2019-10-11 American graduate students visit TNKR

The Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) had its second small group discussion this week, this time with a group visiting from the USA. Two TNKR speakers who have been with us since 2015 gave great speeches, then engaged with the audience in Q&A.

I started off the session by asking audience members if they had any questions. And they had PLENTY! I entertained them until our featured speakers arrived. It turned out that they had done some research on us in advance and had some specific questions about me and TNKR.

These sessions are great even for our accomplished speakers. As it has been said, "The threat of execution sharpens the mind." Knowing they will be speaking in front of a live audience with questions keeps the speakers on their toes. After a point, they would have heard almost every question that could possibly be asked about North Korea and North Korean refugees. They can then continue developing their responses.

Having more than one speaker at an event also has great advantages. A key one is that audiences can hear more than one perspective. So many people, after hearing one North Korean refugee, seem to consider that person to be the one and only source about North Korea. I will never forget the South Korean friend who kept telling me about North Korea and North Korean refugees, based on a former co-worker who was from North Korea. When I told her that I had heard a variety of opinions from North Korean refugees, she was undeterred, she had already heard everything she needed to hear, from that one North Korean refugee she had worked with.

After Cherie and Ken spoke, we then had a lively Q&A. Cherie and Ken have been in TNKR since 2015, joining us about six weeks apart, and they have never left us. They know each other's stories, so they will even explain about each other. In my case, I can challenge and push both a bit to further develop their public speaking.

After that, it was photo time! We had more than 20 people squeezed into our small office--21 students, 2 tour guides.

During the discussion I challenged the grad students to take us on as a project--and they agreed!

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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 ...

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

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...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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