The Korea Foundation (KF) has honored Friends of Korea (FoK), an organization founded by former U.S. Peace Corps volunteers, recognizing decades of work preserving people-to-people ties between South Korea and the United States.
The honor came as 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of the Peace Corps’ arrival in Korea, providing a moment to revisit a chapter of Korea-U.S. relations built not only through government diplomacy but also through teachers, health workers and community volunteers who lived and worked alongside Koreans.
KF presented its 10th Korea Foundation Award to Friends of Korea on September 16 at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul. FoK Chairman Gerard Krzic and board member Jenna Gibson accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
From Peace Corps volunteers to long-term cultural bridges
The U.S. Peace Corps began sending volunteers to South Korea in 1966. Between 1966 and 1981, roughly 2,000 Americans served in Korea, working in areas including English education, public health, agriculture and community development.
Their assignments came during a period when South Korea was undergoing major social and economic transformation. Rather than operating solely through formal institutions, volunteers were placed in schools, health facilities and communities, creating relationships that often continued long after their service ended.
That history became the foundation for Friends of Korea, which was established in 2002 by former Peace Corps volunteers. The group has worked to preserve records and memories of the Peace Corps’ early Korea missions while promoting Korean culture and continued exchanges in the United States.
60 years later, former volunteers return to Korea
The Korea Foundation marked the anniversary by bringing 30 former Peace Corps volunteers and family members back to Korea from September 13 to 19.
The program included seminars and cultural activities, with participants visiting places including the National Museum of Korea, Leeum Museum of Art, Changdeokgung Palace and Gyeongbokgung Palace. Some participants also had the opportunity to revisit locations connected to their earlier service.
The return program is part of a longer KF initiative. Since 2008, the foundation has invited former Peace Corps volunteers and their families back to Korea, with more than 800 people reportedly having participated over the years.
A different kind of diplomacy
At the award ceremony, KF President Song Gui-do emphasized that international relationships are built not only through official diplomacy but also through individuals who share everyday life across borders.
The ceremony also featured messages from U.S. officials and Korean figures. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel highlighted the volunteers’ work in English education, public health, education and community development, while former Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan described their service as part of the human connection that developed between the two countries.
The recognition also received attention from U.S. lawmakers. Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Young Kim issued certificates recognizing the Korea Foundation’s support for return visits involving former Peace Corps volunteers. California state Sen. Steven Choi also said he planned to introduce a state Senate resolution recognizing KF’s public-diplomacy efforts.
Preserving a legacy beyond the classroom
For Friends of Korea, the mission extends beyond remembering individual volunteer experiences.
The organization has helped build an archive documenting Peace Corps activities in Korea during the 1960s through the 1980s, preserving photographs, records and personal memories that might otherwise disappear with time.
That historical work comes as the generation of Americans who served in Korea grows older, making preservation and intergenerational exchange increasingly important.
The 60th anniversary therefore carries two dimensions: remembering the Americans who served in Korea during an important period of its development, and examining how those personal relationships continued to influence cultural understanding decades later.
Six decades after the first volunteers arrived
The Korea Foundation’s recognition of Friends of Korea underscores how international relations can develop through experiences far removed from formal negotiations.
What began in 1966 with young American volunteers working in Korean communities has evolved into a decades-long network of former volunteers, Korean colleagues, families and cultural organizations.
Sixty years after the Peace Corps first arrived in Korea, the people-to-people connections created by those early volunteers are still being remembered—and actively carried into the next generation.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
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