Skip to main content

2021-02-08 Happy Birthday, Freedom Rapper Professor Kim!

 


Happy birthday Freedom Rapper 김 정호! 


Eunkoo Lee and I are the co-founders of TNKR (now FSI)--but Prof. Kim is the godfather of TNKR! Eunkoo and I had started TNKR, no office, no phone, no infrastructure, no budget, no nuthin! 

We weren't sure about the future of our little project. When I joined Freedom Factory in late 2013 as the Director for International Relations, Prof. Kim welcomed TNKR as a project. 

My desk at Freedom Factory became TNKR's office. 

Even though Freedom Factory itself was fledgling, Prof. Kim welcomed TNKR, allowing us to incubate and marinate our project. We grew from English Matching to TNKR to Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (to now Freedom Speakers International), with him cheering us every step along the way. When people say Koreans don't care about North Korean refugees, I think about Prof. Kim, who helped TNKR survive at a time that our future was uncertain. He has remained a friend and ally. 

These days he is busy with a very successful YouTube channel, not very active on Facebook either, but we stay in touch. Most recently, he was one of the judges at our English speech contest. Happy Birthday to 김 정호, the godfather of TNKR! 




* * *

Prof. Kim had been after me for a few years to have a YouTube channel or podcast. I kept finding excuses, I really wasn't interested. Then after I asked Yeonmi Park to work with me, I told Prof. Kim that I could try doing a YouTube channel, but I wanted a co-host and wanted to hire her part-time. He agreed with the idea even more than I did! A month later, we were on YouTube.



* * *

I had mentioned that I never do the peace sign in photos, but in this case, I did. It is a reminder that a picture may say a thousand words, but they may not always accurately represent the situation. Prof. Kim and I are with Prof. Park Sun-young, the lady who inspired me to get more deeply involved with NK refugee activities.



I had been hired by professor Kim at the Center for Free Enterprise in 2011 after being a Visiting Fellow the year before. I was then in the busy of other projects, such as with bringing the soccer team from Harvard University to South Korea. Prof. Kim was delighted to see I was active with outside projects.


I think later the same day that I joined an event with Korean politicians and comedians.



* * *

These two screenshots are from the rap video we were in together. I had suggested it, and he got it done!


* * *

I don't remember what this particular party was about, but I got to meet singer Kim Nahee then (she had sung the vocals on our rap video).




* * *











* * *

When I was hired at CFE, I was extremely active. So active, Prof. Kim thought it was great when I said that I needed a research assistant.




* * *

I was free at the Center for Free Enterprise to engage in various projects. One of them: the development of markets in North Korea. I held a forum in late 2011, then began reading more about North Korea, then got involved forever six months later.




Popular posts from this blog

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working."   She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."
Read more

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 ...
Read more

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger.   * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...
Read more

To be a good volunteer, use your brain (Korea Times, December 5, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an event about American political philosophy hosted by the Association for Economic Evolution. During my speech about American libertarianism since 1940, I discussed my volunteer work for North Korean refugees. After the speech, Jeong approached me, asking how she could help. I gave her the same tough love I give to potential volunteers by asking: “Who are you?” After all, if you are Bill Gates, then open your wallet. If you speak four languages, then help with translation work. So I first stress to potential volunteers: Use your brain. Tell us about your skills and interests so together we can figure out your initial role.  Jeong was good-natured about it, rather than c...
Read more

Last weekend: Suicide, Kim Young Ha, NK

Credit: Joanne Cho Event 1: Friday night I went to a talk given by Fulbright junior researcher Joanne Cho. She did a great job putting together statistics about some of the most commonly cited reasons that so many Koreans commit suicide. Probably the most provocative tidbit: Cho watched 86 dramas from the spring of 2012 to now, she says that 63 had "scenes depicting or discussing suicide" in a favorable light (as a way to solve problems, that troubled people can be forgiven for their sins and are even seen as sympathetic).  Another interesting tidbit: While it is often cited that Korea is number one in the world in suicide (among countries reporting reliable statistics), what I had not realized or had forgotten is that Korean men are number 8 in the world compared to men in other countries with reliable statistics, Korean women are #1 in the world when compared to women in other countries. My questions for the speaker: 1) What was a finding in your research th...
Read more