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. :-)

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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 ...

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

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

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...

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!

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