2018-01-16 Celebrating her birthday with us

I already knew about her even before she escaped to South Korea! But would she ever make it to South Korea? Yes, she did, after being missing for seven years! Eunmi joined Freedom Speakers International (formerly Teach North Korean Refugees) three weeks after she was released from Hanawon in 2014.

There are so many things I could say about her. There are so many special moments and memories with her over the years.

One of the most special ones was when she came to our office in 2018 to celebrate her birthday. How many students return to a school or organization to celebrate like this?

Her English is great now! Back in 2014, she was at the A-B-C level of English. Now we can talk and hold conversations in English. And she teases me in English. When she is fluent, I am sure will start bullying me! Of course, I look forward to that, and will love the beatings.

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Two of my favorite photos with her.

1) The one at the top of this post. She stood on her tippy-toes to make herself look taller, so of course I did the same thing to neutralize her move. Of course, she wasn't going to allow that. So you can see her stepping on my foot to stop me from standing up higher.

I started to catch on, and would preempt her move by stepping on her foot first.

2) One of the times when I tutored her. I had recorded things for her in the past as part of her studies and for one of the speeches she gave at our events, and I even tutored her a few times. This photo is special because her English had improved so much. That session taught me quite a bit about approaching classes and I would use the lessons I learned in orientation sessions with volunteer tutors.

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Another special moment was when she gave a speech on the US military base. As she made clear at that time, she was interested in becoming a school teacher, not a public speaker. Learning about public speaking could be a skill that could help her with that.

I mentioned her briefly in this Korea Times column. Even the translator cried (koreatimes.co.kr)

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A few years ago, I was talking with the leader of an institution focused on North Korean refugees. He was complaining that North Korean refugees he had helped never returned to thank him. I won't identify him, but from what I know about him, he has done many things.

I mentioned that many of our students, former and current, often return to see us, send us messages saying hello and thanking us. Then I innocently asked why he thought they didn't return to him. He griped for a few more minutes about them not being grateful. I felt like he had answered my question (and probably also explained why the students didn't return to him).

Even if you haven't started your own non-profit, you might understand why it is so special when students like Eunmi call or message to see if they can visit. Many people work in fields and companies where they are more likely to get complaints rather than compliments from their clients and customers.

So you may understand the special memory of Eunmi coming to celebrate her birthday with us. I have now known her for almost seven years, and expect to know her forever.

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Below are more photos with some of her tutors. The first year or two she was completely anonymous so we didn't take photos of her.

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2020-03-23 Hidden distractions of free tutoring

On March 19th, I wrote about TNKR's first 10 days after relocating the office to Sangsu station . We have remained busy, with numerous meetings and activities. Most notably was a meeting at which volunteers met with TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee to help her fancy up her bio . We had more meetings with North Korean refugees eager to join TNKR. We met again with the film maker helping us prepare a video to send to North Korea. We also had Skype calls with a group hoping to raise money for TNKR. ********************************* ORIENTATION WITH NK REFUGEES ********************************* On Saturday, we had a lovely orientation session with six North Korean refugees. They said some things that really encouraged us. * Hidden distractions of free tutoring. TNKR has been trying to develop a culture eliminating distractions--socializing, dating, gifts, hanging out, hidden costs for study sessions, talking about North Korea, interviewing refugees and having them tell their

Mentoring while Black (Korea Times 2/16/2023)

Mentoring while Black by Casey Lartigue Jr. February 16, 2023 www.patreon.com/caseylartigue

From nothing to something super special (2023-02-10)

FSI has moved into a better institutional neighborhood where we are the poorest in the area. In August 2022, I was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) and in January 2023 FSI achieved incorporation status in South Korea. This has meant that FSI must upgrade operations and structure and I am the one, as chairman and co-president, who will be blamed if it doesn’t happen. I really should not be the chairman, for a variety of reasons, but anyway I am. Eunkoo and I are not the typical executives of a growing organization. In addition to being mainly responsible for building and fundraising for the organization, we are the hands-on leaders who are constantly in contact with North Korean refugee speakers. We look forward to the day we can afford staff to handle many tasks. Until then we can expect to continue having more days like yesterday, even on Eunkoo’s birthday. 2023-02-10 Meeting #1: planning We started Eunkoo’s birthday with a planning

Politician commentators

It is often mockingly said that the people who know how to run the country are driving cabs and cutting hair. I have identified a new problem...the people who are running the country are pontificating like they are cab drivers and barbers. WTOP Radio hosts "Ask the Governor" every Tuesday. This past Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was philosophizing about Michael Vick, the former NFL player now in the slamma for killing dogs. Kaine: "I don't think somebody convicted of charges like this should be back in the NFL." What, Vick should be driving a cab or cutting hair? * * * Perhaps Gov. Kaine would like to assign Michael Vick to a job. After all, if Vick should be barred from playing in the NFL, then would what Kaine have him do? Let's fill-in Kaine's statement with some other occupations: "I don't think somebody convicted of charges like this should... "work as a waiter." "be a construction worker." "work as a tax account

[Video] "Author Spotlight" by Harvard

On February 2nd from 2-3 a.m. (Korea time), I was the featured speaker at an "Author Spotlight" by the Harvard Division of Continuing Education (DCE) and the Harvard Extension Alumni Association (HEAA) . Watch, like, share, and comment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmRgP3q7rQg&list=PLn7xtnmarHFq6kVvq3PxOgC8nwjn8ioBO * * * I will be in the USA for two weeks in March, I will kick off the trip with a speech on the campus of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HSGE) for its annual Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC). It will be a bit of a homecoming reunion, I was one of the speakers at the first HGSE AOCC in 2003. Stay tuned, this will be preparation for a larger event later this year. Thanks to everyone who has helped make FSI's work possible. ( Stripe ) ( PayPal ).

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