2013-10-08 A woman is a flower

* What happens when people RSVP for a Facebook event--and they actually show up?!? You need to get more seats!

* This event was speech prep for one of the speakers. I had been invited to go to New Delhi, India, to give a speech. I had mentioned that I was doing some work with North Korean refugees, the hosts then asked if a North Korean refugee could join me. After selecting a speaker, I then organized this event to give her a chance to get prepared for India.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

* The speakers last night...Wow! They both escaped from North Korea. So it was a poignant reminder of how precious freedom is. It is humbling, realizing that they had to risk their lives to escape to freedom that so many of us take for granted. For most of us, we just buy a ticket (airplane, train, bus) and process government paperwork to move to a new country. But North Korean refugees must evade kidnappers, border guards, police, traffickers and others who prey on them, taking advantage of governments that label them as "illegal immigrants." It also reminded me of why I spend so much time organizing and volunteering for North Korean refugees--to do a small part to help people who started with so little, with the odds against them, to escape to freedom.

* As a reminder to everyone who attended--please be careful about posting photos of one of our speakers. She has some family reasons for not being identified as someone who escaped from North Korea. So please do respect that. And I hate it! Because there are some great photos of her from last night.

* Thanks to the organization TCK (Third Culture Kids) for hosting the event last night. They usually have about 15 people at their events--so last night blew them away. They rarely charge money for events, but they made an exception for last night.

* I mentioned the Mulmangcho School. Part of the proceeds for last night will be donated to the school to help the North Korean refugees there.

I give 100,000 won (about $90) to the school every month and encourage others to at least make a minimum donation. Even just a one-time 10,000 won ($9) donation can help cover the transportation cost of a volunteer.

* One of our speakers last night mentioned that she thought it was not appropriate to label refugees as "defectors." I agree with that more than she knows!!! For six months, I made this point at almost every North Korea related event. She has inspired me to renew that campaign. So expect to be corrected if you use the term "defector" within earshot of me.

* * *

For anyone interested, I am holding two sessions matching volunteer English teachers with North Korean refugees who want to improve their English. Not every match works out (either teachers or students get busy, students get discouraged, teachers get over the curiosity, etc.), but we are doing our best to provide opportunities for both sides.

Teaching ladies from TV show https://www.facebook.com/events/175000052688496/

Teaching North Korean teachers https://www.facebook.com/events/1404224479808104/

* It is common for people to click "going" or "maybe" on Facebook as if they are clicking "like." But last night, at five minutes before the meeting was to start, the room was almost full. And this was with limited publicizing of the event. TCK was scrambling trying to find more chairs, or the best way to get ready for the usual rush of people who would be late.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

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 ...

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."

To be a good volunteer, use your brain (Korea Times, December 5, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an event about American political philosophy hosted by the Association for Economic Evolution. During my speech about American libertarianism since 1940, I discussed my volunteer work for North Korean refugees. After the speech, Jeong approached me, asking how she could help. I gave her the same tough love I give to potential volunteers by asking: “Who are you?” After all, if you are Bill Gates, then open your wallet. If you speak four languages, then help with translation work. So I first stress to potential volunteers: Use your brain. Tell us about your skills and interests so together we can figure out your initial role. Jeong was good-natured about it, rather than c...

Why I won't go to North Korea (Korea Times, December 27, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. “Have you ever been to North Korea?” This is the question I am almost always asked here in South Korea when people learn that I have become an activist for North Korean escapees. My response is curt: “No.” “Do you plan on going?” they ask next. My answer remains the same: “No.” When they start to ask a follow-up question, I cut them off: "No." People are often just trying to make conversation, I know, but I am blunt for a reason: I am not interested in going to North Korea as long as North Koreans are held captive. I could go one day, but for now, I can do without a government-guided tour by " men-stealers and women-whippers ," to borrow a phrase from American abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. I don’t mean to criticize people who have gone to North Korea for political, educational, business, religious reasons or just plain curiosity. However, some people push me on the issue, ― and I push back. A good friend wh...

Last weekend: Suicide, Kim Young Ha, NK

Credit: Joanne Cho Event 1: Friday night I went to a talk given by Fulbright junior researcher Joanne Cho. She did a great job putting together statistics about some of the most commonly cited reasons that so many Koreans commit suicide. Probably the most provocative tidbit: Cho watched 86 dramas from the spring of 2012 to now, she says that 63 had "scenes depicting or discussing suicide" in a favorable light (as a way to solve problems, that troubled people can be forgiven for their sins and are even seen as sympathetic). Another interesting tidbit: While it is often cited that Korea is number one in the world in suicide (among countries reporting reliable statistics), what I had not realized or had forgotten is that Korean men are number 8 in the world compared to men in other countries with reliable statistics, Korean women are #1 in the world when compared to women in other countries. My questions for the speaker: 1) What was a finding in your research th...

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