2019-12-12 Workable Words at Harvard Happy Hour

Each of the three Harvard University events I've been to in Cambridge and Seoul in the last month have been special in different ways. Of course the conference TNKR hosted at the Harvard Graduate School of Education from Nov 15-16 was super special. The annual alumni dinner on December 1st was fantastic yet again. But last night's Happy Hour was absolutely unforgettable.

What were some memorable things about last night?

* Workable Words: Very often at such gatherings, people chit-chat without focus. Yes, I know, it is a Happy Hour, so I expect Happy Talk. But as the evening went on--but before the more serious drinks got poured--it seemed that we were going to breakup into working groups. This is more of what I expected a few years ago when I began attending Harvard alumni events. There are influential, smart and well-connected people at many of these gatherings--but there usually aren't many workable words. After reflecting on it, I will suggest we alternate between Happy Hours and networking nights.

* TNKR was welcomed! I don't know if he wants me to mention his name publicly so I will wait, but one of the attendees publicly pledged a donation of two million won (almost $2,000) to TNKR!

* And he didn't stop there! The donor then praised TNKR at length, then encouraged/challenged others to also donate and volunteer with TNKR. Yes, this was at a Harvard Alumni event--and before the serious drinks got consumed. I was listening, wondering if that was really happening.

* Taking up the challenge: One other attendee took up the challenge, he pledged to donate regularly. Then he suggested a number of ways that he (and others) should support TNKR. Some of the suggestions were so fantastic that I couldn't believe it. It was truly a Happy couple of Hours!

I made a couple of suggestions, one of which I really hope will get done.

Paul Kim, organizer of the Harvard Happy Hours wrote on Facebook: "The 6th Harvard Happy Hour was attended by alums of 6 schools ... 12 folks who joined to close out the 12th month! Here are pictures from dinner and the 2nd round! Looking forward to seeing you all in 2020!"

Support TNKR: www.lovetnkr.org/donate

2022-12-09 Seoul Honorary Citizenship (ceremony & media roundup)

On September 29, 2022, I was informed that I had been awarded Seoul Honorary Citizenship. December 9th, I was one of the 18 non-Koreans to receive Seoul Honorary Citizenship. I was delighted to have several colleagues and supporters join me at the ceremony. They all have had a special role in my activities here. Here's the media roundup so far: The Korea Times (English) https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/113_341484.html Yonhap (English) https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221211001200320 (Korean) https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20221210022100004 (French) https://fr.yna.co.kr/view/AFR20221211001000884 (Spanish) https://sp.yna.co.kr/view/ASP20221211000900883 K-Odyssey https://m.k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=179556481389320 Newsis https://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20221209_0002118460 Chosun https://www.chosun.com/national/national_general/2022/12/11/S2OA76535FCBHFIQI7R5P7HYYM/ Daum News https://v.daum.net/v/20221211111512898 MSN https://www.msn.com/ko-kr/news/n...

"Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?" --Lord Byron

Frederick Douglass loved that quote. Booker T. Washington would say it sometimes, too. I recently met two women from North Korea. That's right, that North Korea. I asked them many questions but held back somewhat. I suppose they still must be careful and I don't want them to think I'm a spy. Hey, I used to be a host on black talk radio, I was accused of many things then. Plus, if North Koreans are trying to track those folks down I suppose the last thing they'd want would be to have their photos posted on a blog. At some point I will write about meeting those ladies. * * * Yesterday I got interviewed by a Korean reporter about various political and social issues. After I confirm that my interview made it past the station's producers then I'll post the info here. CJL

Race, race, race

On the issue of race: Clinton goes first, (surprisingly) without her Selma accent. Biden doesn’t mention that there is a clean and article black person on the stage. Richardson says the next president must talk about race…we need less talk about race, and more about individual action. Edwards said something, apparently to help us transition to the only somewhat black candidate on the panel. Obama has the home field advantage being at Howard, but doesn’t do much with the initial question. Kucinich says that people are told to raise themselves up by their own bootstraps, but then they steal the boots. He gets the loudest cheers. This will be a long night if that continues... Gravel —who? Dodd —like the 64th team in the NCAA basketball pool, Dodd should be one and done. Brb, I’m checking on the NBA draft… CJL

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 ...

Breen's column that outraged Samsung

“What People Got for Christmas” Michael Breen The Korea Times December 25, 2009 At this time of year when Seoul’s bare winter trees are wrapped in beckoning lights ― blue and white are the in colors ― and Merry Xmas signs at hotels and department stores are really saying come-hither-gentle-reveler-and-empty-your-purse, and when expensive restaurants belch noisy year-end office party groups onto every street and the karaoke rooms are full, it is tempting to declare that Christmas has lost its soul. But that would be a mistake. Christmas is a time for giving, and, before they can be given, gifts have to be bought. Commerce is good. Here, as proof, is a round up of some of the gifts given and received today by people in the news. Samsung, the world’s largest conglomerate and the rock upon which the Korean economy rests, sent traditional year-end cards offering best wishes for 2010 to the country’s politicians, prosecutors and journalists, along with 50 million w...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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