Greenlight to Freedom at the Hendersonville library (2022-09-28)

We visited the Hendersonville Public Library to see Greenlight to Freedom on the bookshelf!

How did it happen? FSI Fundraising Fellow Eben Appleton asked what she could do for our trip near her area. I reminded her that high school students in the FSI-GHSU had donated Greenlight to Freedom to libraries across the USA. Perhaps she could donate a book to a library in the area?

Off she went! She talked with a few librarians and got the book on the shelf of at least one library.

Then as part of our trip, we visited the Hendersonville Library.

When I first told Songmi about her book being at the library she was not that impressed. She was touched when she saw it on the bookshelf, however. There are many books in the world that have been published, but hers was one of them on the library shelf.

Songmi looked up her name in the library catalog and saw her name there as an author!

How unlikely was this? When she was in North Korea, she only studied at elementary school for a year and she says she went a decade without even seeing a book. And now, she is an author with a book in libraries across the USA!

Yes, I am the extremely proud co-author! People ask me why I wanted to write her book. There are many reasons, and one important one. Her story would not have been told without a co-author willing to write the book. She had no confidence in telling her story, she said she had no idea how to write a book, and she didn't even know how to get started.

And now, her story is in the Hendersonville Library!!!

Additionally, she said that I am the only person in the world that she trusted to tell her story!

Her story has a range of emotions and feelings, from humor, to anger, to sadness. Many readers have talked about the various feelings they felt as they read. And as you can see on my face.

I laughed...

I got angry...

Yeah, and disgusted about the North Korean system condemning people to terrible lives.

Thank you Mr. Ken Stuart! He has also been one of the top fans for Greenlight to Freedom. He bought at least 20 copies of the book. He flew in from California to meet Songmi directly.

He drove us to the library and other places during the day.

Not pictured? Eben Appleton! After all of her behind-the-scenes work, she got sick earlier that morning!

Greenlight to Freedom is on Patreon, Amazon, Kyobo.

2022-12-09 Seoul Honorary Citizenship (ceremony & media roundup)

On September 29, 2022, I was informed that I had been awarded Seoul Honorary Citizenship. December 9th, I was one of the 18 non-Koreans to receive Seoul Honorary Citizenship. I was delighted to have several colleagues and supporters join me at the ceremony. They all have had a special role in my activities here. Here's the media roundup so far: The Korea Times (English) https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/113_341484.html Yonhap (English) https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221211001200320 (Korean) https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20221210022100004 (French) https://fr.yna.co.kr/view/AFR20221211001000884 (Spanish) https://sp.yna.co.kr/view/ASP20221211000900883 K-Odyssey https://m.k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=179556481389320 Newsis https://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20221209_0002118460 Chosun https://www.chosun.com/national/national_general/2022/12/11/S2OA76535FCBHFIQI7R5P7HYYM/ Daum News https://v.daum.net/v/20221211111512898 MSN https://www.msn.com/ko-kr/news/n...

"Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?" --Lord Byron

Frederick Douglass loved that quote. Booker T. Washington would say it sometimes, too. I recently met two women from North Korea. That's right, that North Korea. I asked them many questions but held back somewhat. I suppose they still must be careful and I don't want them to think I'm a spy. Hey, I used to be a host on black talk radio, I was accused of many things then. Plus, if North Koreans are trying to track those folks down I suppose the last thing they'd want would be to have their photos posted on a blog. At some point I will write about meeting those ladies. * * * Yesterday I got interviewed by a Korean reporter about various political and social issues. After I confirm that my interview made it past the station's producers then I'll post the info here. CJL

Race, race, race

On the issue of race: Clinton goes first, (surprisingly) without her Selma accent. Biden doesn’t mention that there is a clean and article black person on the stage. Richardson says the next president must talk about race…we need less talk about race, and more about individual action. Edwards said something, apparently to help us transition to the only somewhat black candidate on the panel. Obama has the home field advantage being at Howard, but doesn’t do much with the initial question. Kucinich says that people are told to raise themselves up by their own bootstraps, but then they steal the boots. He gets the loudest cheers. This will be a long night if that continues... Gravel —who? Dodd —like the 64th team in the NCAA basketball pool, Dodd should be one and done. Brb, I’m checking on the NBA draft… CJL

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 ...

Breen's column that outraged Samsung

“What People Got for Christmas” Michael Breen The Korea Times December 25, 2009 At this time of year when Seoul’s bare winter trees are wrapped in beckoning lights ― blue and white are the in colors ― and Merry Xmas signs at hotels and department stores are really saying come-hither-gentle-reveler-and-empty-your-purse, and when expensive restaurants belch noisy year-end office party groups onto every street and the karaoke rooms are full, it is tempting to declare that Christmas has lost its soul. But that would be a mistake. Christmas is a time for giving, and, before they can be given, gifts have to be bought. Commerce is good. Here, as proof, is a round up of some of the gifts given and received today by people in the news. Samsung, the world’s largest conglomerate and the rock upon which the Korean economy rests, sent traditional year-end cards offering best wishes for 2010 to the country’s politicians, prosecutors and journalists, along with 50 million w...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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