2021-02-01 Random News: Elite defections and rappers

In my favorite newspaper in the world...

"Defections of high-level North Korean officials are telltale symptoms of internal difficulties

I don't deny the reasons stated in the article, but my questions:

1) If you were standing in line, and saw people at the front of the line getting shot, would you continue waiting in line?

I am not sure why it might seem confusing that high-level North Korean diplomats who heard about Kim Jong-Un's uncle and half-brother being eliminated would feel less secure about themselves. Some North Korea watchers debated if the uncle was really machine-gunned or fed to dogs and if the half-brother was truly assassinated by the regime. In a country and society where that seems possible, do you want to wait around to see what might happen to you? If you saw people above your party status and pay grade getting executed, would you keep standing in what may be an execution line, or make a run for it?

Reporters sometimes forget that North Koreans are humans. There are not always big policy questions about why someone even in the elite might make a run for it.

2) The "Privilege" of getting assassinated

Over the years, I have noticed that South Korean reporters and intellectuals discussing North Korean refugees and defectors will refer to the "privileges" that the North Korean elite had in North Korea. For a long time, it felt like South Korea itself must be a John Milton type of "it is better to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven" kind of country. And it seemed that mindset was being applied to North Korea.

So my question about the elite leaving their privileges behind:

Is it a privilege to have your head put in a lion's mouth?

North Korea's elite may have special status in the country, but that apparently can change at any moment. Some North Korean refugees who escaped from the lion's mouth have reported some trivial reasons for escaping, such as: Not smiling and cheering wildly enough at a military parade, losing a book they had been allowed access to, not having a portrait of a dictator appropriately displayed in their homes, or leaving a job at a government villa.

Many North Koreans have told stories that they were doing well, then oops! Someone in the family did something wrong, and suddenly they were all under arrest, doing hard labor, and/or escaping. The "elite" may have "privileges," but those privileges are not permanent. The dictator changes policy and some of the elite could get sent to concentration camps.

3) Why did you leave your family behind?

Back during my first sojourn to South Korean during the 1990s, I didn't know much about North Korean refugees, but I remember South Koreans were abuzz about an elite North Korean who had escaped to South Korea. There were actually some South Koreans are arguing that the defector had betrayed his family.

Fresh out of Harvard, my point then was: Leaving family behind is an ethical question that needs to be addressed to the butchers of Pyongyang or debated by college sophomores. North Korea puts families in do-or-die situations: stay and possibly get executed along with your family if you make a wrong move, or leave and your family possibly gets tortured and/or executed. Yes, I used to say, that is exactly the kind of question that families overpay for their children to discuss with Prof. Michael Sandel at Harvard.

I used to say college sophomores, but now it seems to be a question that is better suited for high school sophomores and YouTubers.

* * *

Speaking of YouTubers, that leads me to my next favorite story of the day.

My favorite newspaper in the world reports: Rapper apologizes over delayed refund of lesson fees.

1) My first thought was: Is this really news? A rapper apologized on Instagram after a fan complained about not receiving a refund for lessons? It must be news because I clicked on it and have now shared it with you.

2) My second thought was: What else should be in the news that isn't really news. Such as, did any kids apologize today for not tying their shoes? Did any YouTubers apologize for not uploading on time today?

3) Then my third thought was: If it is news about a rapper apologizing for not refunding money for lessons, would it be news if I predicted such things happening and then they happened?

In connecting these two stories: Would that rapper have had to escape from North Korea if it was found that he hadn't refunded lesson fees to a member of the elite?

Helping North Koreans 'strike the blow' (Korea Times)

H ave you ever engaged in action not because you were sure it would change the world, but to satisfy your own heart? That, I emailed to an American friend, is why I have joined the effort to help North Koreans who are trying to escape from their homeland. I can’t change the direction of policy in North Korea or China but I can row the boat I am sitting in rather than lamenting that I can’t steer the yachts somewhere else. So I have tried to do what I can: Attending protests in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul (and I plan to do so when I visit America in April); donating money to the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights ( www.nkhumanrights.or.kr ); educating myself, writing articles and emailing friends; and, as a member of the board of trustees, I recently submitted a resolution to the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association (FDMHA) in Washington, D.C., to try to call attention to the plight of North Koreans. Our organization’s missi...

Chang Ha-Joon's foolish consistency (Korea Times, January 1, 2013)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Is the sky blue? Is the ocean water? If you suspect those are trick questions, you are right. The sky isn’t always blue ― it is reddish at sunset, dark at midnight, gray on an overcast day. The ocean isn’t water ― there’s also fish, plant life, submarines, dissolved minerals, surfboards, sunken ships, even people swimming in it sometimes. As Hoover Institution scholar Thomas Sowell wrote in his 1996 book ``The Vision of the Anointed,” people who use “all-or-nothing” reasoning can deny a statement because it is not 100 percent true in every circumstance. Such word games might be fun for college students or debaters, but there are some distinguished people who are respected for making such childish arguments about serious issues. In his book ``23 Things They Don’t Tell you About Capitalism,” Cambridge University economist Chang Ha-Joon argues that 1) “[T]here is really no such thing as a free market” and 2) “The free market doesn’t exis...

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...

2020-04-26 "May I choose more teachers?" TNKR Matching session #102

2020-04-26, TNKR Matching session #102 The Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) humbly began in March 2013 with 5 tutors and 5 NK refugees being matched together. We held that first session at a TOZ business center in Gangnam. Seven years later, TNKR has now matched 455 North Korean refugees with 1,027 tutors, coaches, and mentors. Today we held our 102nd Language Matching session at our slightly expanded office near the Sangsu Subway Station. Instead of just being something that Casey and Eunkoo did short-term, TNKR is now an official organization in both South Korea and the USA, we have been featured in media and by other organizations (just yesterday, we were featured by KOTESOL), and we have fans and donors from around the world.

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog