Skip to main content

2019-11-24 Planning meeting 1, "North Korea: Send his father home."


On December 8, 2019, a few days before the 50th anniversary of the hijacking of a South Korean airplane by a North Korean agent, Hwang In-Cheol will visit Imjingak near the DMZ to call on North Korea to free his father who was abducted to North Korea in that hijacking. The main point will be at Freedom Bridge, the bridge that Mr. Hwang and 10 others were not allowed to cross.



How many people will join Mr. Hwang that day? We know that at least six people will be there, we all pledged it last night. A former Unification Ministry official has said he will be there. One of Mr. Hwang's relatives will join. So that means at least 8 of us will be there.





Before our planning meeting, we wrapped up a Track 1 orientation for new tutors. Mr. Hwang arrived early, as always, so I asked him to speak for a few minutes about his rally and campaign. As I told him in 2016, he is always welcome to present at our meetings to recruit volunteers to his effort.


 __________________________________________________________________________________

A television team was there to have interviews and to record our planning meeting. First Mr. Hwang met with TNKR's co-founders to discuss December 8th.


 __________________________________________________________________________________

They then interview me, which was hilarious. When they wanted shots of me at work, I opened my email and sent messages to friends and TNKR volunteers.

The reporter asked sharp and pointed questions. That was bad timing, because I had been working on several things on Sunday, after staying up most of the night listening to college football.



__________________________________________________________________________________

Planning meeting

It was then time for the main reason we were there: planning meeting for December 8th's trip to Imjingak! Jennifer, Michael and Allan are the volunteers who joined us. Such plannings are when the truest of true believers show up. Events don't happen on their own, it takes behind the scenes planning that often doesn't attract media. But in this case, media was there to document what was going on!

As far as the meeting, I outlined the history of the project, discussed what happened the last time we went to Imjingak in 2016, and what we had discussed with Mr. Hwang.

We then brainstormed the timeline and activities for December 8th.

Current schedule:

11:00 AM: Departure from Seoul.
12 noon: Arrive at Imjingak, gather at Indoor Center. DMZ생태관광지원센터
1-1:30 PM: Read and sign petition
1:30-1:45 Move to Freedom Bridge
2:00-3:00 Rally on Freedom Bridge
Please consider making a donation to this effort, the fee for using Freedom Bridge is about $200 USD.

All are welcome, you can RSVP here to get announcements related to this rally at Imjingak.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-korea-send-his-father-home-tickets-83533664439 

Last night we had an initial planning meeting to get prepared for the rally. We aren't done, many things need to be done. We need things such as placards, to recruit people to join, a banner, raise money to cover costs (probably about $300 on the low-end).




 __________________________________________________________________________________

The TV team then had a second interview with Mr. Hwang.

I made it clear three years ago that Mr. Hwang could use our office for meetings or interviews. He doesn't have his own office for such meetings, so our office is more comfortable than meeting reporters at coffee shops or renting a room at a business center.



Join us on December 8th.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-korea-send-his-father-home-tickets-83533664439

Support his campaign: https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/KAL1969

Watch his YouTube playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-6_xImxyTAKr06xx029WeeS31UHzPwkf 

My Korea Times column about joining his effort: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2016/06/137_208087.html

Popular posts from this blog

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

Mentoring while Black (Korea Times 2/16/2023)

  Mentoring while Black by Casey Lartigue Jr. February 16, 2023 www.patreon.com/caseylartigue