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.

"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 ...

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."

Michael Breen discussion at 10 Magazine

Yesterday I attended a discussion with writer Michael Breen, hosted by Barry Welsh. Very often, when I attend a speech or discussion about a topic I know a lot about, I often think about ways the speaker/facilitator/discussant could have done better. But I didn't feel that way about Breen, it was one of those times that I really felt like I had a lot to learn and should listen more than talk. He's been in Korea for three decades, working as a reporter, commentator, communications specialist. He reminds me of Andrei Lankov in that his analysis seems to be based on observation of how things work rather than trying to get the world to fit his biases. I don't know him, so his friends may say he is a raging ideologue, but that's not the impression I had yesterday and based on his writings. Michael Breen (L) and Casey Lartigue I first read his book The Koreans about a decade ago. It was a delightful read, that was both warm to Koreans but also critical at times. Yes...

Humanitarian with a guillotine (Korea Times, February 1, 2013) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, `` I’m from the government, and I’m here to help .” For many well-intentioned activists, politicians, and intellectuals, that should be updated as: ``We are here to help you. You’re under arrest.” For example, ``sex workers” around the world oppose anti-prostitution laws. Prostitutes may not know the theoretical arguments but they do know in reality that prohibiting prostitution means they lack protection in dealing with abusive pimps and madams, violent patrons and crooked cops. Locally, a Korean woman busted for prostitution recently appealed to the courts pleading , ``I cannot survive without this job. I don’t want to be treated as a criminal for making a living the only way I can.” How should someone who genuinely wants to help her respond? If you say ``arrest her” then you are qualified to be a “harmful humanitarian.” In your desire to help, you have elimin...

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog