Between 1966 and 1981, more than two thousand Americans served in Korea as Peace Corps volunteers, working mostly as teachers and health workers in both rural and urban communities across the country. By embedding themselves in Korea life they learned the language and culture better than any Americans had previously.

Upon returning to the United States after their service, they formed an alumni group called Friends of Korea. Many went on to build careers as diplomats, educators, scholars, policy makers, and consultants. To this day those Peace Corps volunteers work to raise awareness of Korean issues and perspectives in America.
 

The materials they recorded or collected during and after their service years were donated to the USC Libraries, where they are preserved in the USC Peace Corps Korea Archive. These primary materials provide invaluable support to scholars who research the critical fifteen-year period in Korean history that laid the foundations of the country’s modern economy and flourishing democracy.

In appreciation of their service,  the USC Libraries are inviting Korea Peace Corps volunteers in Southern California to a reunion event on campus. Attendees will have an opportunity to hear about recent research in the field, record oral histories for the archive, and share their stories about the important work they accomplished.