With Ambassador Stephens
at the 2009 Harvard Reunion in Korea
2010년 1월 9일 토요일
2009년 11월 29일 일요일
Introduction of This Blogger
Hey guys,
This is Minkyung Choi who goes to HAFS class of 2010, English Dept.
This blog is for the group of students who participate in the Peace Corps Korea Archive Project.
First, let me introduce what Peace Corps is briefly.
Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by United States Government. Peace Corps volunteers are sent abroad to the countries which need helps with education or health care, etc. From 1960s to (early) 1980s, these people came to Korea to teach English, and to give hands in the field of health care, etc.
Even after these volunteers went back to their homes, they still think about Korea and miss Korea. Soon they organized a group called 'Friends of Korea'.
Since a few years ago, ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Foundation have been inviting these volunteers back to Korea to show them much appreciation.
These volunteers now want to tell Koreans (especially the young who do not know the past very well) about their stories and experiences when they were volunteering in Korea.
This is where the PEACE CORPS KOREA ARCHIVE PROJECT comes in.
PEACE CORPS KOREA ARCHIVE PROJECT is basically about collecting the stories of former volunteers, their Korean co-workers, and even Koreans who received helps from the volunteers.
This kind of project is very suitable for students who are fluent in both English and Korean. Also, we, students, can learn more about our own history, the time when our country Korea was receiving helps as a third-world country in 1960s and 1970s.
In addition, this project hopefully can be a small part to mark the 2011, 50th anniversay of Peace Corps which was founded by John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Korea has been regarded as the most successful case of Peace Corps activities worldwide.
Finally, this project can be a bridge between the Korean young students and the former Peace Corps volunteers in Korea. And it can be a joint effort to recollect the memories, history of Peace Corps from the former volunteers and Koreans.
So..
basically
this blog is just to update things about this PEACE CORPS KOREA ARCHIVE PROJECT.
These were the basic info/intro about the blog and the PROJECT.
This is Minkyung Choi who goes to HAFS class of 2010, English Dept.
This blog is for the group of students who participate in the Peace Corps Korea Archive Project.
First, let me introduce what Peace Corps is briefly.
Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by United States Government. Peace Corps volunteers are sent abroad to the countries which need helps with education or health care, etc. From 1960s to (early) 1980s, these people came to Korea to teach English, and to give hands in the field of health care, etc.
Even after these volunteers went back to their homes, they still think about Korea and miss Korea. Soon they organized a group called 'Friends of Korea'.
Since a few years ago, ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Foundation have been inviting these volunteers back to Korea to show them much appreciation.
These volunteers now want to tell Koreans (especially the young who do not know the past very well) about their stories and experiences when they were volunteering in Korea.
This is where the PEACE CORPS KOREA ARCHIVE PROJECT comes in.
PEACE CORPS KOREA ARCHIVE PROJECT is basically about collecting the stories of former volunteers, their Korean co-workers, and even Koreans who received helps from the volunteers.
This kind of project is very suitable for students who are fluent in both English and Korean. Also, we, students, can learn more about our own history, the time when our country Korea was receiving helps as a third-world country in 1960s and 1970s.
In addition, this project hopefully can be a small part to mark the 2011, 50th anniversay of Peace Corps which was founded by John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Korea has been regarded as the most successful case of Peace Corps activities worldwide.
Finally, this project can be a bridge between the Korean young students and the former Peace Corps volunteers in Korea. And it can be a joint effort to recollect the memories, history of Peace Corps from the former volunteers and Koreans.
So..
basically
this blog is just to update things about this PEACE CORPS KOREA ARCHIVE PROJECT.
These were the basic info/intro about the blog and the PROJECT.
Kathy Stephen's Korea 1975-1977 (JoongAng Ilbo Article)
http://sunday.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=14511
“할머니의 다듬이질, 베리 나이스 사운드였다”‘심은경’ 주한 미국 대사, 70년대의 흑백 사진첩이상일 기자 leesi@joongang.co.kr | 제136호 | 20091018 입력 1‘다듬이질 소리’. 스티븐스 대사는 이 소리를 ‘베리 나이스 사운드’라고 했다. 239중학생, 예산중학교’. 동복을 입은 두 학생을 찍었다.3.‘예산중학교, 예산’. 예산중에서 근무하던 여교사들과 함께한 스티븐스 대사(사진 왼쪽). 4.‘충남 한 마을의 초가집’. 스티븐스 대사는 이제 초가집을 볼 수 없어 안타깝다고 한다. 5.‘청주 외곽, 충북, 어느 여름’. 개천에서 더위를 식히고 있는 사람들의 모습을 담았다. 6 .39시골 길’. 지게를 진 채로 쪼그리고 앉아 담배를 피우는 촌부의 미소가 선량하다.[스티븐스 대사 제공]
캐슬린 스티븐스(56·한국명 심은경) 주한 미국대사는 얼마 전 충남 예산을 방문했다. 예산과 부여는 미국 애리조나주 출신인 그가 ‘제2의 고향’으로 생각하는 곳이다. 1975년 미 평화봉사단의 일원으로 한국을 찾은 그는 77년까지 예산과 부여에서 중학생 등에게 영어를 가르쳤다. 그때 그는 한국을 돕는 평화봉사단 활동을 하면서 외교의 중요성을 인식했다고 한다. 그래서 주한 미국대사관에서 치러진 외교관 시험에 응시했고, 78년 임용됐다.
