The Korea Times

Am I a CIA spy?

For years, my public persona has been that of an educator, a non-profit co-founder, a mentor, public speaker, author and editor, among many things. It turns out that was a facade. Thanks to critics, I have realized they were correct. I must be a CIA spy. I never received CIA training, which proudly makes me the first CIA spy in history to skip orientation, training and to be self-taught. I do not receive a government paycheck, which makes me the dumbest spy in history. My critics alleging that I am a CIA spy never present evidence, so I have decided to present it against myself. 1. My transparency is evidence I post about my activities and include many photos. Normal people think that is sharing. Conspiracy theorists think it is coded communication. We publish Freedom Speakers International’s budget online and engage in public fundraising. I spend a lot of time on fundraising, which would probably alarm my supposed CIA superiors, because a true CIA agent would already have suitable funding and would not waste time writing thank-you notes to donors. Apparently, all of this is my clever

Oct 18, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Opinion

Bad news about good news

In late 2014, a Russian newspaper allegedly decided to try something radical. For one day, it published only good news. There were no reports of corruption, no accidents, no political outrage, only positive stories about community projects and small victories in daily life. By the next morning, two-thirds of its readers reportedly had vanished. The editors quickly reverted to the usual diet of disasters, scandals, and misfortune. That allegedly proved what many editors already suspected: people say they want optimism, but they click on catastrophe. According to Quartz, the publication was a Russian news site called City Reporter. The story has been repeated across journalism conferences, university lectures, and countless opinion columns as proof that positivity simply doesn’t sell. What is the attraction to bad news? A study published in Nature Human Behaviour analyzed more than 100,000 headlines and millions of clicks. The researchers found that each additional negative word in a headline increased the likelihood of someone clicking by 2.3 percent. Positive words, on the other hand,

Oct 11, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Opinion

Eyes on North Korea’s walls

Anyone who has read the North Korean refugee memoir “Greenlight to Freedom” may notice a striking omission: the names of North Korea’s dictators Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il never appear. That's not an accident. In 2021, as we started working on her memoir, North Korean refugee Han Song-mi told me she didn't want to mention Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il. She had grown up under their portraits, seen the propaganda, and attended the mandatory celebrations. But they weren't part of her story and she’s not an expert on North Korea so she didn't want to discuss them. That's why, when we published her book a year later, we never mentioned the dictators by name. I told her, however, that she could expect others to ask about those dictators. During an interview for the podcast "If I'm Really Honest" that was uploaded on September 25, the dictators came up again. Han explained that, as a child, she believed the portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il could see and hear her. If she did something wrong, she thought they would know. She was taught, as apparently most children are warned, that

Sep 27, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Opinion

The reader’s responsibility at author events

North Korean refugee Han Song-mi and I joined Jamin Collier, host of “If I’m Really Honest,” for a podcast conversation on September 8. Midway through the interview, I realized this would not be the usual exchange. Collier was still asking questions about “Greenlight to Freedom,” Han’s memoir that we co-authored. It became clear he had read the book and prepared questions that reflected her story. Instead of drifting toward generalities, the conversation stayed rooted in the text. Although traditional publishers released about 563,000 new titles and more than 2.6 million books were self-published in 2023, most people will never publish a book (more people die in America every year, 3.4 million, than publish books). That may be the reason so many approach meetings with authors with the energy of a corpse. Many do not realize how much more rewarding their conversations with authors could be if they arrived better prepared instead of putting the burden on the author to dazzle them. That kind of preparation by Collier may seem small, but it makes an enormous difference. Writing

Sep 13, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

The reader’s responsibility at author events

Opinion

An unthinkable debate in North Korea

I recently witnessed something I never expected: North Korean refugee Han Song-mi openly challenging a former North Korean diplomat in an impromptu debate. As background, Han was born in North Korea’s countryside at the bottom of the country’s caste system far removed from the privileges of the elite. Daily life was not about choice or ambition but about survival. She and her mother lived in a barn, were homeless, often ate grass to survive, and Han attended elementary school for only one year. In 2011, she followed her mother to freedom with the help of brokers. Starting a new life was not easy and she struggled for many years. I first met Han when she found me online in 2019, eager to study English in Freedom Speakers International, the NGO I co-founded in Seoul. I have seen her grow from an anonymous English learner into a public speaker, we are co-authors of her memoir "Greenlight to Freedom," and she calls me the “turning point” in her life. Knowing her history made it even more striking to watch her engage in a debate with someone who once represented the North Korean sta

