Koreans don't care (except when they do) (2021-11-28)

The last three days I have met with some of the South Koreans who made it possible for Freedom Speakers International (FSI) to become an official organization, to upgrade our office, and to survive a global pandemic.

On Friday, we had lunch with the owners of the Haanong Furniture Company. They have donated more to us than anyone in our history, and they have done so at critical points in our history. We were under gentle pressure to move out of our first office. They made a major donation to us that would cover 1/3rd of the deposit and have made other large donations to us. They commanded to us on Friday to tell them when we need some support.

Their support has taken a lot of pressure off us. We have the dumbest financial model in history. We don't charge our customers/beneficiaries. We keep programming free for North Korean refugees but that means that we must go out and raise the money elsewhere. Thankfully, Haanong has been there for us for three years now.

The story of how they responded emotionally when they learned about me is really touching, I hope they will tell the story one day.

After yesterday's meeting, they pledged support for our book publishing project.

* * *

Yesterday, after our forum with (former) North Korean diplomats, we met with some of the moms who have children volunteering in the FSI-Global High School Union. Their children raised one-third of the money we needed for the deposit to move and they have also raised money for us on other occasions. This has also taken pressure off us, allowing us to focus on developing the organization rather than constantly engaging in fundraising and allowed us to keep programming free for North Korean refugees.

And now, their children have launched a campaign to buy copies of Greenlight to Freedom they will donate to libraries. Amazing!

It is also a funny story about how they came to support us.

* * *

Haanong and the FSI-GHSU donated and raised money allowing us to upgrade our office. We were then able to use the money we had saved for our programming. Plus, when the South Korean landlord learned about our activities, she reduced the deposit. FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee and I had been prepared to put in the final almost $10K, but thankfully we didn't have to do so.

* * *

Then today at lunch, I bumped into Kim Chung-ho, my former boss at both the Center for Free Enterprise and Freedom Factory Co., Inc. Even though he wasn't sure whether or not if Freedom Factory would survive, he welcomed the fledgling TNKR (now FSI) to incubate within Freedom Factory. Having the institutional backing of a South Korean organization gave us our first address with my desk representing TNKR the association then later organization.

When I reminded Prof. Kim of his important role, he discounted it, saying he only did a little. But without him, we might have shut down TNKR before it even had a chance to grow.

* * *

And then there is the lady who is in all of the photos with me: Eunkoo Lee! Her academic and professional career have been based on North Korea and North Korean refugees.

* * *

P.S. for the smart-alecks of the Internet:

1) Of course, we need more supporters regardless of nationality, but when people say that South Koreans don't care, I add, "until they do."

2) South Korean support is different. For a lot of Westerners, engaging with North Korean refugees is a cool experience (many stop donating or fundraising once the experience is over). The commitment level is that of getting on or off an elevator at any moment. For South Koreans, joining with an organization related to North Korean refugees can have an impact on their careers and lives so the commitment level is different. And for North Korean refugees, it can put their families at risk. For South Koreans and North Korean refugees, engaging in activism related to North Korea is like buying a building with an elevator rather than riding up-and-down an elevator.

3) It is true, I am not interested in comments from people who haven't done anything to support us as an organization. It amazes me when Westerners who haven't done anything to support us will criticize South Koreans for not doing so. My Law of Criticism: You can criticize the actions of others after you first state what it is you have done.

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

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 ...

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."

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...

Why I won't go to North Korea (Korea Times, December 27, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. “Have you ever been to North Korea?” This is the question I am almost always asked here in South Korea when people learn that I have become an activist for North Korean escapees. My response is curt: “No.” “Do you plan on going?” they ask next. My answer remains the same: “No.” When they start to ask a follow-up question, I cut them off: "No." People are often just trying to make conversation, I know, but I am blunt for a reason: I am not interested in going to North Korea as long as North Koreans are held captive. I could go one day, but for now, I can do without a government-guided tour by " men-stealers and women-whippers ," to borrow a phrase from American abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. I don’t mean to criticize people who have gone to North Korea for political, educational, business, religious reasons or just plain curiosity. However, some people push me on the issue, ― and I push back. A good friend wh...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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