Skip to main content

2020-10-31 Those wonderful moments...



That wonderful moment when your organization gets featured by a huge government office. In this case, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am sure they did research about us or have been watching us for a while.


***********************************************


That wonderful moment when a staffer in your office buys you a drink after she has run an errand. Sharon has been a student at TNKR since 2015 and a staffer with us since2018.


She and TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee work together closely.

***********************************************


That magic moment when donors pledge their support for TNKR. Some donors want to know that an organization is barely surviving and the donor will be the one to save the organization. But Haanong wants to support us and to know that we are growing and getting stronger.

***********************************************


That wonderful moment when you go to an event, meet a former Miss Korea, and she says she recently met one of your students.

***********************************************


That wonderful moment when a former student visits on his rare day off.

***********************************************

That wonderful moment when you get invited to a celebration by the Korea Times. I have been a columnist with the Korea Times since 2013--meaning it survived for 63 years without me.





There were many dignitaries at the event, but the crowd favorite was this young lady belting out a Korean pansori.

***********************************************

And my latest Korea Times column. Hopefully it provided some wonderful memories for readers!




***********************************************



That wonderful moment when a TNKR fan sends gifts to the office for TNKR students. Thank you TNKR patron Ken Stuart!


Eunhee put on some of the lipstick that Ken sent her, then posted:



Eunhee then joined our Zoom call with U.K.-based North Korean refugee Jihyun Park. We even had two people on the call donate more than $100 to TNKR.




***********************************************
That wonderful moment when a TNKR volunteer and monthly donor comes to visit, donating books to TNKR! Sophia LaPoint, thank you! She also joined our Zoom call last night, and recruited her dad, too!


***********************************************

That wonderful moment giving the keynote speech at the 1st TNKR-GHSU International Youth Forum, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.



***********************************************

That wonderful moment when a long-term volunteer comes to visit. Kiyun joined us as a tutor in 2016, then he later became our Graphic Design Manager. He designed many of the flyers, posters, and graphics that have been done for TNKR.


He even made original videos, including this one that we entered into a film festival.

  

Another great week at TNKR, many great memories!


More photos from the TNKR-GHSU.






















Popular posts from this blog

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...
Read more

Michael Breen discussion at 10 Magazine

Yesterday I attended a discussion with writer Michael Breen, hosted by Barry Welsh. Very often, when I attend a speech or discussion about a topic I know a lot about, I often think about ways the speaker/facilitator/discussant could have done better. But I didn't feel that way about Breen, it was one of those times that I really felt like I had a lot to learn and should listen more than talk. He's been in Korea for three decades, working as a reporter, commentator, communications specialist. He reminds me of Andrei Lankov in that his analysis seems to be based on observation of how things work rather than trying to get the world to fit his biases. I don't know him, so his friends may say he is a raging ideologue, but that's not the impression I had yesterday and based on his writings. Michael Breen (L) and Casey Lartigue I first read his book The Koreans about a decade ago. It was a delightful read, that was both warm to Koreans but also critical at times. Yes...
Read more

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...
Read more

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
Read more

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 ...
Read more