An Update from President Nancy Kelly

I have been President of Friends of Korea for a few months now and am beginning to get a better understanding of the organization, both who we are and what we might become. As I have said many times in the past few months, there are no more newly returned Peace Corps volunteers from Korea.  Our future lies in expanding our vision of the organization.

To that end, we are looking at creating a broader, more inclusive organization, one with members united by an affection for Korea and with a commitment to fostering friendship and understanding between Koreans and Americans. We have even changed our tag line to "Fostering cultural awareness and friendship between Americans and Koreans."

The past several months have been busy. Plans are in the making for the last revisit trip to Korea this fall. This extraordinary opportunity to return to Korea and to see the many changes in the country as a guest of the Korean government is truly a remarkable gift. For those of us who have been on one of these revisits, it is a gift that will never be forgotten.

The website has been completely revamped in the past several months, in part to reflect this new, broader focus of Friends of Korea. We are looking for photos and ideas for the website. Please feel free to
e-mail [email protected] with your suggestions.  We want this site to be one that is of interest to you and others with an interest in Korea.

We now have a Facebook page.  Please click on Facebook widget at the top to visit it.  If you have suggestions or photos or stories to share, please let me know.

On the more mundane side of life, we are currently revising and updating the Friends of Korea bylaws, which are seriously out of date. It is my hope that we can have a final version ready for review and action by the voting members of Friends of Korea in the next couple of months.

The photo exhibit "Americans in Korea and Koreans in the World" continues to generate great interest and excitement,  It was shown most recently in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building. Our thanks go to Senator Susan Collins and her staff for supporting this. There is a wonderful article in Roll Call, a magazine about Capitol Hill, that might be of interest. There is also a link to it on our Facebook page.  

To all who have paid dues and made donations to Friends of Korea over the past year, I thank you. If you have not renewed your support in the past year, I encourage you to renew now. Click on the "Join Us" tab on the top of this site.  Your dues are critical as we seek to expand our vision and role.

Thank you for your interest and support.