Mailbox of peace

Section 3. Love & Fr iendship Mai lbox of Peace 070 071 Korea Foundation & US Peace Corps KF COVID-19 Survival Box Gratitude Letter Col lection As a member of Friends of Korea and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with wonderful memories of the two years I spent teaching English at 전북대 학교 ( Jeonbuk National University ), please accept my sincere thanks for the Covid - 19 Survival Box . In these very difficult times , it is a welcome and extremely thoughtful gift . The video included on the flash drive truly brought tears to my eyes . I have had the good fortune of visiting Korea many times since the comple- tion of my Peace Corps service in 1977 . I must also thank you for my most recent stay in Korea when I joined a Peace Corps Return Visit in 2011 . The time I spent in Korea has had a deep and lasting impact on my life and my career , first as a lawyer and now as a fiction writer . In fact , my novel , THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY , published in 2019 , was partly set in Korea and features a young Korean woman in America . Writing that novel would not have been possible without my experiences in and fondness for Korea . Again , please accept my warm thanks . Sincerely , “Writing that novel would not have been possible without my experiences in and fondness for Korea” Clifford Garstang , K - 37 Clifford Garstang (강근식) - Oliver ' s Travels ( Regal House , Forthcoming 2021 ) - What the Zhang Boys Know ( Press 53 ) ( Winner of the Library of Virginia Award for Fiction ) - The Shaman of Turtle Valley ( Braddock Avenue Books ) - House of the Ancients and Other Stories ( Press 53 ) I was a member of the first Peace Corps group to serve in Korea . I taught English at Yosu Middle and High School and at Korea University from 1966 to 1969 . I have not lost touch with Korea over the years . I married the Korea Peace Corps office receptionist , Chong Tahn , in 1970 and we have been married for fifty years . In 1981 we went back to Korea and I worked as a lawyer with Kim & Chang in Seoul from 1981 to 1984 . During that time , Kim Woo - Taek of Kim & Chang and I wrote a treatise on Ko- rean taxation in English ( Business Operations in Korea , published by Bureau of National Affairs ), to be used by foreign companies investing in and doing business in Korea . We revised and edited this work annually for twenty years . My work as a lawyer took me back to Korea from time to time . Then , in 2018 , our whole family was the recipient of the gracious invitation from your Foundation to revisit Korea . As you guests , we toured Korea , spending a delightful ten days , sightseeing , visiting old friends and listening to fine lectures about Korea . My adult chil- dren were particularly impressed with modern Korea . They each appreciate their Korean heritage . So , you can see that I have received far more from Korea than the modest amount I was able to give . Thank you again for your kindness . “I was a member of the first Peace Corps group to serve in Korea” Robert Baskerville , K - 1 Robert Baskerville