As I celebrate my 10th year as a columnist with The Korea Times, I fondly recall when my ninth-grade English teacher slipped me a note. Notes usually meant I was in trouble, but she wrote, You are a great writer. Go see the journalism teacher. I have signed you up for the school paper.
Today is GivingTuesday ! While almost every South Korean I have asked is familiar with American Thanksgiving, few South Koreans I have talked with are aware of the frantic shopping and giving movement following it.
Two years ago, when I clicked on a video recommended on YouTube, I saw a beautiful young woman who had defected from North Korea being interviewed by a foreign show host in fluent English. Her name was Park Yeon-mi.
When I entered the classroom, the children were calling my name and applauding me. “Mr Casey!” and “Casey Teacher!” When I looked to the back of the room, I saw my name and Harvard University were on the banner. The only things missing were a marching band and a proclamation from the president of South Korea hailing it as Casey Lartigue Day.