스티븐스 대사는 봉사단원 시절 한국의 풍경을 자주 카메라에 담았다. 할머니가 마루에 앉아 다듬이질을 하고, 아낙네가 냇가에서 손빨래를 하며, 농부가 지게를 진 모습 등은 그의 눈에 신기하게 비쳤다. 그는 그런 장면을 열심히 찍어두었다가 얼마 전 ‘심은경이 담은 한국 1975~77’이란 제목의 사진첩을 냈다.그가 예산을 찾은 건 70년대 한국 농촌의 삶을 잘 보여주는 그의 흑백 사진첩을 옛 친구와 제자 등에게 보여주고 과거의 아름다운 추억을 함께 더듬고 싶어서였다. 중앙SUNDAY는 그의 사진첩을 단독 입수했다. 그리고 스티븐스 대사 단독 인터뷰를 통해 사진에 얽힌 추억과 그걸 바라보는 감회를 들었다.
“그 시절 학생들이 내 마음 밝게 해”
인터뷰는 13일 오후 미 대사관 대사실에서 이뤄졌다. 스티븐스 대사는 인터뷰에 앞서 예산중학교의 76년 졸업 앨범을 보여줬다. 그는 이곳에서 1년 이상 학생들을 가르치다 부여로 옮겼다. 그는 앨범의 여러 사진 중 중학교 정문 위에 아치형으로 걸려 있는 간판을 보라고 가리켰다. 거기엔 ‘간첩과는 대화 없다.
신고하여 뿌리 뽑자’라는 표어가 적혀 있었다. 반공(反共)을 국시(國是)로 삼았을 때였고, 각급 학교에서도 반공의식을 강화하는 교육을 했던 참이니 그런 표어가 걸릴 만했다. 스티븐스 대사는 “당시엔 유심히 관찰하지 않았지만 이제 와서 보니 흥미롭다”며 “이 사진도 70년대의 한국에 대해 많은 걸 생각하게 한다”고 말했다. 그러면서 “당시엔 거의 모든 사람이 한국전쟁을 기억하고 있었으므로 안보 문제에 대해 긴장이 있었다”고 덧붙였다.
그의 사진첩을 들춰보며 “사진이 참 좋다”고 하자 그는 “수준이 높다고 할 순 없으나 사진을 보면서 한국이 얼마나 많이 바뀌었는지 실감하게 된다”고 답했다. 그는 자신이 찍은 것들 중 가장 맘에 드는 것으로 ‘할머니의 다듬이질(사진 1)’과 ‘두 중학생의 얼굴’(사진 2)을 골랐다. 그리고 이렇게 회고했다.
“그 할머니가 다듬이질하는 걸 봤으나 처음엔 뭘 하는지 몰랐다. 그래서 참 독특하다고 생각해 찬찬히 지켜보다 뭘 하느냐고 물었다. 토닥토닥 하는 그 다듬이질 소리를 아직도 생생히 기억한다. 매우 듣기 좋은 소리(very nice sound)였다. 그러나 그건 가난한 한국의 가정에서 아낙네들이 하는 힘든 노동이기도 했다.”
스티븐스 대사는 “당시 한국에 와서 문화적으로 부닥친 문제 중 가장 크다고 생각했던 게 빨래하는 것이었다”며 “개울가에 가서 쭈그려 앉아 손으로 빨래하는 건 참으로 힘들지 않을까, 특히 겨울엔 너무 손이 시리지 않을까 생각했다”고 말했다. “그래서 어떻게 했느냐”고 물었더니 “나는 엄두를 못 냈다. 빨래는 하숙집 아주머니가 대신 해 줬다”고 답했다.
그는 ‘사진 2’를 지목하며 “그 시절 학생들은 항상 나의 마음을 밝게 했다. 그들은 쾌활했고 늘 웃었다. 그걸 보는 나는 정말 행복했다”고 말했다. “그들은 똑같은 교복을 입고 있었지만 사진이 보여주는 것처럼 각자의 개성을 유감없이 드러냈다”는 말도 했다. “지금 연락이 닿는 제자는 몇 명이냐”고 했더니 “12명 정도이며 대사로 부임한 다음 만난 이들은 9, 10명쯤 된다”고 했다.
그러면서 “몇 달 전 서울 파이낸스센터에서 조찬 강연을 하고 나왔을 때 어떤 중년 남성이 기다리고 있다가 자신을 내 제자라고 소개하더라. 외환은행에 다니고 있다고 했는데 제자가 나를 보고 싶다며 찾아주는 것만큼 기쁜 일이 어디 있겠느냐”라고 말했다. 그는 “세상이 많이 달라졌지만 크게 바뀐 것 중 하나가 소통방식”이라며 “그동안 많은 이들과 연락이 끊겼으나 지금은 인터넷과 e-메일 덕분에 단절된 인연이 복원되고 있으니 참 좋은 일”이라고 했다.
