2016-11-03 Who is Andrei Lankov?

Disclaimer: NK experts, please don't read this, there will be no rabbits pulled out of a hat.

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Every couple of months, I meet up with Andrei Lankov to discuss various things. I first met him back in 2011, shortly before he spoke at an event I organized with the Center for Free Enterprise. I have read his articles for years, he has spoken at about four TNKR events over the years. When it comes to analyzing NK, he is one of the leading experts in the field.

Last March, I was one of the organizers of the first (and perhaps last) International Volunteers Workshop, we had 227 RSVP in advance. I asked them all as part of the RSVP: "The keynote speaker will be Andrei Lankov. Had you heard of him before hearing about this event?"

No: 133
Yes: 94

Even within those 94 "Yes" responses, I am sure there were various levels of awareness--such as some may have seen his name, others may have read some articles, and a few experts may have the Andrei Lankov Collection.

So I"m not assuming that everyone reading this will be aware of the significance of Prof. Lankov coming to visit the TNKR office yesterday. He is not a guy who wastes time. He has been reading and thinking about North Korea deeply, ever since he was a visiting student studying in North Korea in the 1980s. It is tough to dazzle him, he has been watching North Korea closely for three decades. He has been blacklisted by the North Korean government, although he doesn't take it seriously.

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Andrei Lankov at CFE, Sept 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru9AV7cF0y4&list=PLn7xtnmarHFo0ddUJrmXFFN6Wd2VyrL9I&index=33&spfreload=5

Common Sense on North Korea
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/04/137_108134.html

Economic Freedom in Action. (PBS documentary)
http://www.freetochoosemedia.org/broadcasts/economic_freedom/participants.php

International Volunteers Workshop
https://www.facebook.com/CaseyLartigue/media_set?set=a.784756068335057.100004020120914&type=3

Andrei Lankov, keynote speaker
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.777878322356165.1073742899.100004020120914&type=3

(P.S.: I hope the "I already know all of this" experts skipped this. I recently encountered one of those saying "Lankov is so predictable," which they say that after reading several of his books, listening to many of his speeches, and reading many of his articles. They are like children at a magic show, always waiting to be dazzled by a magician finding a new way to pull a rabbit out of a hat.)

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