Healing the Heart: How One Program Empowers North Korean Refugees to Find Their Own Voices

The voices of North Korean refugees have the power to captivate audiences, inspire human rights activists, and challenge the very regime that brought them suffering.  The stories and testimonies of North Korean refugees provide an important view into the eerie reality of Kim Jung Un's regime.  At the same time, stories from North Korean refugees illuminate the human conviction to follow their dreams and desires despite a regime that tells them otherwise.  But story telling is tough.  Relieving trauma is painful.  Communing with the public to find purpose and to heal hearts takes skill.  Casey Lartigue has been working with North Korean Refugees for 10 years to provide the platform to build those skills.  His organization, Freedom Speakers International is a one of a kind organization that helps North Korean refugees find their voice through education, advocacy and support. Casey Lartigue is an advocate and activist for educational freedom who has gained recognition in both South Korea and the United States. He is now based in South Korea where he is co-founder and co-president of Freedom Speakers International (formerly the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center) along with South Korean researcher Lee Eunkoo. He is president of TNKR’s US office. He is the 2017 winner of the Special Contribution” Award presented by the Hansarang Rural Cultural Foundation, the 2018 winner of the Challenge Korea (Global) Award, and the 2019 winner of Challenge Korea’s “Challenge Maker” Award. He is executive director of Giving Tuesday Korea, co-chair of the “Bring My Father Home” coalition, and a lecturer in public speaking at the Seoul University of Foreign Studies. For more about Freedom Speakers International, visit their website:  http://fsi21.org Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter: @ProfessorHuish