“태권도 배울 땐, 도장에서 유일한 여성”
스티븐스 대사는 “초가집(사진 4)을 찍는 걸 좋아했다”고 밝혔다. 이유를 물으니 “초가집은 (환경친화적인) 그린(green) 그 자체일 뿐 아니라 아름답지 않으냐”라고 답했다. “초가집엔 벌레가 생기고, 불에 쉽게 타는 문제가 있지만 겨울엔 단열이 잘 된다는 장점도 있다”고 했다. “지붕 색깔이 맨 처음엔 황금색이었다가 1년 뒤엔 약간 퇴색하고 2, 3년쯤 지나면 코끼리 몸 색깔인 회색으로 바뀌는 걸 보면 아름답다는 생각이 들지 않느냐. 그걸 이제 볼 수 없으니 안타깝다”고 했다. 그는 “새마을 운동은 국민의 삶의 질을 높이기 위한 것이었으나 초가집이 양철지붕 집 등으로 대체되는 것을 보고 슬프다는 마음이 들었다”며 “나는 좀 감상적인 사람(sentimental person)”이라고 했다.
스티븐스 대사는 높은 곳에서 찍은 듯한 농촌 사진을 보여주며 “이 산을 잘 봐라. 산에 작은 나무들밖에 없는 건 식림(植林)을 한 지 얼마 되지 않았기 때문”이라고 말했다. “나도 식목일에 교사, 학생들과 함께 나무를 심었다”라고 밝힌 그는 “한국은 공업화를 하면서도 식림으로 그린화를 추구한 나라로 이런 사례는 다른 나라에서 찾아보기 어렵다”고 했다. “그때 식림을 했기 때문에 30년 이상이 흐른 지금 한국의 산은 완전히 달라졌다. 얼마 전 비무장지대(DMZ)에 가서 북한을 바라봤더니 그쪽 산에는 나무가 없더라”는 느낌도 얘기했다.
그는 태권도 도장에서 기념 촬영한 사진도 보여줬다. 그러면서 “한국의 문화를 이해하기 위해 태권도를 배웠다. 청주에서 두 달, 예산에서 여덟 달 정도 배웠 다. 예산의 도장에서 나는 태권도를 배우는 유일한 여성이었는데 한국 학생들은 나와 대련하는 걸 기피했다. 내가 잘해서 그런 게 아니고 내가 외국인 여성인 데다 키가 가장 컸기 때문에 모두 부담을 느꼈던 것 같다. 당시 육체적으론 매우 힘들었으나 태권도의 정신도 배울 수 있어서 기쁜 마음으로 도장에 갔다”고 회고했다.
스티븐스 대사에게 “한국의 발전상을 보면서 뭘 느끼느냐”고 물었다. 그는 “30년 전의 한국이 물질적으론 부자가 아닌 건 맞지만 나는 당시에도 한국 국민이 나라를 발전시킬 재능과 능력, 그리고 야망이 없는 국민이라고 생각하진 않았다”며 “그런 관점에서 나는 한국의 발전에 놀라지 않는다”고 답했다. 그는 “한국이 경제 발전과 민주화를 함께 달성한 건 참으로 대단한 일”이라며 “내가 그걸 목격할 수 있었다는 건 행운이자 특권이었다”고 말했다.
그는 “미국 평화봉사단의 도움을 받은 나라들 가운데 이제 다른 나라에 많은 봉사단을 보내는 국가는 내가 알기론 한국이 유일하다”며 “한국의 젊은이들이 다른 나라에서 열정적으로 봉사하는 걸 보고 들으며 감동을 느낀다”고 밝혔다. 그러면서 “다른 나라를 자원봉사 정신으로 돕는 일에 한국과 미국이 협력하는 방안을 모색하면 좋겠다”고 말했다.
“할머니의 다듬이질, 베리 나이스 사운드였다”‘심은경’ 주한 미국 대사, 70년대의 흑백 사진첩이상일 기자 leesi@joongang.co.kr | 제136호 | 20091018 입력 1‘다듬이질 소리’. 스티븐스 대사는 이 소리를 ‘베리 나이스 사운드’라고 했다. 239중학생, 예산중학교’. 동복을 입은 두 학생을 찍었다.3.‘예산중학교, 예산’. 예산중에서 근무하던 여교사들과 함께한 스티븐스 대사(사진 왼쪽). 4.‘충남 한 마을의 초가집’. 스티븐스 대사는 이제 초가집을 볼 수 없어 안타깝다고 한다. 5.‘청주 외곽, 충북, 어느 여름’. 개천에서 더위를 식히고 있는 사람들의 모습을 담았다. 6 .39시골 길’. 지게를 진 채로 쪼그리고 앉아 담배를 피우는 촌부의 미소가 선량하다.[스티븐스 대사 제공]
캐슬린 스티븐스(56·한국명 심은경) 주한 미국대사는 얼마 전 충남 예산을 방문했다. 예산과 부여는 미국 애리조나주 출신인 그가 ‘제2의 고향’으로 생각하는 곳이다. 1975년 미 평화봉사단의 일원으로 한국을 찾은 그는 77년까지 예산과 부여에서 중학생 등에게 영어를 가르쳤다. 그때 그는 한국을 돕는 평화봉사단 활동을 하면서 외교의 중요성을 인식했다고 한다. 그래서 주한 미국대사관에서 치러진 외교관 시험에 응시했고, 78년 임용됐다.
