March 26 is a special day (with Eunmi Park)

March 26th is a special date in Eunmi Park's life, for two different reasons, as she will explain one day. It was also special for us today because we (FSI co-founders Casey Lartigue and Eunkoo Lee) got to spend it with her.

We set a new record today: Eunmi spent almost seven hours at our office this lovely Saturday afternoon-turned-night.

Most evenings when she records a video she is at our for three to five hours

Today she recorded two more videos for her YouTube channel.

After years of silence, Eunmi has posted six YouTube videos her first two weeks of speaking out and now has three more videos recorded to be uploaded next week. They run the range of emotions. One video is heart-warming and inspirational, one is infuriating, and the last one... I am not sure how to describe it without giving away the story, but there are some sensitive points in it.

To get ready for the video, Eunmi first sends the script to FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee. She translates it, then I (and sometimes one of our volunteer staffers) edit it. After editing, we review everything in it to confirm that the translation and edit have fully captured her points. Eunkoo is not a professional translator and I am not a professional editor, so we take care to make sure we don't distort her message. We are doing this in addition to our full-time jobs as co-presidents of FSI and Eunmi does this after her full-time job or on weekends.

After editing, Eunmi then practices, over and over again. When we start this process remotely, then I or one of our office volunteers will record it for her to listen to the pronunciation.

When this is done on-site, then she will practice and practice, then she does a recording without anyone in the room.

With her first couple of recordings, she didn't want me in the room. English is her third language, it can be a bit intimidating to have a native speaker sitting there listening while you try to speak in a language that you still aren't that familiar with.

The didn't sit in for the first few recordings, but from the fifth or sixth video, I sat in anyway. That is usually the toughest recording because I stop her often and have her repeat some sentences again.

Sometimes she puts her head down on her desk in frustration, at other times she laughs, and at other times she just stares at me trying to figure out what the difference is between what she said and what I corrected.

She is still new to the world of YouTube, but is determined to make her channel great. At first, the video recordings were happening to her, but now she is happening to the videos!

Then we do the real recording. She is usually happy with the corrections, but sometimes... I am glad she is not a violent woman. Just in case, I may bring some boxing gloves with me next time so she can let out some frustration when I am having fun correcting her pronunciation.

Eunmi and Eunkoo then will review the recording together.

Then finally, done!

Well, not exactly done. Back at the office the next day, an FSI staffer will edit the video, make the video thumbnail, flyer, I will set up Facebook events to notify people in advance, we need to do other things such as come up with an appropriate title, and whatever miscellaneous things I can't recall at the moment.

Then she uploads the video! Her schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights at 10 pm KST. So set your alarms!

https://www.facebook.com/events/520034369487998

www.fsi21.org/?donate

P.S.: In the last photo, she was trying to stand on her tippy-toes to make herself look taller, so I did the same thing and also used her shoulder to make myself even taller.

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

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

2018-09-28 Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens

Most of the people who contact us at TNKR naturally want to tutor North Korean refugees. Many potential volunteers are shocked shocked shock ed to learn that they can volunteer with TNKR in other ways. I tell many of them: "Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens. There are also delivery people, accountants, marketers, personnel, and a host of other positions." Earlier this year, we began developing the TNKR Volunteer Leadership Academy. I'm still waiting for someone to take over that little project. Until then, I will continue with developing it. And be developing it, I mean telling people, "Don't write me a long business plan about what you would like to do. Just start doing it, keep me updated and in the conversations, then let's talk and update." We have had a recent influx of volunteers who want to help TNKR in other ways. Jackie Cole is now running our Instagram. She constantly surprises me with the flyers and videos she posts. I made it clear from the ...

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 ...

Random scenes in Seoul

Yesterday morning I stopped by to buy some kimbab 김밥 at one of the places that sells rolls for 1,000 won (about $.80, depending on how much the Korean or U.S. government have screwed up their respective currencies). I stop by there often so of course the woman there recognizes me. Of course, they probably recognized me from the first time I went there... Yesterday, she asked in Korean if I liked tan mu gi 단무지. I said yes, that I loved it. As I was trying to pay, she hurriedly cut some up right then, then fed it to me, like I was a 6 year old child... I could see everyone in the shop watching... then, I said, "맛있어요!" delicious! I could see everyone smiling. I'm surprised they didn't start applauding. * * * Friendly fights Saw a funny fight the other day. Two guys in a restaurant were wrestling with each other, knocking over at least one table. I watched, not really interested in getting involved. They could be two friends fighting over a woman or for some other reason,...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog