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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Eunkoo Lee: TNKR's #1 Settler

If I could convince TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee that we needed to start executing volunteers, then she would quickly come up with a schedule with their names and execution times. She would do it fairly and orderly, accepting no exceptions or changes. If I suggested a change, then an argument would start about me being "Mr. Changeable" interrupting the schedule. That is how I have worked with Eunkoo Lee over the past seven years. She must be convinced, but once she believes in something, she charges ahead. What she is NOT interested in is public relations or dealing with media. I say this to people, but they don't believe me. But like the minister said after witnessing a baptism, "Not only do I believe in baptism, but I've seen it done!" * * * It has happened again! Someone noticed that my bio is much longer than Eunkoo's. I have heard a number of gripes from people over the years, ranging from Eunkoo should be featured more to I should step aside

Earth Hour 2013 Man of the Year!!!

In case you missed it, last night was Earth Hour. That's when people around the world turn off their lights for one hour to show concern for the Earth. The idea originated from the World Wildlife Fund. Bouncing off Don Boudreaux, I would like to announce that Kim Jong-Un is the Earth Hour 2013 Man of the Year. Kim Jong-Un, Earth Hour's 2013 Man of the Year I won't read through his resume and accomplishments to make my case, I will point out this satellite photo showing the difference between the two Koreas. North Korea, where every day is "Earth Hour." Not only is the dashing young dictator's regime focused on keeping North Koreans in the dark more than just one hour a year, but he is now leading a government that is threatening to blow up other countries for various reasons. He has ordered his military to strike with "lightening speed"--apparently confusing lightening speed with lightening, and thinking that lightening can bring ligh

North Korean defector seeks justice (Korea Times)

It was international news when 12 North Korean waitresses and a male manager who worked at a restaurant operated by the North Korean regime in China arrived in South Korea in 2016. The waitresses have mostly maintained a low profile. There have been numerous accusations and assertions, with some saying the waitresses didn't want to escape, some accused the Park Geun-hye administration of playing politics by releasing details of the case, etc., etc., etc. My blog at the Korea Times today features an exclusive interview with one of the former North Korean waitresses who filed a criminal case against the former manager. You can read about it here on the Korea Times website. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2023/02/728_345165.html Keep in mind that there are many more facts to the case and that it is much deeper than this brief excerpt of her comments. She also shared legal documents that I shared with the Korea Times well in advance to give them time to review the case. *

2019-06-29 Another Special Saturday

"When are you going to wrap this up?" That's what a whippersnapper asked me near the end of Q&A yesterday, after I had given a speech to North Korean refugee adolescents and their mentors. Thanks to Prof. Shin Hye-young for arranging the session. I'm a man with a lot of self-esteem, but it was tested on Saturday by those kids (more photos below) www.lovetnkr.org/donate

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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