Victory Day! (2022-12-09 Book Talk, SUFS & Awards Ceremony)

Today was one of those incredible days that I will always remember.

North Korean refugee Songmi Han, South Korean co-founder of FSI Eunkoo Lee and I (the Texan-American co-founder of FSI) spent 7 hours together at three different incredible events in three different parts of Seoul. We were laughing and joking almost the entire time.

* 10 am book talk

We started the day with a small group discussion with a family visiting from the USA. It was great for Songmi because the family was happy to hear from her. She didn’t have the pressure to make a formal speech. As the old saying goes, “If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter.”

It is similar with public speaking. If I am invited to give a one hour speech, then I’m ready right now. If I get a request for a five minute speech as part of a panel then I need some time to figure out how to put that hour of content into five minutes.

With no notes, Songmi told her story in great detail. The family members had not read her book so it was brand new for them.

Songmi continues developing as a speaker so she is adding more nuance to her speeches. I have some tips for her to sharpen even an extemporaneous speech so we will have a mentoring session soon.

They were listening to every word Songmi had to say! Because her voice is soft she was seated at the center.

I brought a few copies of her book in case the attendees wanted to buy them. Knowing we had a full day of moving around I only brought a few.

I brought a few copies

We took a group photo at the end with Songmi at the center. Of course she didn't want to featured like that but she resists less than she did in the past!

* * *

1 pm Speech by a US government official

I have taught public speaking at Seoul University of Foreign Studies since 2017. In addition to my amazing classes and lectures, I also organize some special lectures for the graduate students.

This semester I hosted speeches by Yaron Brook (chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute), a forum that featured three North Korean refugees in FSI (Songmi Han, Eunmi Park and Mabel), and today’s lecture featuring US Embassy official Joshua Lustig.

He recently read Greenlight to Freedom so he was delighted when informed him that Songmi would be joining today.

It was a great opportunity for my students because Mr. Lustig has reached that great level of being able to engage an audience rather than speaking at them.

* * *

4 pm awards ceremony

We couldn’t stay for the entire event with the US Embassy official visiting SUFS.

I received an award at an incredible ceremony. I am sworn to secrecy until Sunday morning but I will be sharing photos and details then.

I may be at Imjingak near the DMZ when the media starts posting the story, supporting Hwang Won Jr as he calls on the North Korean government to release his father. I won’t be the main person focused in the articles, you may need to read down to the bottom to find my name but it is still a great honor.

* * *

Yes! Three events across Seoul today with Songmi and Eunkoo. We were laughing and joking most of the time, as Songmi drove us around the city. Originally Songmi was scheduled to join us for the awards ceremony. The small group discussion popped up a few days ago. I asked if she could be the speaker. Yes! Then I asked if she could join us at SUFS? Yes!

Eunkoo handled the arrangements for the awards ceremony, the small group discussion, then she even took over with organizing the details of the special lecture at SUFS.

It is time for us to start getting ready for 2023!

***

This post is also at my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/75706314

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

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."

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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 ...

Random photos from today

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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...

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