The Casey Lartigue Show!

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...

  When we met Eunhee Park six years ago, she used a different name . Now her name has become known by many people. She was at the ABC level of English. Now she engages in high-level discussions in English about a variety of topics. She had never given a public speech. She has now given speeches around the world and been interviewed by various media outlets. As I wrote a few years ago, she went " from ABC to TED ." She was thinking about going to college--now she is a college graduate and has the graduation photos to prove it. She hadn't traveled abroad--now she is a world traveler who has visited numerous countries, as an explorer, an employee and learner. She had never done a radio interview--three weeks ago, we were live on the radio again, probably for about the fourth or fifth time. She had never been on TV. She became a TV personality and we were even on TV together a few times (" On My Way to Meet You ," on TVN's " Little Big Heroes ," Ariran...

I am now a regular guest on Arirang Radio's " Korea Now " show. When I am available, then I go on the show twice a month with a North Korean refugee. This past Wednesday 11/24, it was with Eunhee Park.  It was a special moment: 1) Eunhee went from A-B-C to T-E-D ! Six years ago, she was a basic speaker of English, but here she was handling a live radio show. 2) Her first radio interview was four years ago, also on Arirang Radio. At that time, she wasn't quite ready, so the producers asked if I could go on with her. Which turned out to be a good idea. She wasn't ready for the world of radio. Right after the host announced us, Eunhee whispered to me (but apparently not recognizing how great the microphones are): "I forgot my notes." She disappeared, leaving the host to talk with me. 3) She will soon be going to the USA! So it is great to see her before she leaves I should next be on the show on December 8th from 7:20 to 7:50 pm.

On December 8 in Seoul, five women from four different countries delivered speeches at TEDxDongdaemunWomen. They were understandably nervous: They are all second or third-language speakers of English. None of them are professional speakers, so this was a diversion from their daily lives. It was a beautiful scene. Numerous TNKR volunteers were on hand to support a TNKR student giving her first TEDx speech. TNKR collaborated with a TEDx organizer to put together an event. The TNKR co-founder being asked to be the MC of a TEDx event. So how did it all come together? Recommended Eunhee Park It started with Bayasgalan letting me know he would be organizing another TEDx event. Eunkoo and I had spoken at the TEDx he organized in September 2017, we strongly recommended Eunhee Park this time around. She first joined TNKR in 2015 at a basic level, and now she gives powerful speeches and engages in English conversation with ease. It would give Eunhee a great opportunity to speak to an ...