2020-01-02 Do your New Year's Resolutions include TNKR?

Yesterday was the calm before the storm. We had no meetings held at the TNKR office yesterday New Year's Day.

After a day off, today was meetings from start to finish.

If you forgot to include TNKR in your New Year's Resolutions for 2020, no problem! No one will remember which resolutions you pledged. So you can add TNKR to your list, then jump in to get something done!

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Are you eager to get involved with TNKR this year? We are growing as an organization. We have grown to the point that we have expanded our programming for 2020. At one point in our history, our only activity was tutoring. Our name, Teach North Korean Refugees, came from our concern about being able to recruit enough tutors. Now we have to worry about our various programs bumping into each other, with volunteers hopping around the three different tracks.

www.lovetnkr.org/tutor
www.lovetnkr.org/mentor
www.lovetnkr.org/leaders
www.lovetnkr.org/members
www.lovetnkr.org/donate

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Joining TNKR means engaging with some fantastic people who escaped from North Korea!

The following is just from today!

Eunsun Kim dropped by the TNKR office to sign copies of her book, "A Thousand Miles to Freedom." She has been with TNKR on-and-off since July 2014, she was the winner of TNKR's third English speech contest. I have known her for five years now, heard her give many speeches, shared the stage with her many times, and never heard her say a critical thing about anyone.

She was at a high level before she joined TNKR, but continues focusing on improving her English.

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It is always great to see Chanyang Praise Ju! I met her in 2012 just as I was getting involved in NK refugee issues. She was one of TNKR's first students, in 2014 she was our first students to give an international speech, she gave an absolutely incredible testimonial about me in 2014. She has remained with us during that time, always bringing her energy and smile.

Here's her YouTube channel.

We have some students we don't identify publicly. One has been with us since 2014, and another since 2016.

It is always fantastic seeing Songmi! She is joining TNKR in numerous ways, bringing her BIG smile and fantastic energy.

A touching moment is that after our official work hours, we met with local leaders, they are looking for an office for TNKR. It is fantastic that our humble little organization has come to their attention. One, we must thank Sue Choi, owner of the local Isaac sandwich shop. She has kept my business card and an article about me on the wall and also introduced Eunkoo to some of the local leaders in our area.

The latest boost in TNKR's reputation is that I was recently featured on Channel A's "Eye Contact" TV Show. (The full version is blocked in some countries).

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She didn't visit the office today, but today was a special day because it is the birthday of Sharon Jang!
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www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Open door to N. Koreans (Korea Times, January 16, 2013) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Open door to N. Koreans By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Last Dec. 12, I fired off an opinion piece of about 1,500 words to the Washington Post. It easily could have been 1,600 words, but I deleted all of the curse words. The day before, I had learned that the United States government had rejected visa applications by three of the students at the Mulmangcho School for North Korean refugee adolescents. Mulmangcho (meaning, ``forget-me-not”) is a small alternative school located in Yeoju, more than an hour south of Seoul. It opened last September with 11 former North Korean children who are orphans or are disadvantaged in some other way. It was founded by former national assembly member Park Sun-young and a distinguished board of directors. Why were the youngsters rejected? The explanation I got: 1) The U.S. government is concerned that they might not return to South Korea and 2) there was a question about their refugee status because they didn’t have pr...

Park Chung-hee: Dictator or benevolent autocrat? (The Korea Herald, July 20, 2011)

The Korea Herald published my analysis of Willam Easterly's paper "Benevolent Autocrats." Check it out at the CFE Website . Easterly questions if "benevolent autocrats" really deserve credit for high economic growth. The Idiots' Collective calls it "a must-read" piece. I agree. [Casey Lartigue, Jr.] Park Chung-hee: Dictator or benevolent autocrat? It ain’t necessarily so. That’s what New York University economics professor William Easterly essentially says about crediting “benevolent autocrats” like South Korea’s Park Chung-hee for high growth rates. In “Benevolent Autocrats,” a provocative working paper posted in May, Easterly 1) argues that economists should be skeptical of the “benevolent autocrat” theory; (2) questions whether benevolent autocrats truly deserve credit for growth; (3) and concedes he is making a losing argument because cognitive biases lead many to believe in benevolent autocrats regardless...

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...

2015-04-25 First-time TNKR speaker

When I hear people say that South Koreans don't care about North Koreans, I have three main responses. 1) North Koreans are one of many groups that South Koreans don't care about. 2) The ones who do care, care a lot! Let's focus on getting them more involved rather focusing on the ones not involved. 3) It may just be that those of us engaged in activism for NK refugees need to try different methods rather than dismissing or denouncing others for not getting involved... http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/01/626_155820.html Last night, Saturday April 25, 2015, I met with two South Koreans to help a North Korean refugee get ready for her first public speech. Thanks so much, TNKR co-director Lee Eunkoo and TNKR coach Clare JH Yun! It will be a challenge, will be this particular speaker's first speech in English. She is also a newcomer to English. But her determination, wow! She is studying with a few coaches in the Teach North Korean Refugees project. I wish...

복날

Tomorrow is 복날 ( bok nal ). It seems to mean that it is start of the dog days of summer. So we'll be eating 삼계탕 ( sam gye tang, which is chicken broth with ginseng) to celebrate the day before the rest of Korea does so. Update #1 : You must literally rip the chicken apart with chopsticks and a spoon. It helps to wear a bib so it won't get on your clothes. The food is cooked after you order it or call ahead with reservations . Update #2 : It is pronounced by me as bok nal , but when I say it Koreans around me don't understand until I pronounce it as " bok nallllllll ." This is a common problem with the little Korean that I can say. I'll say it, Koreans will say I speak Korean well, then ask each other in Korean, "What did he say?" Update #3 : James explains that I am probably pronouncing bok nal incorrectly. Instead, it is probably better to pronounce it "bong nahl ." I have the feeling I still won't be understood unless I say ...

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