Happy birthday, Hwang In-Cheol

I was happy to celebrate Hwang Cheol's birthday a few days ago. I met him two years ago on March 2016. I had seen something about his case, but didn't know in detail. As I listened to him tell the story of his father being on an airplane that was hijacked to North Korea in 1969, I sent a message to TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee saying that we needed to get involved.

Even though we knew it would be a long shot, we have stayed with Mr. Hwang since then. Even if we couldn't do enough to get his father back, at least we didn't want him to be alone during his campaign. We have had many serious activities with Mr. Hwang, such as protesting before the UN office, going to Imjingak to protest with him, had a news conference at the press club, had an event at a human rights office, had a candlelight vigil.

Friday night was a chance to celebrate Mr. Hwang, raise some funds for his campaign, and try to inform more people about the case. (Read about the case in my Korea Times column, this long article translated from French, and this YouTube video).

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Thank you to Youngmin Kwon and Amber Yothers for doing the main work behind the scenes to make the party happen. And of course, thank you to Reza Carr who opened his bar to allow us to have this party and Peter Daley for being the main musical performer.

If you couldn't make it, but would still like to support Mr. Hwang's campaign, any and all donations are accepted.

https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/fundraisers/Send-his-father-home

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Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

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 ...

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...

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

2015-10-16 speech: Legacies of the Korean War at GMU (Korea)

Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special event at George Mason University's campus in Seongdo (Korea). Charles Cousino, an 84-year-old Korean war veteran, discussed his connection to Korea. I discussed Teach North Korean Refugees. And North Korean refugee Sehyek Oh talked about what freedom means to him. It was the speech he used to win TNKR's second English speech contest. Special thanks to Roland Wilson and Michael Dunne for making it happen! support TNKR: www.lovetnkr.org/donate

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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