2018-07-22 Former NK diplomat Thae Yong-ho presentation at TNKR forum

About 40 TNKR volunteers and fans gathered for a donor appreciation event featuring former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho. It was quite an honor to host an event with a person who may be the highest ranking North Korean diplomat to escape. He addressed the theme: "Understanding North Korea: How Information Can Change North Koreans" at a forum that was sponsored by UniKorea.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Thae has joined the TNKR Book Club! He has agreed to sign copies of his book (in Korean) for TNKR donors and fundraisers. The English version of the book is forthcoming.

He addressed many high-level issues related to North Korea, but of course I asked him about TNKR. He gave a fantastic response, demonstrating that he really does understand the way TNKR operates, and that he respects what our team and volunteers have built.

Mr. Thae speaking about TNKR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-15Bvdq8yY&list=PL-6_xImxyTAJw3qeFJBXFv6fSCFEOb9eG&index=1

A blog post I posted at the Korea Times, with comments from NK refugees Ken Eom and Eunhee Park. Unthinkable in North Korea: Ordinary and elite defectors mingle in Seoul
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2018/07/728_252978.html

Mr. Thae's presentation

Photo Time with Thae Yong-ho! He was like a rock star, everyone at the event wanted a photo with him. His security people were nearby, watching everything and everyone.

Thae Yong-ho took questions for almost an hour.

Wrap up time!

Let's not shake hands (Korea Times, July 2, 2014) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Let's not shake hands By Casey Lartigue, Jr. While there are many things that I love about Korea, there are two things that drive me crazy. One is that, in my observation, most Korean men don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. I know some people get defensive about non-Koreans commenting in a negative way about Korean culture and life, that they want to attack the messenger and the messenger's native country. So I will start by clearly stating that many men in America don't wash their hands either. According to the Website Stop Handshaking , while 92 percent of adults in America say they wash their hands in public restrooms, an observational study of 6,076 adults sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) found that only 66 percent of men actually washed their hands in public restrooms (88 percent of women did so). As an aside, I am curious how they "observed" that many peopl...

North Korean defector seeks justice (Korea Times)

It was international news when 12 North Korean waitresses and a male manager who worked at a restaurant operated by the North Korean regime in China arrived in South Korea in 2016. The waitresses have mostly maintained a low profile. There have been numerous accusations and assertions, with some saying the waitresses didn't want to escape, some accused the Park Geun-hye administration of playing politics by releasing details of the case, etc., etc., etc. My blog at the Korea Times today features an exclusive interview with one of the former North Korean waitresses who filed a criminal case against the former manager. You can read about it here on the Korea Times website. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2023/02/728_345165.html Keep in mind that there are many more facts to the case and that it is much deeper than this brief excerpt of her comments. She also shared legal documents that I shared with the Korea Times well in advance to give them time to review t...

Radio, Harvard

I'll be a guest on XM 169 The Power this morning from 10:15 a.m. EST. I'll be talking about teaching English abroad. I'll be interviewed by Brian Higgins of MYB Talk . I sang last night for about five hours with friends but I'm sure my voice will be fine. Tuesday, I'll be interviewed by a Harvard University representative who wants my input on a new doctoral program for education leaders . It is a collaboration between the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School. Some folks at the Booker Rising site are (again) reminding me that I'm not as smart as I think I am. CJL

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Chosun Monthly magazine [Korean language]

Chosun Monthly Magazine has made an announcement (in Korean) about the Seoul Honorary Citizenship award that I received on December 9, 2022. Our Korean staffers say that the magazine is a big deal in South Korea. Here's the overall roundup of media about the award. In the next two months, I have extended interviews coming up in two different magazines, one in the USA and one in South Korea. Both articles will be in respected publications so they should raise awareness of FSI's work that your support makes possible. * * * Support FSI via Stripe or PayPal . https://donate.stripe.com/3cs28F5IAcc85IAaEF or PayPal .

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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