Why did June 22nd end?

My day started at 7 a.m. with me doing a voice recording for a university.

When I got to work, I found that I was part of a Korea Times Interview with Songmi Han.

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Greenlight to Freedom sold some more copies so it bounced up in a few categories.

* * *

We had lunch with executives of a foundation. Jin Park, formerly of the National Assembly and now the Minister of Foreign Affairs, happened to be having lunch nearby. We gave him a signed copy of Greenlight to Freedom.

He gave a moving testimonial about me last year.

* * *

After lunch, FSI's co-founders Casey Lartigue & Eunkoo Lee returned to the office with Songmi Han. She finished signing copies of the book.

On Instagram she wrote: "I'm sure today is my lucky day."

* * *

I had a mentoring session with a North Korean refugee with an incredible story that he may tell one day.

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Evelyn Jeong stopped by for the second consecutive day to work on her book.

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The day started with an article in the Korea Times. It ended with dinner at the Seoul Press Club with top executives, editors and columnists with the Korea Times.

My former editor at the Korea Times who is now the president and publisher.

At the suggestion of one of the top executives, I gave a copy of Greenlight to a professor at the meeting.

This was probably the most incredible moment. A former Miss Korea not only recognized me but she said that we participated in a roundtable discussion a few years ago. She said that I made an incredible impression on her. I couldn't remember which event she was referring to, but it was great to hear!

* * *

Jeong-cheol Lee was featured on Arirang TV Radio. At the Korea Times dinner I posted the photo about the event on Instagram then took a screen shot when James was on.

* * *

Eunkoo Lee and I were in another Eunmi Park video, uploaded at 10 pm.

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H.L. Mencken wrote that editorial writers need to get out of the office at least once a week. Today I met with:

* A top-level government official I have known for about a decade.

* Foundation executives

* North Korean refugees

* a former Miss Korea remembered a meeting we had several years ago.

* Newspaper columnists, editors and executives

* at 7 am, I did a voice recording for a university.

* Counseling a volunteer

* Checking many things

* in addition to those things, I was featured in a newspaper article and YouTube video.

That is some of the fun stuff that I did today!

Waiting for me at the office: Two books that I need to edit.

I have many requests that are waiting for, I need to edit some speeches, keep our donors updated, recruit people for our two events this weekend, raise money for a trip to the USA, etc.

Throughout my professional career I have had people tell me to slow down, that I'm doing so many things that they can't keep up. I usually respond by telling them that this is the way I live and that as long as I don't get confused that things will be fine.

Occasionaly people contact me, asking if I can tell them about my upcoming activities. That usually takes a few minutes. People ask me to reflect on what I just did, and that takes even more time. I have learned that supporters are fine with just one update a week, but those updates are so long that I doubt they read them.

Eunkoo Lee: TNKR's #1 Settler

If I could convince TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee that we needed to start executing volunteers, then she would quickly come up with a schedule with their names and execution times. She would do it fairly and orderly, accepting no exceptions or changes. If I suggested a change, then an argument would start about me being "Mr. Changeable" interrupting the schedule. That is how I have worked with Eunkoo Lee over the past seven years. She must be convinced, but once she believes in something, she charges ahead. What she is NOT interested in is public relations or dealing with media. I say this to people, but they don't believe me. But like the minister said after witnessing a baptism, "Not only do I believe in baptism, but I've seen it done!" * * * It has happened again! Someone noticed that my bio is much longer than Eunkoo's. I have heard a number of gripes from people over the years, ranging from Eunkoo should be featured more to I should step aside

North Korean defector seeks justice (Korea Times)

It was international news when 12 North Korean waitresses and a male manager who worked at a restaurant operated by the North Korean regime in China arrived in South Korea in 2016. The waitresses have mostly maintained a low profile. There have been numerous accusations and assertions, with some saying the waitresses didn't want to escape, some accused the Park Geun-hye administration of playing politics by releasing details of the case, etc., etc., etc. My blog at the Korea Times today features an exclusive interview with one of the former North Korean waitresses who filed a criminal case against the former manager. You can read about it here on the Korea Times website. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2023/02/728_345165.html Keep in mind that there are many more facts to the case and that it is much deeper than this brief excerpt of her comments. She also shared legal documents that I shared with the Korea Times well in advance to give them time to review the case. *

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h

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

Earth Hour 2013 Man of the Year!!!

In case you missed it, last night was Earth Hour. That's when people around the world turn off their lights for one hour to show concern for the Earth. The idea originated from the World Wildlife Fund. Bouncing off Don Boudreaux, I would like to announce that Kim Jong-Un is the Earth Hour 2013 Man of the Year. Kim Jong-Un, Earth Hour's 2013 Man of the Year I won't read through his resume and accomplishments to make my case, I will point out this satellite photo showing the difference between the two Koreas. North Korea, where every day is "Earth Hour." Not only is the dashing young dictator's regime focused on keeping North Koreans in the dark more than just one hour a year, but he is now leading a government that is threatening to blow up other countries for various reasons. He has ordered his military to strike with "lightening speed"--apparently confusing lightening speed with lightening, and thinking that lightening can bring ligh

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