Mailbox of peace

Epi logue Mai lbox of Peace 160 161 Korea Foundation & US Peace Corps KF COVID-19 Survival Box Gratitude Letter Col lection one recipient asked the KF to take the box back since they had not ordered all this. It appears they thought they might end up having to pay for the items that were inside. We then explained to them the survival box project and promptly received an email expressing their gratitude. Word of thanks As you can well imagine, packaging 563 boxes, ensuring all addresses are correct, and finally sending the boxes on their way was only possible thanks to the help from many people. I would like to sincerely thank Chairman Gerry Krzic of FOK who always goes the extra mile to help us with Peace Corps-re- lated events. I would also like to thank FOK Vice President James Mayer for recommending coffee mixes for the Survival Box. (You saw the article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, right? The response was phenomenal!) I would also like to sincerely thank Sir Yongbok for collecting the addresses of more than 500 Peace Corps members. Finally, the great packaging would not have been possible without the help of TN Korea CEO Kim Kyung Seon and Director Cho Sam Seon. Sincerity is delivered Seeing the survival boxes sent with gratitude coming back to us in the form of 200 thank-you letters, I really felt first-hand that gratitude leads to bigger gratitude, and that sincerity always reaches its destination. We were pleas- antly surprised to learn from the many emails and hand written letters that people could really feel the sincerity that was involoved when we considered what items they would like, when we searched for a sturdy paperbox, and when we developed the idea to create a video to send along. They also appre- ciated the social media posts and small guidebooks that enabled us to deliver messages from Koreans. We had indeed done our best to find the strongest possible paper box that would survive travelling the long distances, and we later received a thank- you letter, with a picture of the recipients’ grandchildren playing inside the box, which said they had never seen a box stronger than this. Truly a survival box! We were so very grateful that the Peace Corps members appreciated the sincerity of the KF COVID-19 Survival Box. Looking back, I can confidently say that the survival box was the most re- warding project I have ever been a part of. From time to time, whenever I am tired from work or face difficulties in human interactions, I look at your letters to recharge myself. I have learned that a way of expressing gratitude can be yet another form of public diplomacy, and felt the power of the States in this regard. Please consider this book as our response to your wonderful messages. About the Korea Foundation (KF) Since its founding in 1991, the Korea Foundation (KF) has engaged in and supported diverse international exchanges to promote a better understanding of Korea in the international community and forge friendships with countries throughout the world. To date, the KF has helped establish 145 professorships at 96 universities across 17 countries and created a Korea Room at 28 prominent museums in 10 countries. The Foundation has also invited some 12,000 distinguished guests to Korea to help increase mutual cultural understanding, and in 2018, the KF launched the Public Diplomacy Academy. In accordance with the Public Diplomacy Act, the KF is the only officially designated “institution that conducts The Korea Foundation