Yuna's speech to tourists (2022-08-22)

Yuna Jung, a Keynote Speaker with Freedom Speakers International, was the featured speaker with a group of college students visiting from the USA.

Yuna has been a regular commentator on South Korean TV since 2017 and giving speeches in English since 2019 (she won FSI's 11th English speech contest).

When audience members ask her a question it seems that she has been waiting for them to answer. There is no hesitation, she has answers that are a mixture of humor, information, and enthusiasm but also seriousness and joy.

Yuna has some hilarious stories. She says some of them in her speeches but Q&A is when she really shines.

Yuna was the winner of FSI's 11th English Speech Contest, in September 2020.

Next month, Yuna will be a featured speaker at the Asia Liberty Forum 2022.

At a few moments, she did show her anger about the way North Koreans are treated as well as about a few other things.

When I asked if we should take a photo at the end the students were jockeying for the opportunity to stand next to Yuna.

During Yuna's presentation I referred to passages in books by Songmi Han and Wonchae Han to add more perspective.

Before starting the event, FSI's co-founders introduced about the organization and also gave some background information about North Korean refugees. As I told Eunkoo, we are often the Ralph Abernathy to Martin Luther King Jr., warming up the crowd and getting them prepared for the featured speaker.

I asked the students a few questions, they had no idea. I told them, "You are going to learn today!"

Eunkoo Lee says that she is shy, but she also seems to be gaining confidence as a public speaker.

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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 ...

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...

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

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."

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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