On February 2, 2016, Teach North Korean Refugees (now Freedom Speakers International) will be introducing itself to the American Women's Club. Co-directors Casey Lartigue and Eunkoo Lee will be telling AWC about the wonderful project we co-founded in March 2013. Then three refugees participating in our project will give speeches.
One of our speakers is Ken Eom. He's a wonderful guy, he's been in our program since last March. Thanks to his tutors and coaches, as well as his own effort, he has improved so much. His natural sense of humor has always been there, and now with practice and assistance, he has improved so much.
The two other speakers will be giving their first public speeches. One of them was a bit nervous, so she asked if she could meet Eunkoo and me today.. Even though I have known her since early 2015, I had never heard her story so it was good for me to get a preview. I'm sure she will do quite well.
2021 update: The lady hiding her face is Eunhee Park. At that time, she didn't reveal her North Korean identity. She has since gone from A-B-C to T-E-D and spoken many times about us changing her life.
Here are photos from that speech: https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2016/02/02-EunheePark-debut.html
Eunhee Park was preparing to begin her metamorphosis from North Korean refugee ashamed to admit she was from North Korea to what she is today: A North Korean defector who is a YouTuber, public speaker and commentator about North Korea, North Korean refugees, and a host of issues!
A few weeks before that speech coaching session, Eunhee had stopped by the (then TNKR) office for counseling. Those of you who see her now freely conversing in English, discussing various deep topics, and boldly giving her opinion might be surprised to know that five years ago, she was nervous about giving her first speech in English. It was going to be to the American Women's Club. It was part of my approach to give the refugees studying with us opportunities to give speeches in low-pressure situations. They could build up their confidence about public speaking and hear some of the common questions asked by audiences,
AWC raised money for the three speakers as well as made a donation to TNKR (at that time, we really needed it!). We were operating out of my desk at Freedom Factory and the Bitcoin Center.
Below is the invite information for that 2016 event.
The event will be Tuesday morning near the Shinyongsan subway station, you can find the invite and details here. https://www.facebook.com/events/1551205871836399/
You can pay at the door, but if you are planning on attending, please RSVP at the link below in advance so the organizers can plan. As I've learned from experience, clicking "going" to an event is the equivalent of clicking "like." http://evite.me/cf9GvwPybY
