2014-01-18 Yeonmi emerges

Once a month, the English Matching program (Teach North Korean Refugees) operating out of the Mulmangcho Research Center introduces volunteer English teachers to adult North Korean refugees.

We have now matched more than 60 people in the last year, and every session has something special about it. Yesterday, it was the sheer numbers: 20+ people. All of the teachers who RSVP'ed showed up, plus we had a waiting list. Although I try to be strict, the reality is that I want to let in as many people as possible, so that hopefully people can find a good match. Yesterday's NK refugees who joined were there to collect as many volunteer teachers as possible, to study a bit more intensively during the winter break.

What was also interesting was to see the changes in the refugees who had attended previous sessions, but lost their teachers for one reason or another. This time around, they were not going to let the opportunity pass them by. One young man selected four teachers! And it seems he wants even more! But we want him to get on a schedule with them, then we can try to find more for him.

The session was also special because I am already friends with a few of the refugees who were there yesterday. One mildly complained at and about me for not inviting her sooner, even though I had already matched her with a teacher off-line. No good deed goes unpunished.!

As always, I must thank Eunkoo Lee, co-director of the program with me, for helping me without complaint. And Joo Yeon Cho, the academic adviser to the program who tracks the study groups. It is a good thing that I am not a criminal. If I told those two ladies I was going to rob a bank, Eunkoo would, by the end of the day, send me a spreadsheet with the locations of the nearest banks. And Joo Yeon would ask me: "What time? And where?" And she'd be sitting in the getaway car, telling me to hop in.

Now the hard part starts. Thanks to volunteers Pam Davidson, Abdiel Lawrence, Kate Frewer, Courtney Grogan, Vicky Oh, Miji Kim, Alix M. Tiffany, Annie D, Erin L and Adam Michelin Malcolm for agreeing to help our NK refugee friends improve their English.

Update: Yeonmi Park had started to stand out at that point, although I avoided naming North Korean at that time. She had first joined us in mid-2013, but it wasn't until this Matching session that it was clear that she was going to be something special.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

"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 ...

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."

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...

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h...

2020-07-24 Pandemic Tutoring

The question comes in various forms, as a request, a recommendation, a plea, an insinuation, an accusation, and sometimes (or most of the time) it is a demand and complaint at the same time. In my in-box yesterday: "And I wanted to know if TNKR also transitioned to online services as any other educational institutions globally under the pandemic." This was from a previous volunteer who is now in the USA, so I took more time to answer him, and will expand it now so I can share it with others asking. As context, TNKR started in 2013 as an informal volunteer group connecting North Korean refugees with volunteer tutors. In 2016, we became an official organization despite lacking funding. Mainly because we have limited resources we keep focused on our main mission, but try to expand based on the needs of North Korean refugee learners. We have developed a learner-centered organization that has a great reputation among North Korean refugees. That means we are not a social club or re...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog