2020-01-06 My super fan!!!!

Have you ever had a fan?

I mean, the kind of fan who is surprised to learn you walk on water--because she thought you could fly.

The kind of fan who reads everything you write, then summarizes it for others who were not lucky enough to have read what you wrote. Then she constantly reminds you about what you wrote.

The kind of fan who even makes a calendar just for you.

Yes, I have that kind of fan, and her name is Eben Appleton!!!!

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

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Yesterday I gave a speech to North Korean refugee adolescents at a refugee alternative school. Thanks to TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee for translating!

The topic: Volunteering! The kids had heard about volunteering, but not much, based on what they said!

The feedback they gave after the speech.

* It was fun! I didn't know anything about volunteering, but I learned so much.

* You gave a great explanation about volunteering, for the first time I can understand what it really means.

* After hearing your speech, I want to volunteer. My heart says it is a good thing to do.

* It was helpful. I see that volunteering can be good for society and it can also be good for me.

* I learned a lot about volunteering. It is a good way to help others.

* I'm sleepy.

* I can see that Koreans don't really volunteer. I will volunteer so I can help raise the percentage!

That's right, one of the kids said he was sleepy, and he probably also was thinking, "And this boring lecture interrupted my nap." Eunkoo laughed out loud when she saw that I had included that comment. But then she remembered that I don't respect the opinions of kids under the age of 25.

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Eben Appleton!

Eben Appleton has done it again! This time, she made separate 2020 calendars for TNKR's co-founders! Eunkoo Lee will definitely put it to good use, she is still a digital immigrant.

Eben loves everyone and everything. Somehow, I still seem to beat out everyone except her hubby Charlie, her kids and grand kids.

Sometimes I must AVOID her because if she hears that we need money for an event or project, then she is the first to donate, and I must tell her to STOP. I never thought the day would come that I would tell a donor to stop, but I must do so with Eben!

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NEVER GIVE UP

We had a planning meeting yesterday with Hwang In-Cheol to discuss his campaign about his father being kidnapped to North Korea. One thing is clear: He will never give up!

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Tour of the Yongsan Army base

The Yongsan military base in downtown Seoul will be shutting down most of its operations. I went on a tour with two long-time friends. Things have definitely changed. I remember going on the army base years ago, taking photos was forbidden.

Mike says that I am one of his mentors. It took me by surprise the first time he said it, which reminded me that my actions can inspire others.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Yesterday, finally, my short trip to the USA was confirmed. This is not a sight-seeing trip, I need to take care of some things related to TNKR, and I must do one key one in person.

2020-04-26 "May I choose more teachers?" TNKR Matching session #102

2020-04-26, TNKR Matching session #102 The Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) humbly began in March 2013 with 5 tutors and 5 NK refugees being matched together. We held that first session at a TOZ business center in Gangnam. Seven years later, TNKR has now matched 455 North Korean refugees with 1,027 tutors, coaches, and mentors. Today we held our 102nd Language Matching session at our slightly expanded office near the Sangsu Subway Station. Instead of just being something that Casey and Eunkoo did short-term, TNKR is now an official organization in both South Korea and the USA, we have been featured in media and by other organizations (just yesterday, we were featured by KOTESOL), and we have fans and donors from around the world.

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

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...

Helping North Koreans 'strike the blow' (Korea Times)

H ave you ever engaged in action not because you were sure it would change the world, but to satisfy your own heart? That, I emailed to an American friend, is why I have joined the effort to help North Koreans who are trying to escape from their homeland. I can’t change the direction of policy in North Korea or China but I can row the boat I am sitting in rather than lamenting that I can’t steer the yachts somewhere else. So I have tried to do what I can: Attending protests in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul (and I plan to do so when I visit America in April); donating money to the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights ( www.nkhumanrights.or.kr ); educating myself, writing articles and emailing friends; and, as a member of the board of trustees, I recently submitted a resolution to the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association (FDMHA) in Washington, D.C., to try to call attention to the plight of North Koreans. Our organization’s missi...

Chang Ha-Joon's foolish consistency (Korea Times, January 1, 2013)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Is the sky blue? Is the ocean water? If you suspect those are trick questions, you are right. The sky isn’t always blue ― it is reddish at sunset, dark at midnight, gray on an overcast day. The ocean isn’t water ― there’s also fish, plant life, submarines, dissolved minerals, surfboards, sunken ships, even people swimming in it sometimes. As Hoover Institution scholar Thomas Sowell wrote in his 1996 book ``The Vision of the Anointed,” people who use “all-or-nothing” reasoning can deny a statement because it is not 100 percent true in every circumstance. Such word games might be fun for college students or debaters, but there are some distinguished people who are respected for making such childish arguments about serious issues. In his book ``23 Things They Don’t Tell you About Capitalism,” Cambridge University economist Chang Ha-Joon argues that 1) “[T]here is really no such thing as a free market” and 2) “The free market doesn’t exis...

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