Where is the dictator? (2014 edition)

The Dictator Was Missing. People wanted to know where Kim Jong-un was.

It was October 2014.

There was a lot of speculation in the media about where he was.

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Sam Kim of Bloomberg was one of the first to report on the dictator's absence.

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The initial news briefing from the New York Times basically got the story right. But that didn't stop the speculation.

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South Korean media reported early on that he had undergone ankle surgery, trying to downplay speculation about his health or rumors about a power struggle.

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It was too late, analysts and reporters were talking to each other.

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There was some good analysis.

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There were jokes that are even Meme worthy today.

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Adding to the intrigue: A visit by a delegation from the North, led by the person presumed to be second in command in the North.

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Then when media and analysts had already declared him dead (at least, politically, in North Korea), he reappeared! The rumors that he had been suffering from gout, diabetes, a brain hemorrhage, a heart ailment, mental illness, lost in a coup, and that he was even suffering from "cheese addiction" (Daily Mail, Guardian) died out while the young dictator lived on.

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Then came the usual self-flogging from media and analysts, foiled again.

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The explanation about why North Korean dictator #3 had hidden himself from the media and analysts for so long.

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This blog post is developing, more clips to be added later.

It is 2020, the dictator is missing again. People want to know if he is dead or alive, if his sister (SAY HER NAME, YOU SEXIST!) or some other member of the dictator's family will take over the family business of oppressing North Koreans, buying expensive items for themselves, and developing the nuke program.

If you enjoyed memorable trip into Kim Jong-un's life, then make a donation to support a non-profit organization that is providing free learning opportunities for North Korean refugees who escaped the Kim regime. The North Korean regime has ruled over the country for 72 years, so you could make it for $0.72, $7.20, or $72.

https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/fundraisers/Where-is-the-Missing-Dictator

https://give.lovetnkr.com/en/fundraisers/Where-is-the-Missing-Dictator

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

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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...

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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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