2019-12-30 Eunhee podcast recording, Eye Contact Mentoring, Santa Ken, KOTESOL

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 finished, but our collaboration with Kuang-ok continues.

Full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ-NXJ3wNAo&list=PLn7xtnmarHFo0ddUJrmXFFN6Wd2VyrL9I&index=5&t=0s

Shorter clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENEY7MNihuY&list=PLn7xtnmarHFo0ddUJrmXFFN6Wd2VyrL9I&index=4&t=0s

********************************************************

JiYoung Park stopped by to pick up a gift sent by TNKR sponsor Ken Stuart! That meant that we had four TEDx speakers in the building today!

Challenges can become opportunities when you take actions (Jiyoung Park)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEAGdab7F40&list=PLn7xtnmarHFo0ddUJrmXFFN6Wd2VyrL9I&index=95&t=0s

You Can't Save the World (Casey Lartigue and Eunkoo Lee)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFaXvG-rSmQ&list=PLn7xtnmarHFo0ddUJrmXFFN6Wd2VyrL9I&index=11&t=0s

The Lives of North Korean Women (Eunhee Park)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps4Iy8VBxYc&list=PLn7xtnmarHFo0ddUJrmXFFN6Wd2VyrL9I&index=28&t=0s

********************************************************

This photo is actually from yesterday, we met with Scott Kim to talk about various things. He has been with us since 2017. He is working on various business projects, we hope during TNKR's Year of Mentoring that we can also make some connections with him, although he may be too busy to study in our new Track 3 program. He remains the only TNKR student to have never joined Track 1, he was already at a high level when he first joined us.

********************************************************

MAILBAG!

Thanks to TNKR Sponsor Ken Stuart for sending gifts to TNKR students and donors.

Also, I received a copy of the Winter edition of KOTESOL's English Connection magazine. TNKR has a three page spread, pages 19-21.

Each of these activities deserves a separate post, with each having an interesting or inspiring back story. They turned out to all be special moments from today.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...

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."

2020-07-24 Pandemic Tutoring

The question comes in various forms, as a request, a recommendation, a plea, an insinuation, an accusation, and sometimes (or most of the time) it is a demand and complaint at the same time. In my in-box yesterday: "And I wanted to know if TNKR also transitioned to online services as any other educational institutions globally under the pandemic." This was from a previous volunteer who is now in the USA, so I took more time to answer him, and will expand it now so I can share it with others asking. As context, TNKR started in 2013 as an informal volunteer group connecting North Korean refugees with volunteer tutors. In 2016, we became an official organization despite lacking funding. Mainly because we have limited resources we keep focused on our main mission, but try to expand based on the needs of North Korean refugee learners. We have developed a learner-centered organization that has a great reputation among North Korean refugees. That means we are not a social club or re...

Michael Breen discussion at 10 Magazine

Yesterday I attended a discussion with writer Michael Breen, hosted by Barry Welsh. Very often, when I attend a speech or discussion about a topic I know a lot about, I often think about ways the speaker/facilitator/discussant could have done better. But I didn't feel that way about Breen, it was one of those times that I really felt like I had a lot to learn and should listen more than talk. He's been in Korea for three decades, working as a reporter, commentator, communications specialist. He reminds me of Andrei Lankov in that his analysis seems to be based on observation of how things work rather than trying to get the world to fit his biases. I don't know him, so his friends may say he is a raging ideologue, but that's not the impression I had yesterday and based on his writings. Michael Breen (L) and Casey Lartigue I first read his book The Koreans about a decade ago. It was a delightful read, that was both warm to Koreans but also critical at times. Yes...

Humanitarian with a guillotine (Korea Times, February 1, 2013) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, `` I’m from the government, and I’m here to help .” For many well-intentioned activists, politicians, and intellectuals, that should be updated as: ``We are here to help you. You’re under arrest.” For example, ``sex workers” around the world oppose anti-prostitution laws. Prostitutes may not know the theoretical arguments but they do know in reality that prohibiting prostitution means they lack protection in dealing with abusive pimps and madams, violent patrons and crooked cops. Locally, a Korean woman busted for prostitution recently appealed to the courts pleading , ``I cannot survive without this job. I don’t want to be treated as a criminal for making a living the only way I can.” How should someone who genuinely wants to help her respond? If you say ``arrest her” then you are qualified to be a “harmful humanitarian.” In your desire to help, you have elimin...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog