Skip to main content

2021-02-19 First TNKR/FSI North Korean Refugee Youth English Speech Contest

 


Yesterday I had the honor of being a judge at an English speech contest for North Korean refugee adolescents. This was not the first time being a judge. As I recall, the first time was about 2003 or so when I was the judge of a Valentine's Day poetry contest.

I was also judge at English speech contests hosted by the Hana Foundation during 2017, 2018 and 2019, and I was the "Chief Judge" the last two times. And by Chief Judge, it means you get most of the blame from everyone who doesn't win, doesn't think they were ranked highly enough, or doesn't like something else about the contest.

Yesterday, as Chief Judge, I decided to go with the "You're All Winners" approach. Instead of rankings, the three judges agreed to name categories. Each speech was different, which is a good reminder for those people who ask "What do North Koreans think" or "What is the North Korean view of unification?"

The contest was sponsored by the US Embassy of Korea.

Because of a global pandemic, we all had to wear masks and couldn't invite many people. We were delighted that a few of the mothers could join as well as some of the mentors for the refugee contestants.

The contest started with an unfamiliar MC: FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee! That's right, the lady who is usually behind the scenes stepped up to be the MC yesterday. We had thought about having a celebrity MC, but during a pandemic, that doesn't always seem to be necessary. 

We won't be posting any of the speeches, but if you are interested, you can read:

* the text of the speech by the North Korean refugee in the Youth Category (2019)

* James Lee's thoughts as a North Korean refugee watching one of the Hana Foundation's English speech contests (2018). 




It was time for the speakers! The photos below are of the speakers as well as the teachers.















Then it was time for the judges to rule! Being the judge of a contest is fun, an honor, but also can make you a target of anyone unsatisfied with the results. I don't remember the idiot's name, but a few years ago I received a really angry email from someone really upset by the results of the contest. Yes, some people really take these contests (and probably life) too seriously.

The other judges: Anna from the US Embassy and Janice Kim (long-time TNKR volunteer Academic Coordinator).







Then it was time for group photos. There is less enthusiasm for them because of COVID and masks, but we did it anyway!





It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Popular posts from this blog

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

  National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

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

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

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 t...

Chosun Monthly magazine [Korean language]

  Chosun Monthly Magazine has made an announcement (in Korean) about the Seoul Honorary Citizenship award that I received on December 9, 2022.  Our Korean staffers say that the magazine is a big deal in South Korea. Here's the overall roundup of media about the award. In the next two months, I have extended interviews coming up in two different magazines, one in the USA and one in South Korea. Both articles will be in respected publications so they should raise awareness of FSI's work that your support makes possible. * * * Support FSI via Stripe or PayPal . https://donate.stripe.com/3cs28F5IAcc85IAaEF or PayPal .

Is the SOTU over?

  Some people asked me if I watched President Biden’s State of the Union. Haha! I have seen enough of them. Not just Biden’s SOTU, but SOTUs by US presidents!  Back in 1999, I not only watched President Clinton’s SOTU, but the Cato Institute gave me the task of keeping track of all of President Clinton’s proposals and promises. Since then I have watched few SOTUs, once as a blogger at the invitation of National Public Radio. https://tinyurl.com/3dv5y452