스티븐스 대사는 봉사단원 시절 한국의 풍경을 자주 카메라에 담았다. 할머니가 마루에 앉아 다듬이질을 하고, 아낙네가 냇가에서 손빨래를 하며, 농부가 지게를 진 모습 등은 그의 눈에 신기하게 비쳤다. 그는 그런 장면을 열심히 찍어두었다가 얼마 전 ‘심은경이 담은 한국 1975~77’이란 제목의 사진첩을 냈다.그가 예산을 찾은 건 70년대 한국 농촌의 삶을 잘 보여주는 그의 흑백 사진첩을 옛 친구와 제자 등에게 보여주고 과거의 아름다운 추억을 함께 더듬고 싶어서였다. 중앙SUNDAY는 그의 사진첩을 단독 입수했다. 그리고 스티븐스 대사 단독 인터뷰를 통해 사진에 얽힌 추억과 그걸 바라보는 감회를 들었다.
“그 시절 학생들이 내 마음 밝게 해”
인터뷰는 13일 오후 미 대사관 대사실에서 이뤄졌다. 스티븐스 대사는 인터뷰에 앞서 예산중학교의 76년 졸업 앨범을 보여줬다. 그는 이곳에서 1년 이상 학생들을 가르치다 부여로 옮겼다. 그는 앨범의 여러 사진 중 중학교 정문 위에 아치형으로 걸려 있는 간판을 보라고 가리켰다. 거기엔 ‘간첩과는 대화 없다.
신고하여 뿌리 뽑자’라는 표어가 적혀 있었다. 반공(反共)을 국시(國是)로 삼았을 때였고, 각급 학교에서도 반공의식을 강화하는 교육을 했던 참이니 그런 표어가 걸릴 만했다. 스티븐스 대사는 “당시엔 유심히 관찰하지 않았지만 이제 와서 보니 흥미롭다”며 “이 사진도 70년대의 한국에 대해 많은 걸 생각하게 한다”고 말했다. 그러면서 “당시엔 거의 모든 사람이 한국전쟁을 기억하고 있었으므로 안보 문제에 대해 긴장이 있었다”고 덧붙였다.
그의 사진첩을 들춰보며 “사진이 참 좋다”고 하자 그는 “수준이 높다고 할 순 없으나 사진을 보면서 한국이 얼마나 많이 바뀌었는지 실감하게 된다”고 답했다. 그는 자신이 찍은 것들 중 가장 맘에 드는 것으로 ‘할머니의 다듬이질(사진 1)’과 ‘두 중학생의 얼굴’(사진 2)을 골랐다. 그리고 이렇게 회고했다.
“그 할머니가 다듬이질하는 걸 봤으나 처음엔 뭘 하는지 몰랐다. 그래서 참 독특하다고 생각해 찬찬히 지켜보다 뭘 하느냐고 물었다. 토닥토닥 하는 그 다듬이질 소리를 아직도 생생히 기억한다. 매우 듣기 좋은 소리(very nice sound)였다. 그러나 그건 가난한 한국의 가정에서 아낙네들이 하는 힘든 노동이기도 했다.”
스티븐스 대사는 “당시 한국에 와서 문화적으로 부닥친 문제 중 가장 크다고 생각했던 게 빨래하는 것이었다”며 “개울가에 가서 쭈그려 앉아 손으로 빨래하는 건 참으로 힘들지 않을까, 특히 겨울엔 너무 손이 시리지 않을까 생각했다”고 말했다. “그래서 어떻게 했느냐”고 물었더니 “나는 엄두를 못 냈다. 빨래는 하숙집 아주머니가 대신 해 줬다”고 답했다.
그는 ‘사진 2’를 지목하며 “그 시절 학생들은 항상 나의 마음을 밝게 했다. 그들은 쾌활했고 늘 웃었다. 그걸 보는 나는 정말 행복했다”고 말했다. “그들은 똑같은 교복을 입고 있었지만 사진이 보여주는 것처럼 각자의 개성을 유감없이 드러냈다”는 말도 했다. “지금 연락이 닿는 제자는 몇 명이냐”고 했더니 “12명 정도이며 대사로 부임한 다음 만난 이들은 9, 10명쯤 된다”고 했다.
그러면서 “몇 달 전 서울 파이낸스센터에서 조찬 강연을 하고 나왔을 때 어떤 중년 남성이 기다리고 있다가 자신을 내 제자라고 소개하더라. 외환은행에 다니고 있다고 했는데 제자가 나를 보고 싶다며 찾아주는 것만큼 기쁜 일이 어디 있겠느냐”라고 말했다. 그는 “세상이 많이 달라졌지만 크게 바뀐 것 중 하나가 소통방식”이라며 “그동안 많은 이들과 연락이 끊겼으나 지금은 인터넷과 e-메일 덕분에 단절된 인연이 복원되고 있으니 참 좋은 일”이라고 했다.
“태권도 배울 땐, 도장에서 유일한 여성”
스티븐스 대사는 “초가집(사진 4)을 찍는 걸 좋아했다”고 밝혔다. 이유를 물으니 “초가집은 (환경친화적인) 그린(green) 그 자체일 뿐 아니라 아름답지 않으냐”라고 답했다. “초가집엔 벌레가 생기고, 불에 쉽게 타는 문제가 있지만 겨울엔 단열이 잘 된다는 장점도 있다”고 했다. “지붕 색깔이 맨 처음엔 황금색이었다가 1년 뒤엔 약간 퇴색하고 2, 3년쯤 지나면 코끼리 몸 색깔인 회색으로 바뀌는 걸 보면 아름답다는 생각이 들지 않느냐. 그걸 이제 볼 수 없으니 안타깝다”고 했다. 그는 “새마을 운동은 국민의 삶의 질을 높이기 위한 것이었으나 초가집이 양철지붕 집 등으로 대체되는 것을 보고 슬프다는 마음이 들었다”며 “나는 좀 감상적인 사람(sentimental person)”이라고 했다.
