#59 A Story of Volunteerism: Americans in Korea, Koreans in the World

[스티븐스 대사]

As the headlines remain filled with the challenges Haiti faces after its devastating earthquake, I’m reminded that overcoming these challenges will require the efforts and contributions of many countries and many individuals, and of both government and private organizations.  So it was particularly meaningful last Friday when the U.S. Embassy joined with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to open an outdoor photo exhibition at Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon showcasing the work of volunteers from both of our countries.  The exhibition juxtaposes photographs taken by Peace Corps volunteers in Korea in the 1960s and 70s with photos of KOICA volunteers in more recent years working around the world. 

Ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the U.S. Embassy – KOICA photo exhibition on January 22, 2010

The Peace Corps was established on March 1, 1961 by then-President John F. Kennedy “to help foreign countries meet their urgent needs for skilled manpower.”  To date, more than 190,000 Peace Corps members have volunteered in 139 countries.  Today there are Peace Corps volunteers in more than 70 countries, including former Warsaw Pact nations and parts of the former Soviet Union.

On that same day in 1961, President Kennedy also said, “Let us hope that other nations will mobilize the spirit and energies and skill of their people in some form of Peace Corps – making our own effort only one step in a major international effort to increase the welfare of all men and improve understanding among nations.” 

Korea has fulfilled the dream of President Kennedy by becoming the first and only Peace Corps recipient country to become a sending country for international volunteers.  KOICA sends 300 volunteers annually to over 41 countries and has assisted 70 countries in its 18-year existence.  KOICA has quickly become the world’s third largest sender of overseas volunteers and continues to grow.  This story – both of the U.S. Peace Corps’ work in Korea from 1966 to 1981 and KOICA’s work abroad from 1991 to the present – and the spirit of volunteerism we share is reflected in the waters of Cheonggyecheon through these photos.

While the focus of the exhibition is on volunteerism, the Peace Corps/Korea photos also tell the amazing story of Korea’s development.  Those of us who first came to Korea as Peace Corps volunteers – I was one of approximately 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea between 1966 and 1981 – arrived to a very different country than the one we know today.  There was enormous change during those years.  Indeed, in the two years I lived in Korea for the first time – from 1975 to 1977 – I saw change occurring before my eyes:  thatched roofs making way for “Saemaeul” roofs of metal, electricity coming to the most remote villages, and ever accelerating urbanization and industrial development. 

The American Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea tried to help meet Korea’s needs for medical assistance, vocational training, English teaching, and more.  Today, Korean volunteers are doing the same thing around the globe, including in Haiti where KOICA dispatched a 35-member rescue team to assist the Haitian people.  In both cases, volunteers have had their own lives changed by their experiences working and living in different cultures, and learning to understand new ways of seeing the world.    

Photos displayed along the scenic Cheonggyecheon

As I walked from the Embassy to Cheonggyecheon for last Friday’s ribbon cutting, the biting cold of the wind reminded me of living in Korea in the 1970s, when one of my biggest challenges was trying to figure out how to stay warm in the winter!  But I was heartened to see so many distinguished guests brave the cold to open the exhibition, including Seoul Vice Mayor Ra Jin Gu and KOICA Vice President Yu Ji Eun, as well as National Assemblywoman Na Kyung Won, who represents the Jung-gu district, Dr. Euh Yoon-Dae, Chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, fellow ambassadors and diplomats, and former volunteers from the Peace Corps and KOICA.  Among the diplomatic corps, countries that send volunteers abroad were represented as were recipient countries including Afghanistan.

While we looked at the photographs, I enjoyed talking with several former KOICA volunteers, including Ms. Lee Soo-jin who had served in Indonesia. When President Obama visited Korea last November and previewed the photo exhibit, Ms. Lee greeted him in Bahasa Indonesia, and President Obama responded enthusiastically.  At that time Ms. Lee was looking for a job, and I was glad to hear she’s well-employed now in a position that will benefit from her overseas experience. I also met a former volunteer who is pictured in the exhibit working in Tanzania.  I talked to her about the challenges of learning Swahili and adapting to a different culture.   

Despite the cold weather, many people gathered to celebrate the opening ceremony of the U.S. Embassy – KOICA photo exhibition.

Another one of the guests at the exhibition has a daughter who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti.  He told me that she was so moved by Haiti’s current situation that she quit her job and was headed back to Haiti.  It was a reminder to me that the experiences we have, whether as KOICA volunteers or Peace Corps volunteers, are something we carry throughout our lives. 

In the United States many former Peace Corps Volunteers go on to join our diplomatic corps or take other jobs where they build on their experiences overseas.  In fact, there are a number of former volunteers currently working in the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.  They served in such places as Mali, Morocco, Guatemala, Nepal, and, of course, Korea. 

The exhibition will be at Cheonggyecheon until February 4, and then will tour Korea starting in Incheon on February 8.  I hope you’ll have a chance to see it.  Let me know what you think.  And for your viewing pleasure, here are some of the photos that are displayed in Cheonggyecheon!

That’s me in the upper right with some of my former students.

Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do (1976)

Science and Art classes at the Hibre Fire Elementary School, Ethiopia (2007) - Courtesy of KOICA  

An English lesson: learning the song “head, shoulders, knees and toes.”

Daesung Boys Middle School, Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do (1973)- Courtesy of Friends of Korea

Providing medical services, Peru (2007) - Courtesy of KOICA

The Peace Corps Volunteers also enjoyed learning more about Korean culture.  This is a picture of volunteers being taught Korean folk songs by Yang Hee Eun.

Chuncheon, Gangwon-do (1973) - Courtesy of Friends of Korea