A meaningful experience
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By Casey Lartigue, Jr.
Dearest Casey,
Congratulations! Your colleague
has been named in the
BBC’s Top 100 Women in the World 2014
. This has meant she has given speeches around the world and been
such as the
and
. This all occurred in the last two weeks of October. Who would have believed she would become so well known internationally?
Actually, you did. You have known it since
Feb. 14, 2014, when you spoke together at an international school located outside of Seoul
. On the subway coming back from the discussion, you told Yeonmi, one of the 124 North Korean refugees in your
Teach North Korean Refugees Project
(TNKR), that she had the potential to become a leading advocate for liberty. She didn’t believe you, but you offered to help make it happen: “If you don’t become a star for liberty, raising awareness and attracting others to get involved, then that will mean I have failed. I feel like a college basketball coach who suddenly realizes Michael Jordan is on his team,” you said.
Within two weeks of Yeonmi’s debut speech in English, you recruited her to join you as an ambassador of
, a
media fellow at Freedom Factory Co. Ltd
., and also a
co-host of a TV podcast you were planning
. That first week, a documentary team came to town and you recommended four refugees as interviewees. They rejected one ― Yeonmi. You pushed them: “Just meet her.” They did, and she turned out to be their favorite.
You messaged every
TEDx event host in South Korea
, but only one responded ― with a polite rejection. You pushed: “Just meet her.” They relented, and within 10 minutes of talking with her, the production team was gushing. Six weeks later, the
audience was
. It happened with other events too ― you pushed for opportunities for her despite hesitation or rejection; then she became a featured speaker.
In your first TV podcast together last March, you playfully ignored her in the introduction. She interrupted to ask, “
?” Yes, but not for long. A stream of successes came: an
feature, a widely
republished Washington Post article
you co-authored, a slew of documentaries and interviews, the
, the
Atlas Network Experience in Hong Kong
, the Shanghai Austrian Economics Summit, then her
that led to international recognition and awards.
Casey, we know this is not your first rodeo. In 2012, you were co-chair of the committee to get
(congrats, she was spectacular). You were also a close adviser to
North Korean refugees (Yeonmi and Hyeonseo) who spoke at the Oslo Freedom Forum
in
. Two other North Korean refugees
(Yeonmi and Jihyun Park) later spoke before the UK Parliament
on Oct. 29 as students in the
project you co-founded with Lee Eun-koo.
Friends and foes ask how you did it. Your strategy was simple: 1) Work with anyone and everyone to increase Yeonmi’s opportunities, instead of restricting her simply to the Freedom Factory. You would remind her, “Never miss an opportunity to be fabulous.” 2) Her English had improved from your first meeting in December 2012, but she sharpened it by studying more than 35 hours a week last winter with volunteer private tutors she met through
. 3) Be on call 24/7 to help her.
You warned her from the beginning that talkers and stalkers would target her, questioning her story, motivation, sincerity, associates. She assured you that she could handle it ― their words, no matter how hateful,
with the terror of escaping North Korea, the `”hell” she experienced in China, brushes with death while crossing the Gobi desert to freedom, and threats from the North Korean regime.
Yeonmi opened up, crying as she told you at a café about her mother being raped by a Chinese broker their first night in China, about the ways her family suffered. You talked for a long time on May 1 when she was informed by South Korean law enforcement that she had been put on
, and then on Sep. 5 (your birthday) when she was placed at the top of the DPRK’s target list. Was it worth the risk? She concluded then that it was, but you re-consider this from time to time because of the threats and attacks.
When you first started collaborating with Yeonmi, you told her that you had three “rules” for projects: 1) Be proud of what we do. 2) Let’s not get sued. 3) Let’s have fun.
The world is now seeing what you saw on
. Proud? Yep. Sued? Not yet! Had fun? Oh, yeah.
The writer is the Director for International Relations at Freedom Factory Co. in Seoul and the Asia Outreach Fellow with the Atlas Network in Washington, D.C. He can be reached atcjl@post.harvard.edu.