Aug 30, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Opinion

When North Korean refugees want to return

Eight years ago this month, I was quoted by CNN, The Guardian, and several other news outlets around the world. I hadn’t done anything extraordinary. I was asked to comment because a North Korean refugee had returned to North Korea. A North Korean refugee returning to the North was bound to catch media attention, especially among people unfamiliar with the context. The idea someone would escape a totalitarian regime only to later return seemed incomprehensible. Journalists wanted answers, and my quotes were translated into multiple languages and reposted by outlets in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and across the U.S., from WRAL News to WENY-TV. I even saw articles quoting me that I had never spoken to directly. The story, of course, wasn’t really about me. It was about Im Ji-hyun, a North Korean refugee who had once appeared on South Korean variety shows and television interviews. In 2017, she resurfaced in a North Korean propaganda video claiming she had been deceived into defecting and mistreated in the South, calling life here “hell on earth.” I didn’t know it at the time, but sh

Jul 26, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

When North Korean refugees want to return

Opinion

Hanawon, 26 years later

“Hanawon was one of the worst things to happen to me in my life.” That was the verdict of one North Korean refugee describing her experience at Hanawon, South Korea’s resettlement center for newly arrived defectors. I have heard some really negative things from North Korean refugees over the past 13 years about their Hanawon experience. But what is the overall experience of North Korean refugees? On July 8, 1999, the South Korean government opened Hanawon — the official name is the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees. It was established in response to the influx of North Korean refugees fleeing North Korea in the wake of the Arduous March, when an estimated 500,000 to 3 million North Koreans died from starvation or disease. Hanawon has served as the most common gateway into South Korean society for most of the 34,000 North Korean refugees who have escaped to South Korea since the late 1990s. The first campus opened in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province; another was later established in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, exclusively for men. Last year, to mark its 25th anniversar

Jul 12, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Opinion

A North Korean refugee’s journey from entertainer to advocate

Gim So-yeon is originally from North Korea, but you wouldn’t guess it from seeing her on South Korean television or performing on stage. She sings, acts, and captivates audiences with the confidence of someone born for the spotlight. Since resettling in South Korea in 2019 shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, she has steadily built a name for herself in the entertainment world. She is becoming known, yet behind the bright lights and applause, she carries painful memories and untold stories that shape the woman she is today. That’s why her decision to join Freedom Speakers International (FSI) in 2024 at the recommendation of a North Korean refugee friend is meaningful. She already had a platform, but wanted her voice to do more. She arrived more than an hour early to her first speech coaching session at FSI on Nov. 4. I dissected her speech and invited her to return with a revised version. Two days later, on Nov. 6, our mentoring session was recorded by a television crew that was filming a feature about FSI. On Nov. 12, she arrived two hours early and practiced alone before

May 3, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

A North Korean refugee’s journey from entertainer to advocate

Opinion

Are North Koreans experts on North Korea? Myths and misconceptions, Part 5

At first glance, the answer might seem obvious. If someone grew up in North Korea, surely they must know everything about it, right? They must have answers about how foreign governments should handle the Kim regime. Who better to explain what it’s really like, or what needs to be done? But the reality is far more complex. More than 600 North Korean refugees have studied at the organization I co-founded with Lee Eun-koo in 2013. One thing we’ve seen: the knowledge and experiences of most North Korean refugees is local. One reason is because most North Koreans are not allowed to travel freely inside their own country. Citizens must have a specific reason — such as a funeral, family visit, or medical issue — and receive permission from their workplace or local authorities. While enforcement can vary, the restrictions are real, and based on testimony, many people spend their entire lives in or near their hometowns. Westerners enjoy traveling to Pyongyang, but that remains a dream for most North Koreans who are forbidden from entering the capital without permission. Two, they aren’

Apr 19, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Are North Koreans experts on North Korea? Myths and misconceptions, Part 5

Opinion

Why I keep returning to Harvard

You think you know exactly where you're headed. You’re standing on the stage at the inaugural Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) in 2003, speaking with conviction about school choice in Washington, D.C. You were then working as a policy analyst at the Cato Institute and were a board member of organizations such as The Black Alliance for Educational Options, advocating for low-income students to have better educational opportunities. The energy in the room is electric. You believe this is your fight — your purpose.

Mar 8, 2025By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Casey Lartigue Jr.

Read more

Am I a CIA spy?

Bad news about good news

Eyes on North Korea’s walls

The reader’s responsibility at author events

An unthinkable debate in North Korea

When North Korean refugees want to return

Hanawon, 26 years later

A North Korean refugee’s journey from entertainer to advocate

Are North Koreans experts on North Korea? Myths and misconceptions, Part 5

Why I keep returning to Harvard

Top 5 stories