Geum Na-Ra, The Show-Stopper!

Kim Na-hee (stage name Keum Na-ra) is a singer, actress, dancer, and musician who is singing the OST for a Disney movie. Earlier this year, she released an album. I first "met" her in 2011, when she did background vocals for a rap video I was in. She provided the vocals, so I hadn't met her at that time.

* * *

A year or so later, I was at an event, when a cute young lady introduced herself to me. Of course, I thought I was world-famous, because she was talking in Korean about the rap song I had been in. Then, I realized: Oh!!! She wasn't just a casual fan. She was telling me that she was one of the ladies in the rap video. Wait, no! After a bit more trying to understand each other, it turned out that she was the lady singing the background vocals!

If you watch the rap, you can see me at the 1 minute and 2:30 minute marks. The Keynes-Hayek rap battle was big back then, almost going viral, so I had recommended to the CEO of the Center for Free Enterprise that he should do a rap video.

* * *

Over the years, I have bumped into her at other events.

One night I was at a Harvard alumni event... I kept thinking, that lead singer playing various instruments looks really familiar... then I realized, "Hey! That's her! My backup singer from the rap video!"

Yes, it was her!

* * *

Another day, I was watching a musical, I was invited to it at the last minute. It was a one-woman musical about a North Korean woman. So I'm in the audience, watching, then I realized...

"Hey! I know actress!"

I was telling the people I was with that I knew her. Did they believe me? They did after we took a photo after the show!

Yes, Yeonmi Park is on my left!

Yes, that is the producer of the play "Yodok Story."

* * *

In 2016, FSI (then TNKR) had a Christmas party. We had some entertainers that night, but it was clear that Kim Nahee was the show-stopper! She took over the stage with an unforgettable performance.

Here she is warming up, testing the microphones.

Yes, that is with Cherie Yang

With professor rapper Kim Chung-Ho and Nahee.

* * *

Now she is doing an OST for Disney!

Please subscribe to her new channel, watch all of the videos, leave likes and comments! After the pandemic is over, I hope she recognizes the love and support she has received from FSI and will perform at another concert.

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Let's not shake hands (Korea Times, July 2, 2014) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Let's not shake hands By Casey Lartigue, Jr. While there are many things that I love about Korea, there are two things that drive me crazy. One is that, in my observation, most Korean men don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. I know some people get defensive about non-Koreans commenting in a negative way about Korean culture and life, that they want to attack the messenger and the messenger's native country. So I will start by clearly stating that many men in America don't wash their hands either. According to the Website Stop Handshaking , while 92 percent of adults in America say they wash their hands in public restrooms, an observational study of 6,076 adults sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) found that only 66 percent of men actually washed their hands in public restrooms (88 percent of women did so). As an aside, I am curious how they "observed" that many peopl...

2019-02-18 TNKR media mentions coming soon

We had two media interviews at our office today. We also have some media outlets who will be covering our speech contest on Saturday, doing interviews before and after the contest. The two interviews today were with an international media outlet and a prominent Korean one. As usual, the international media outlet didn't want to commit to mentioning TNKR although 1) they had promised that when they first contacted us 2) we found an interviewee for them 3) organized it 4) hosted the interview. Update: Yes, NPR you are terrible, once again using non-profits for stories, then ignoring them when it is time for publication. NPR reporters blame their editors back at headquarters for choosing not to name organizations, I am now used to their process. So after this case, I decided when an NPR (or New York Times) reporter contacts me, I will ask the reporter if I can speak to their editor at the start. Perhaps I should also ask to speak to their mothers. www.lovetnkr.org/donate

2019-09-06 Interesting Person of the Week

2019-09-06, I was the "Interesting Person of the Week" on TBSeFM, interviewed by former National Assembly member Jasmine Lee. We first met about six years ago when she was in the National Assembly, but we lost contact a few years ago when I changed jobs and went through a cell phone change. We were in-studio, live on the air, for the “Interesting Person of the Week” feature on Jasmine Lee’s show, 10 Everyday. Podcast: https://audioclip.naver.com/channels/106/clips/12008 The main thing I liked about it: The interview was interactive. She wasn’t just interviewing by going down a list of questions, then jabbing at me occasionally. She had her own thoughts and experiences and would mention them within the context of what I was saying. When she introduced me, I was tempted to say, “If I’m so interesting, why did you wait to interview me? I didn’t get interesting until this week???” Well, even Michael Jordan wasn't MVP every year even though he is one of the all-time greats!...

2015-11-12 Case Study of TNKR by Columbia Teachers College

--New York, New York-- If TNKR can make it here, it can make it anywhere... * Wanna know how good TNKR is? Even great people at Columbia University believe it is great. Teach North Korean Refugees is now being analyzed by graduate students at The Teachers College, Columbia University as part of a case study. TNKR wasn't even an official organization until May 2015, but we have already had many great things happen. With both the professor and students in the class analyzing us--yes, asking some pointed questions, too--then TNKR should be even stronger in 2016 in helping refugees find their way and tell their stories. * Have you ever told someone that you were honored by something they were doing, and they try to convince you that they are even more honored to collaborate with you! That's what happened tonight with the professor at Columbia University who opened her classroom to me. She and the students were asking me plenty of pointed questions about TNKR. Based on their respo...

Paperwork versus real work

Yes, we have fun at Freedom Speakers International! So much fun that some people seem to be surprised to learn that we are an official organization requiring an actual budget, are accountable to our donors and sponsors, and must keep accurate records of our activities. Freedom Speakers International (FSI) has been officially registered as a 501(c)3 tax-deductible organization with the IRS in the USA since mid-2017, and we have had similar status in South Korea since 2016 (tax deductions for individuals, not corporations). And being an official organization means we spend a lot of time on paperwork instead of real work! In the photo, you can see the mountain of paperwork that FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee and FSI accountant Sharon Jang have kept track of and had me sign today. My role: being the rascal coming up with the projects and activities causing so much paperwork, then signing it all when they corner me. * * * Some people used to ask why we needed money because we had vol...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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