스티븐스 대사는 높은 곳에서 찍은 듯한 농촌 사진을 보여주며 “이 산을 잘 봐라. 산에 작은 나무들밖에 없는 건 식림(植林)을 한 지 얼마 되지 않았기 때문”이라고 말했다. “나도 식목일에 교사, 학생들과 함께 나무를 심었다”라고 밝힌 그는 “한국은 공업화를 하면서도 식림으로 그린화를 추구한 나라로 이런 사례는 다른 나라에서 찾아보기 어렵다”고 했다. “그때 식림을 했기 때문에 30년 이상이 흐른 지금 한국의 산은 완전히 달라졌다. 얼마 전 비무장지대(DMZ)에 가서 북한을 바라봤더니 그쪽 산에는 나무가 없더라”는 느낌도 얘기했다.
그는 태권도 도장에서 기념 촬영한 사진도 보여줬다. 그러면서 “한국의 문화를 이해하기 위해 태권도를 배웠다. 청주에서 두 달, 예산에서 여덟 달 정도 배웠 다. 예산의 도장에서 나는 태권도를 배우는 유일한 여성이었는데 한국 학생들은 나와 대련하는 걸 기피했다. 내가 잘해서 그런 게 아니고 내가 외국인 여성인 데다 키가 가장 컸기 때문에 모두 부담을 느꼈던 것 같다. 당시 육체적으론 매우 힘들었으나 태권도의 정신도 배울 수 있어서 기쁜 마음으로 도장에 갔다”고 회고했다.
스티븐스 대사에게 “한국의 발전상을 보면서 뭘 느끼느냐”고 물었다. 그는 “30년 전의 한국이 물질적으론 부자가 아닌 건 맞지만 나는 당시에도 한국 국민이 나라를 발전시킬 재능과 능력, 그리고 야망이 없는 국민이라고 생각하진 않았다”며 “그런 관점에서 나는 한국의 발전에 놀라지 않는다”고 답했다. 그는 “한국이 경제 발전과 민주화를 함께 달성한 건 참으로 대단한 일”이라며 “내가 그걸 목격할 수 있었다는 건 행운이자 특권이었다”고 말했다.
그는 “미국 평화봉사단의 도움을 받은 나라들 가운데 이제 다른 나라에 많은 봉사단을 보내는 국가는 내가 알기론 한국이 유일하다”며 “한국의 젊은이들이 다른 나라에서 열정적으로 봉사하는 걸 보고 들으며 감동을 느낀다”고 밝혔다. 그러면서 “다른 나라를 자원봉사 정신으로 돕는 일에 한국과 미국이 협력하는 방안을 모색하면 좋겠다”고 말했다.
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Volunteers look back at Korea’s past
Volunteers look back at Korea’s past
Americans who served with Peace Corps here saw a different Korea
November 04, 2009
Five Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea about 40 years ago revisited the country late last month.
Nearly 50 years ago, U.S. President John F. Kennedy issued a clarion call to the people of America, challenging them to put the interests of the country - and indeed the world - ahead of their own.
“And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” Kennedy said, wrapping up his historic inaugural address in 1961 with a line most people from the United States can recite to this day.
Many younger Americans took him up on that challenge, volunteering to promote the country’s values and help struggling people in developing countries through a new organization called the Peace Corps. Some of them wound up in Korea, where they not only benefitted from a life-changing experience but also got a front-row seat as the country began shifting from a war-torn land suspicious of outsiders into an advanced economic powerhouse that vaulted to the global stage in record time.
Last week, dozens of Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea during the 1960s and 1970s gathered with their family members for a weeklong, government-sponsored reunion in Seoul, the third of its kind over the past year. Their stories provide a glimpse into Korea’s not-too-distant past and show how Kennedy’s words inspired a generation of Americans to focus on a greater good.
“Before I came to Korea, I had never left America,” said Bill Harwood, who moved here from Connecticut in 1975 and taught English at Kaesung Boys Middle School in Busan for two years. “I was just a small boy from a small state. Coming to Korea opened my eyes to the world. I think we as volunteers gained as much or even more than we gave.”
Censorship in full force
Shortly after taking office, Kennedy signed an executive order officially creating the Peace Corps, a government-run volunteer program that aims to help American youth serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries.
The organization eventually expanded into Korea, and more than 1,800 volunteers served here from 1966 to 1981. Volunteers helped the country move past the ravages of the Korean War (1950-1953) by providing public health care, English education and other services.
A girl receives a tuberculosis vaccination at a middle school in Seoul in 1972. At the time, there were many tuberculosis patients around the country.
Those who came here with the Peace Corps saw a very different Korea, one that seems eons removed from the vibrant, technologically advanced and prosperous country it is today.
Cramped quarters
Harwood has a specific memory related to censorship under the military dictatorship here at the time.
