Yuna's speech to tourists (2022-08-22)

Yuna Jung, a Keynote Speaker with Freedom Speakers International, was the featured speaker with a group of college students visiting from the USA.

Yuna has been a regular commentator on South Korean TV since 2017 and giving speeches in English since 2019 (she won FSI's 11th English speech contest).

When audience members ask her a question it seems that she has been waiting for them to answer. There is no hesitation, she has answers that are a mixture of humor, information, and enthusiasm but also seriousness and joy.

Yuna has some hilarious stories. She says some of them in her speeches but Q&A is when she really shines.

Yuna was the winner of FSI's 11th English Speech Contest, in September 2020.

Next month, Yuna will be a featured speaker at the Asia Liberty Forum 2022.

At a few moments, she did show her anger about the way North Koreans are treated as well as about a few other things.

When I asked if we should take a photo at the end the students were jockeying for the opportunity to stand next to Yuna.

During Yuna's presentation I referred to passages in books by Songmi Han and Wonchae Han to add more perspective.

Before starting the event, FSI's co-founders introduced about the organization and also gave some background information about North Korean refugees. As I told Eunkoo, we are often the Ralph Abernathy to Martin Luther King Jr., warming up the crowd and getting them prepared for the featured speaker.

I asked the students a few questions, they had no idea. I told them, "You are going to learn today!"

Eunkoo Lee says that she is shy, but she also seems to be gaining confidence as a public speaker.

Thanks to our supporters we can do this kind of work.

www.patreon.com/fsi21

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

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...

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.

"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 ...

Mentoring while Black (Korea Times 2/16/2023)

Mentoring while Black by Casey Lartigue Jr. February 16, 2023 www.patreon.com/caseylartigue

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