Harvard's history. But she didn't look in my direction after I answered a question, although I put my hand up to answer about 10 of the questions. I won some nice Maxim coffee, which I donated to TNKR. But I barely lost out on the airplane ticket, my raffle ticket was six, the winner had number 5. But then, I am not much of a traveler, so I would have donated it unless I could have also set up a speech opportunity on the West Coast.

With Mr. Dr. Prof. Congressman Jin Park. He always has warm words for TNKR and encourages us to keep up the good work.

The photos below are for the food porn addicts.

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#harvardalumni #loveTNKR #teachnorthkoreanrefugees #caseylartigue #HarvardUniversity

It was clear that TNKR was well-known, some of the Harvard graduates are even on my mailing list. Not many are on the TNKR donor list, so I still have some work to do.

I usually say I am not busy, but the past few days, I have really been busy. It was a busy part of a busy weekend.

* Saturday morning, 4 hour TV interview

(NAP time)

* Saturday afternoon, moderated a TNKR Global Leadership Forum with four TV personalities.

* Sunday morning, greeted TNKR students arriving for Matching session

* Sunday afternoon, helped lead TNKR Language Matching session #98

* Sunday evening, Harvard alumni dinner

* Monday morning, speech to a tour group

* Monday afternoon, TV interview

(NAP time)

* Monday afternoon, shooting footage for TV interview

* Tuesday, six hours of teaching public speaking at Seoul University of Foreign Studies.
* Interview with a North Korean refugee as part of prep for Track 3 being launched in 2020.

If you sent me a message over the weekend, I probably didn't check it, I got over 1,000 unread messages again.

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."

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...

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...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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