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.

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 ...

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

Freedom Factory Shareholder Meeting (2015-01-31)

Re: Building something out of nothing Freedom Factory is a very small company, of which I am a shareholder. Yesterday we had our annual shareholder meeting. Freedom Factory is allowing us to "incubate" TNKR until we can stand on our two own feet--or at least crawl on our four hands and feet. (Consumer Rights Watch is in the same position). I owe special thanks to FF CEO 김정호. He is a "true believer" in the cause of freedom, so he is allowing both projects to grow out of FF. That's even though Freedom Factory is a small start up with the CEO, staff and supporters wondering how we are going to achieve our dreams with such a tight budget. So when I say I am so thankful to the volunteers and donors of TNKR, it isn't just lip service. Volunteers--along with Freedom Factory, the Atlas Network, donors--are helping us to create something out of nothing, helping North Korean refugees find their own way and tell their own stories. Like the FF CEO, I also don...

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."

From nothing to something super special (2023-02-10)

FSI has moved into a better institutional neighborhood where we are the poorest in the area. In August 2022, I was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) and in January 2023 FSI achieved incorporation status in South Korea. This has meant that FSI must upgrade operations and structure and I am the one, as chairman and co-president, who will be blamed if it doesn’t happen. I really should not be the chairman, for a variety of reasons, but anyway I am. Eunkoo and I are not the typical executives of a growing organization. In addition to being mainly responsible for building and fundraising for the organization, we are the hands-on leaders who are constantly in contact with North Korean refugee speakers. We look forward to the day we can afford staff to handle many tasks. Until then we can expect to continue having more days like yesterday, even on Eunkoo’s birthday. 2023-02-10 Meeting #1: planning We started Eunkoo’s birthday with a planning...

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