“My parents in America sent me Time magazine every month at the time, but I often found that the magazine had pages torn out, which means that it was censored by the Korean government,” Harwood said. “Any time that anything about Korea was mentioned in the magazine, I’d find sections blacked out with marker or the page was just torn off completely, which made me angry. So I used to go to the American army base where I could buy the whole copy and I brought it to my school and let everyone read it, which was my kind of ‘statement.’”
Jerome and Barrie-Lynn Raik got more than they bargained for when they came here from New York as Peace Corps volunteers in 1967 shortly after getting married when they were 20 years old. The couple landed in Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang, where they taught Korean students English and received a crash-course in how the locals lived.
“There were only two paved streets and two cars in the entire village of Yecheon in the late 1970s when we lived there, and no building had more than two stories,” Jerome Raik said.
Top: U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens poses with Yesan Middle School students in South Chungcheong during her stint here as a Peace Corps volunteer in the mid-1970s. Above: Peace Corps volunteers participate in a health education program at a village in South Gyeongsang in 1981.
“We lived in a thatched-roof house, which you can’t really find in Korea now, and we used to wash clothes in a stream.”
The couple lived in some cramped quarters.
“There were a total of 14, including the two of us, living in the house, yet there were only three sleeping rooms and one of those was all ours, meaning the other 12 people shared the other two rooms,” he said. “The hospitality was great, which amazed us.”
To put it in perspective, today you’d be hard-pressed to find that many people living under one roof in such a small home.
The couple visited Yecheon 11 years ago for the first time since leaving Korea in 1969, bringing their children along as well. Jerome Raik said he was “shocked” at how the once-rural village had transformed into a big town.
How to save a life
The Raiks also got a unique glimpse into the quality of health care here at the time, which severely lagged behind that of developed countries.
Suk-hee, the 8-year-old daughter of the couple’s host family, had heart disease and needed surgery. When the couple’s Peace Corps term ended in 1969, the Raiks decided to take the girl with them to New York, where they believed she would have a better chance at receiving quality medical care.
“The hardest part of the process was getting her a passport, because in those days it was very difficult for Korean people to get a passport issued by the government,” Jerome Raik said. “The operation had been performed three or four times in Korea at the time, but no one had survived. The hospital in New York that we took Suk-hee to was performing the operation six or seven times a week and everyone survived.?.?. so there was no question that we thought it best to take her to New York for it.”
It turned out to be the right move, as the operation was a success. “She is now living in Gimhae and we met her during this visit,” he said last week. “We were happy to see her having a wonderful life now with her husband and two children, running a music school.”
A street scene in Andong, North Gyeongsang, in 1966.
The experience also had a lasting impact on Barrie-Lynn Raik, who eventually became a doctor and is currently a professor of clinical medicine and clinical public health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
“Barrie had no idea that she would become a doctor before that,” Jerome Raik said. “Suk-hee had these two women cardiologists - in their 50s and 30s, respectively - [in the New York hospital], and they took such good care of her. These smart, confident women who did this wonderful thing were a big part of the inspiration behind Barrie’s decision to become a doctor.”
Jon Keeton, who served as the director of Peace Corps for Korea from 1973 to 1976, said the couple’s story is quite common.
“Tuberculosis was a very big problem in Korea in the ’60s and ’70s because Korea didn’t have a proper system to deal with it,” he said. “Basically, what volunteers did was they went around visiting and collecting spit samples. They collected thousands of these samples, trying to find people who had TB. Then, when they finished their service, quite a few became doctors. They were inspired by the difficult work they performed in the villages of Korea.”
Suspicious minds
Kevin O’Donnell - the first country director of Peace Corps Korea (1966-1970) and the fourth director of Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. (1971-1972) - said he was amazed by how quickly Koreans picked up the concept of volunteering.
“When we came here in the 1970s, not many Koreans understood what volunteerism meant,” O’Donnell said. “They didn’t know why young American people like us came here, and there was even suspicion that this was part of the CIA and that we were spies or something. We even had to have a meeting with a Korean government official, who wanted to find out what we were doing and why.”
Left: “My room was so small that at night my head was against the back wall and my feet up against the rice paper door,” wrote Gerry Krzic, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, in 1977. Right: Sue Brigham served with the Peace Corps in Deoksan, South Chungcheong, in 1968. “Women of the village wondered how a health worker could not know how to wash clothes in the stream on the rocks,” she wrote of her experience.
Now, however, thousands of Koreans are performing volunteer work in other countries, providing many of the same services that Americans offered here decades ago.
“When Kennedy started the Peace Corps, we as a nation were already 250 years old,” O’Donnell said. “It’s only been about 50 years since the end of the Korean War, and Korea has already picked up the concept of volunteerism and is now carrying it out, which I think is amazing.”
Lasting influence
Aside from the Raiks, O’Donnell and others say their experiences here helped set the tone for the rest of their lives.
“When I was first interviewed by the Peace Corps I was given a couple of opportunities of where to go,” he said. “I picked Korea and I’ve never regretted it because it has completely changed my life and my children’s lives.” One of O’Donnell’s daughter served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, and one of his granddaughters is volunteering with the organization in Peru.
Many former Peace Corps members in Korea have dedicated their lives to foreign service. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens, for instance, was in the Peace Corps here in the mid-1970s.
