2018-01-16 Celebrating her birthday with us

I already knew about her even before she escaped to South Korea! But would she ever make it to South Korea? Yes, she did, after being missing for seven years! Eunmi joined Freedom Speakers International (formerly Teach North Korean Refugees) three weeks after she was released from Hanawon in 2014.

There are so many things I could say about her. There are so many special moments and memories with her over the years.

One of the most special ones was when she came to our office in 2018 to celebrate her birthday. How many students return to a school or organization to celebrate like this?

Her English is great now! Back in 2014, she was at the A-B-C level of English. Now we can talk and hold conversations in English. And she teases me in English. When she is fluent, I am sure will start bullying me! Of course, I look forward to that, and will love the beatings.

* * *

Two of my favorite photos with her.

1) The one at the top of this post. She stood on her tippy-toes to make herself look taller, so of course I did the same thing to neutralize her move. Of course, she wasn't going to allow that. So you can see her stepping on my foot to stop me from standing up higher.

I started to catch on, and would preempt her move by stepping on her foot first.

2) One of the times when I tutored her. I had recorded things for her in the past as part of her studies and for one of the speeches she gave at our events, and I even tutored her a few times. This photo is special because her English had improved so much. That session taught me quite a bit about approaching classes and I would use the lessons I learned in orientation sessions with volunteer tutors.

* * *

Another special moment was when she gave a speech on the US military base. As she made clear at that time, she was interested in becoming a school teacher, not a public speaker. Learning about public speaking could be a skill that could help her with that.

I mentioned her briefly in this Korea Times column. Even the translator cried (koreatimes.co.kr)

* * *

A few years ago, I was talking with the leader of an institution focused on North Korean refugees. He was complaining that North Korean refugees he had helped never returned to thank him. I won't identify him, but from what I know about him, he has done many things.

I mentioned that many of our students, former and current, often return to see us, send us messages saying hello and thanking us. Then I innocently asked why he thought they didn't return to him. He griped for a few more minutes about them not being grateful. I felt like he had answered my question (and probably also explained why the students didn't return to him).

Even if you haven't started your own non-profit, you might understand why it is so special when students like Eunmi call or message to see if they can visit. Many people work in fields and companies where they are more likely to get complaints rather than compliments from their clients and customers.

So you may understand the special memory of Eunmi coming to celebrate her birthday with us. I have now known her for almost seven years, and expect to know her forever.

* * *

Below are more photos with some of her tutors. The first year or two she was completely anonymous so we didn't take photos of her.

www.lovetnkr.org/donate

"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 ...

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...

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...

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

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 ...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog