Skip to main content

2020-10-31 Those wonderful moments...



That wonderful moment when your organization gets featured by a huge government office. In this case, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am sure they did research about us or have been watching us for a while.


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


That wonderful moment when a staffer in your office buys you a drink after she has run an errand. Sharon has been a student at TNKR since 2015 and a staffer with us since2018.


She and TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee work together closely.

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


That magic moment when donors pledge their support for TNKR. Some donors want to know that an organization is barely surviving and the donor will be the one to save the organization. But Haanong wants to support us and to know that we are growing and getting stronger.

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


That wonderful moment when you go to an event, meet a former Miss Korea, and she says she recently met one of your students.

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


That wonderful moment when a former student visits on his rare day off.

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

That wonderful moment when you get invited to a celebration by the Korea Times. I have been a columnist with the Korea Times since 2013--meaning it survived for 63 years without me.





There were many dignitaries at the event, but the crowd favorite was this young lady belting out a Korean pansori.

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

And my latest Korea Times column. Hopefully it provided some wonderful memories for readers!




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



That wonderful moment when a TNKR fan sends gifts to the office for TNKR students. Thank you TNKR patron Ken Stuart!


Eunhee put on some of the lipstick that Ken sent her, then posted:



Eunhee then joined our Zoom call with U.K.-based North Korean refugee Jihyun Park. We even had two people on the call donate more than $100 to TNKR.




***********************************************
That wonderful moment when a TNKR volunteer and monthly donor comes to visit, donating books to TNKR! Sophia LaPoint, thank you! She also joined our Zoom call last night, and recruited her dad, too!


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

That wonderful moment giving the keynote speech at the 1st TNKR-GHSU International Youth Forum, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.



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

That wonderful moment when a long-term volunteer comes to visit. Kiyun joined us as a tutor in 2016, then he later became our Graphic Design Manager. He designed many of the flyers, posters, and graphics that have been done for TNKR.


He even made original videos, including this one that we entered into a film festival.

  

Another great week at TNKR, many great memories!


More photos from the TNKR-GHSU.






















Popular posts from this blog

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 ...
Read more

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."
Read more

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger.   * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...
Read more

To be a good volunteer, use your brain (Korea Times, December 5, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an event about American political philosophy hosted by the Association for Economic Evolution. During my speech about American libertarianism since 1940, I discussed my volunteer work for North Korean refugees. After the speech, Jeong approached me, asking how she could help. I gave her the same tough love I give to potential volunteers by asking: “Who are you?” After all, if you are Bill Gates, then open your wallet. If you speak four languages, then help with translation work. So I first stress to potential volunteers: Use your brain. Tell us about your skills and interests so together we can figure out your initial role.  Jeong was good-natured about it, rather than c...
Read more

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...
Read more