A day at the FSI office (2022-12-13)

FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee is in charge of FSI's schedule. That means we have many meetings when I don’t schedule to be out of the office.

* 7 am, Zoom call about a non-FSI project. I am a co-founder of tFSI but I am engaged in some activities outside of FSI.

* 10 am, Zoom call about a possible FSI event in June with Ivy League students.

* 10:30 am, Meeting at the FSI office with visitors from the USA. They bought 10 copies of Greenlight to Freedom directly from FSI. We had a great conversation about the meeting last week. They have a better understanding of FSI and asked if we were a 501(c)3 based in the USA.

* 11:00 a.m., I sent an update to volunteers joining this Sunday's orientation sessions.

* 11:15 am, Meeting with a North Korean refugee who is joining FSI as a speaker. She showed the draft of her speech. Her husband had said the speech didn't make sense, which I confirmed in a more gentle way. I took her speech apart and showed her three different approaches to the same speech. I avoid taking over speeches, I see my role as getting them prepared to engage in self-learning and also partnering with mentors rather than looking to them as Gods.

* 12:00 noon, lunch.

* 1 pm, I followed up with a Seoul City official about being named a Seoul Honorary Citizen.

* 1:30 pm, Eunkoo Lee hounded me to handle another institutional matter in the USA. When it involves money Eunkoo never forgets.

* 2:00 pm, Meeting with a North Korean refugee who has joined FSI as a speaker. She was blown away by this first mentoring session, she said it taught her how to look at her speech in a new way.

* 3:00 pm, An Inspector from the Seoul City Government visited the office to inspect FSI. Accepting government money also means getting inspected by government authorities. Support FSI so we can remain an independent organization.

* 5:00 pm, Meeting with a North Korean refugee who is joining us after 8 years of knowing us. I met him in 2014 when he was still a high school student. At last, he is joining us!

* 5:50 pm, Eunkoo followed up about payments and collections. If you owe FSI money, just send it. Eunkoo will find you eventually. And she sends out FSI's payments on time and often ahead of time.

* 6:00 pm, I viewed and approved the sketch video from Mr. Hwang's trip to Imjingak.

* 6:15 pm, Meeting with a South Korean who is a best-selling author and made it clear he is a big fan of FSI.

"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 ...

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...

Inspiration from a lousy visitor (The Korea Times, December 31, 2013) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

2013-12-15 It was a great occasion yesterday. A group of us held a Christmas party in the cancer ward of severance hospital. So many people to mention. The man who inspired it all: Nick Adams. It was his trip to Korea last month that inspired me to organize the party. He had cancer when he was a child, and he insisted that as part of his itinerary that we stop by the hospital. I was so moved that I contacted the best party planner I have ever known. The man behind the motion: Edward M. Robinson! As I've said several times: If you are looking for someone to hold an incredible party for kids, then contact Eddie! I look forward to big things from HOPE now that he has taken an even more active role with the organization (and was smart enough to name me an International Adviser, for example). The staff members at Mulmangcho are still talking about the incredible Halloween party he hosted, and they are looking forward to the Christmas party he has planned this weekend! The lady behind t...

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...

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...

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