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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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 .

[Video] "Author Spotlight" by Harvard

On February 2nd from 2-3 a.m. (Korea time), I was the featured speaker at an "Author Spotlight" by the Harvard Division of Continuing Education (DCE) and the Harvard Extension Alumni Association (HEAA) . Watch, like, share, and comment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmRgP3q7rQg&list=PLn7xtnmarHFq6kVvq3PxOgC8nwjn8ioBO * * * I will be in the USA for two weeks in March, I will kick off the trip with a speech on the campus of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HSGE) for its annual Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC). It will be a bit of a homecoming reunion, I was one of the speakers at the first HGSE AOCC in 2003. Stay tuned, this will be preparation for a larger event later this year. Thanks to everyone who has helped make FSI's work possible. ( Stripe ) ( PayPal ).

Still writing (Korea Times, 2023-12-19)

Still writing by Casey Lartigue Jr. The Korea Times December 19, 2023 https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2023/12/626_365284.html

Is the SOTU over?

Some people asked me if I watched President Biden’s State of the Union. Haha! I have seen enough of them. Not just Biden’s SOTU, but SOTUs by US presidents! Back in 1999, I not only watched President Clinton’s SOTU, but the Cato Institute gave me the task of keeping track of all of President Clinton’s proposals and promises. Since then I have watched few SOTUs, once as a blogger at the invitation of National Public Radio. https://tinyurl.com/3dv5y452

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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