“There’s a fair percentage - about 10 to 15 percent - of American diplomats who served in the Peace Corps,” said Richard Christenson, who came to Korea in 1967 as a Peace Corps volunteer and taught English at Jeil Middle School in Mokpo, South Jeolla. Christenson spent more than a third of his 35-year diplomatic career in Korea, including a deputy post at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 1996 to 2000.
Keeping the connection
Local officials are now hoping to keep the connection alive by organizing Peace Corps reunions - the first country to sponsor such an effort, officials say.
“I think there is a real desire among Korean leaders to reignite the relationship between Peace Corps volunteers and Korea now,” Jon Keeton said. “They also realize that Korea needs ‘friends’ everywhere, and who are more natural friends than Peace Corps volunteers to Korea?”
Keeton currently leads Friends of Korea, which was formed in 2000 to connect Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea and to promote goodwill between the organization and the country. The group is now working with the Korean government, which plans to continue the reunions once or twice a year until at least 2013.
Along these lines, Friends of Korea recently published the book “Through Our Eyes: Peace Corps in Korea, 1966-1981,” which chronicles the experiences of volunteers and the transformation of the country in pictures.
“Aside from helping organize reunions, we have many ideas for the future,” Keeton said. “They include a mentoring program with the Korea International Cooperation Agency - which operates a similar program to the Peace Corps - or a fellowship program enabling volunteers to come back to Korea for volunteer work in their field of expertise for a year or two.”
By Park Sun-young [spark0320@joongang.co.kr]
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2912106
Letters from Mr.Jon Keeton (The President of Friends of Korea)
On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 10:12 PM,
<JonKeetonDC@aol.com> wrote:
To: CS Jee, YK Kim, Suzanna Somstag, HD Choi From: Jon Keeton
Re: Oral Interviews
On these wonderful reunion trips, we are missing an opportunity to capture the experiences by our inability so far to interview the participants. The main reason is that there simply is not time in the busy schedule.
Friends of Korea has plans to establish an archives on Peace Corps Korea, for which oral interviews are very important.
Last July I made some attempt but it was not successful.
Below is an email from HD Choi, who is a wonderful friend of Peace Corps. His daughter did a project while in a US high school to interview Koreans who had relatives in North Korea. It was a powerful book. Now that she is in Seoul, Mr. Choi and I have discussed the idea of his daughter and other high school friends doing interviews. It would be a valuable learning experience, and I am sure they would do a good job.
Again the problem is finding the time. They have proposed doing some interviews during the special events, but I am afraid this would be distracting. As high school students, they do not have free time during the day.
Are there other times that work? I do like the idea of young Koreans learning about their country at an earlier time and the impact Korea had on the US volunteers. We also should begin interviewing Koreans who were associated with Peace Corps in the past.
Mr. Jee, Ms. Kim and Suzanna, please think about possible times and communicate with Mr. Choi on your thoughts.
Thanks, Jon
--------------------------------------------------
Dear "Tireless Supporter" -- and we know you are.
Good ideas require both enthusiasm and detailed planning. I take no offense when people say that I am FOK's "cheerleader" but that others must implement the ideas I often generate. This view applies to the Peace Corps/Korea archives idea. No Peace Corps program to my knowledge has developed an archives of its history within the host country. It is most appropriate that Korea be first due to the fine memories many have of Peace Corps and your country's interest in its long history. Peace Corps' fifteen years is a brief chapter in that history but it gives insight to the country's development and people to people friendships.
Many young Koreans have no idea that their country was even poor at one time. Photographs former volunteers show them actually cause shock over the conditions only forty years ago.
The idea of the archives is now gaining support. Volunteers are beginning to gather photos, old documents, and the "ephemera" of the era. Time is getting urgent for as volunteers face retirement, much could be thrown away by them or their heirs. Today I will hang in my room here the first Peace Corps "chonsei" lease, an arrangement no one in Peace Corps headquarters could comprehend.
There are many documents but the most important things to capture are the memories in the heads and hearts of the volunteers and the Koreans who knew them. Each time I visit Korea I learn that another of the Korean "pioneers" of Peace Corps has died.
In July FOK gave me an advance to begin the first oral interviews. We could not arrange tuem. The logistics of such an effort will require much attention.
I like the idea of involving young Koreans of talent. As with the fine book your daughter worked on, they have so much to learn.
Mr. Choi, I do need to spend more time talking with people who are more expert on oral histories to see what advice they offer, but let this email begin the formal discussion with you on your very encouraging interest. Scheduling the time; developing the questions/approach; considering how and where the results will be retained -- are just a few of the questions. I will write you again very soon.
Thank you for your exciting approach to a valuable effort.
Best regards,
Jon
<JonKeetonDC@aol.com> wrote:
To: CS Jee, YK Kim, Suzanna Somstag, HD Choi From: Jon Keeton
Re: Oral Interviews
On these wonderful reunion trips, we are missing an opportunity to capture the experiences by our inability so far to interview the participants. The main reason is that there simply is not time in the busy schedule.
Friends of Korea has plans to establish an archives on Peace Corps Korea, for which oral interviews are very important.
Last July I made some attempt but it was not successful.
