The Casey Lartigue Show!

  Today was one of those incredible days that I will always remember. North Korean refugee Songmi Han, South Korean co-founder of FSI Eunkoo Lee and I (the Texan-American co-founder of FSI) spent 7 hours together at three different incredible events in three different parts of Seoul. We were laughing and joking almost the entire time. * 10 am book talk We started the day with a small group discussion with a family visiting from the USA. It was great for Songmi because the family was happy to hear from her. She didn’t have the pressure to make a formal speech. As the old saying goes, “If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter.” It is similar with public speaking. If I am invited to give a one hour speech, then I’m ready right now. If I get a request for a five minute speech as part of a panel then I need some time to figure out how to put that hour of content into five minutes. With no notes, Songmi told her story in great detail. The family members had not read her b...

  Yeonmi Park, FSI's first North Korean Refugee Ambassador, mentioned Songmi Han, author of FSI's second book, during her YouTube video, starting shortly after the 3:15 mark. https://youtu.be/1NRT5Q8e4tk?t=199 Songmi Han was interviewed by a YouTube influencer (in Korean). Part 1 [ 한송미_1부 ] and Part 2 [ 한송미_2부 ]. Both videos have more than 100,000 views. And part 3 should be coming today. 3) Songmi did another recording in Korean about 10 days ago and has two more requests from influential YouTubers.  4) Songmi will be doing another YouTube recording today.  5) She has other offers to do interviews in Korean. She is a bit shy about her English so I haven't tried to pursue such opportunities for her, but they may come soon.  Follow Greenlight to Freedom on Patreon .

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 op...

  Lee Seo-hyun, a Keynote Speaker with Freedom Speakers International, is a North Korean defector who recently launched a GoFundMe after she was recently accepted into the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University). She delivered the following speech at TEDxUCLA on June 4, 2022. Courtesy of Casey Lartigue Jr. North Korean's bubble of certainty https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2022/08/728_334707.html Also featured by ROKDrop .

  On August 27, 2022, Freedom Speakers International (FSI) will be holding its 16th English Speech Contest . North Korean refugees were asked what motivated them to participate in the contest.―Ed. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2022/08/728_334706.html * * * Support FSI on Patreon

  What Action To Take To Help North Korean People - Casey Lartigue - YouTube

  Upcoming and recent! March 17th, moderator of private event March 18th, What Action To Take To Help North Korean People - Casey Lartigue & Yeonmi Park - YouTube 3/19 ' I AM THE MAN ' (Korea Times column) 3/20 FSI's 13th English speech contest (Korea Times) 3/21 " When I escaped to South Korea, I felt guilt " (Korea Times) 3/24 Finding the Voices of North Korean defectors (TBS eFM) 3/24 Speech to 330 South Korean college students 3/25 Voice of America News (11:45 minute mark) April 3rd, International Freedom Forum . * * * Join our Monthly Matching Donation Challenge ( Network for Good , 5-2 Foundation ) March 2021 links February 2021 links www.lovetnkr.org/donate * * * 3/6 " My experience of teaching English to North Korean defectors " (Korea Times)   Videos: " I was never brainwashed in North Korea " " I was a doctor in North Korea " " When I was caught in China, I felt like the whole sky was falling "

As someone who has been a writer, talk show-host, analyst, activist, educator, etc., I have gotten used to criticism. Most critics can be safely ignored because they rarely have constructive things to say. If they could do what they were complaining about, they would do it rather than complaining about what someone else was doing.  As someone who is used to critics, how do I to respond when a fan comes to visit? www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Yesterday started with TNKR Special Ambassador Cherie Yang  getting interviewed on TBS eFM radio about her new YouTube channel . It would have already been a big day if we had taken the rest of the day off. But we didn't! This, of course, will alarm my number one cheerleader,  Eben Appleton , who wants me to continue saving the world, but she is also always worried that I'm not getting rest and not socializing enough.

Will you be at this year's KOTESOL conference? TNKR will be! TNKR will be one of the organizations featured at this year's international conference. KOTESOL is holding a special "KOTESOL Gives Back" session encouraging attendees to donate to TNKR and KUMFA.We are scheduled to be on from 1:30 to 2:00 on October 12. Please refer to the KOTESOL Website for conference information. (October 12 and 13 at Sookmyung Women's University) https://koreatesol.org/content/kotesol-gives-back-2019-international-conference We had a planning meeting at the TNKR office with KOTESOL and KUMFA staff to get prepared. These flyers were designed by high school student Prachi Didwania. TNKR staff assistant YoungJoo Yoo will be managing the TNKR booth at KOTESOL, so sign up here if you would like to volunteer. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gWMUS4HVJ4P-4Hx7f1GDFQlM5-4rMFU5U6VCUdzuoqU/edit#gid=0

1/24 TNKR Matching session 1/27 speech--Harvard 1/28 speech--Volunteering 1/29 speech--TNKR 1/31 Korean language Matching session 2/9 speech--TNKR 2/14 speech--Frederick Douglass 2/16 testimony--Uber 2/28 speech contest 3/21 rally 6 speeches in three weeks on different topics in 2 different countries...

When people ask me if I have read a certain book that I indeed have read, I often hesitate to confirm. Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" or a book about dating is a different experience at age 16 compared to 36 or 56. I first read the late Paul Fussell's provocative collection of essays " Thank God for the Atom Bomb " as a graduate student. When I reread it a few years later, I noticed that I had completely skipped the chapter about traveling. I am a " digital immigrant " who still prefers printed books, newspapers and articles so I can markup the text. I didn't mark a single thing in that travel chapter the first time around. The second time around, years later, I wondered how I could have missed Fussell's profundity. In particular, I appreciated his point distinguishing among travelers, tourists and explorers. (" There's No Place Like Home," Feb 12, 2013 ). What had changed? Me. I grew up in Texas and Massachusetts, but h...

Rushing to judgment on a defector By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Have you ever read an article that you knew was wrong or incomplete based on your inside knowledge? That was the case as I read a 3,000-word commentary by reporter Mary Ann Jolley challenging statements by North Korean refugee Park Yeon-mi. Jolley questioned if Park had really witnessed the execution of a friend's mother for watching a Hollywood movie, in Hyesan, North Korea. Jolley quoted North Korea scholar Andrei Lankov who questioned the likelihood of the account, as well as an unnamed 59-year-old refugee from Hyesan who "laughed" that such a thing had happened there. The problem? Park didn't say the execution occurred in Hyesan. I know this because since last April I have recorded hours of detailed interviews with Park to help document her story. Park was born in Hyesan and later lived in Pyongyang, but moved to the countryside after her father was impr...

2014-12-07 Yes, it is true, I met him. Last night at the Harvard Club of Korea's annual dinner. 2014-12-07, the real Psy met the real KC. Of course, I told him about TNKR (now @freedomspeakersinternational). After winning the talent contest in 2012 or 2013, I am glad I didn’t sign up for 2014. Psy was there. Geum Na-Ra was there. Ho-Young Ju of TheSeeYa was there. And a real Harvard rapper, Kent Kim, was there! It was an incredible night. By then I had decided that I would stay in Korea after returning from another long trip to the USA a few weeks before. I don’t know who will be the entertainment at the 2022 Harvard alumni dinner, but I won’t be signing up as part of the entertainment or a talent show.