Below is an email from HD Choi, who is a wonderful friend of Peace Corps. His daughter did a project while in a US high school to interview Koreans who had relatives in North Korea. It was a powerful book. Now that she is in Seoul, Mr. Choi and I have discussed the idea of his daughter and other high school friends doing interviews. It would be a valuable learning experience, and I am sure they would do a good job.
Again the problem is finding the time. They have proposed doing some interviews during the special events, but I am afraid this would be distracting. As high school students, they do not have free time during the day.
Are there other times that work? I do like the idea of young Koreans learning about their country at an earlier time and the impact Korea had on the US volunteers. We also should begin interviewing Koreans who were associated with Peace Corps in the past.
Mr. Jee, Ms. Kim and Suzanna, please think about possible times and communicate with Mr. Choi on your thoughts.
Thanks, Jon
--------------------------------------------------
Dear "Tireless Supporter" -- and we know you are.
Good ideas require both enthusiasm and detailed planning. I take no offense when people say that I am FOK's "cheerleader" but that others must implement the ideas I often generate. This view applies to the Peace Corps/Korea archives idea. No Peace Corps program to my knowledge has developed an archives of its history within the host country. It is most appropriate that Korea be first due to the fine memories many have of Peace Corps and your country's interest in its long history. Peace Corps' fifteen years is a brief chapter in that history but it gives insight to the country's development and people to people friendships.
Many young Koreans have no idea that their country was even poor at one time. Photographs former volunteers show them actually cause shock over the conditions only forty years ago.
The idea of the archives is now gaining support. Volunteers are beginning to gather photos, old documents, and the "ephemera" of the era. Time is getting urgent for as volunteers face retirement, much could be thrown away by them or their heirs. Today I will hang in my room here the first Peace Corps "chonsei" lease, an arrangement no one in Peace Corps headquarters could comprehend.
There are many documents but the most important things to capture are the memories in the heads and hearts of the volunteers and the Koreans who knew them. Each time I visit Korea I learn that another of the Korean "pioneers" of Peace Corps has died.
In July FOK gave me an advance to begin the first oral interviews. We could not arrange tuem. The logistics of such an effort will require much attention.
I like the idea of involving young Koreans of talent. As with the fine book your daughter worked on, they have so much to learn.
Mr. Choi, I do need to spend more time talking with people who are more expert on oral histories to see what advice they offer, but let this email begin the formal discussion with you on your very encouraging interest. Scheduling the time; developing the questions/approach; considering how and where the results will be retained -- are just a few of the questions. I will write you again very soon.
Thank you for your exciting approach to a valuable effort.
Best regards,
Jon
KBS Aired Peace Corps Story and Their Photo Book
KBS News Article Translated
U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers who volunteered in Korea during 1966 and 1981 have revisited Korea again in 30 years. A photo album that contains their moments has been also published. Reporter Jo, Ji Hyun introduces the story.
Oxcarts and buses are seen in the streets and the students are walking with their ‘Movement for a New Village” caps. This is the picture of fast changing Korea in 1960’s and 1970s. Nill Armstrong, the first man who landed on the moon and Shim, Eun Kyung, Stephens, a current U.S. ambassador in Korea were also in the scence.This is a photo album which Bill Howard, who volunteered in Korea for 3 years starting in 1972, has taken.
Bill Howard (1974-1977) : These pictures show how much Peace Corps volunteers loved Korea. These are also the opportunity for Koreans to regain their history.
U.S. Peace Corps volunteered in Korea for 15 years, from 1966 to 1981 in both health and education fields.These people have continued to inform about Korea even after they went back to the States.They are very surprised with much changed Korea after 40 years have passed.
Heric Reilyn (1966-1968) : I am going to tell everyone about amazingly changed new Korea when I go back to the States.U.S. Peace Corps volunteers who have kept their love toward Korea for 40 years. They say Korea is their forever friend.
This is KBS News Jo, Ji Hyun.
↓ Here is the link KBS video news about Peace Corps' Revisit.
http://news.kbs.co.kr/news.php?kind=c&id=1875406
U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers who volunteered in Korea during 1966 and 1981 have revisited Korea again in 30 years. A photo album that contains their moments has been also published. Reporter Jo, Ji Hyun introduces the story.
Oxcarts and buses are seen in the streets and the students are walking with their ‘Movement for a New Village” caps. This is the picture of fast changing Korea in 1960’s and 1970s. Nill Armstrong, the first man who landed on the moon and Shim, Eun Kyung, Stephens, a current U.S. ambassador in Korea were also in the scence.This is a photo album which Bill Howard, who volunteered in Korea for 3 years starting in 1972, has taken.
Bill Howard (1974-1977) : These pictures show how much Peace Corps volunteers loved Korea. These are also the opportunity for Koreans to regain their history.
U.S. Peace Corps volunteered in Korea for 15 years, from 1966 to 1981 in both health and education fields.These people have continued to inform about Korea even after they went back to the States.They are very surprised with much changed Korea after 40 years have passed.
Heric Reilyn (1966-1968) : I am going to tell everyone about amazingly changed new Korea when I go back to the States.U.S. Peace Corps volunteers who have kept their love toward Korea for 40 years. They say Korea is their forever friend.
This is KBS News Jo, Ji Hyun.
↓ Here is the link KBS video news about Peace Corps' Revisit.
http://news.kbs.co.kr/news.php?kind=c&id=1875406
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