RPCV David McCann is first non-Korean to receive Manhae Prize for Scholarship



RPCV David McCann is first non-Korean to receive Manhae Prize for Scholarship

Manhae Grand Prize to Be Awarded to Professor David McCann

David McCann, PC Korea I, 1966-1968, was awarded the Manhae Prize for Scholarship in a ceremony on August 12. The Manhae Prize for World Peace was awarded to Nelson Mandela. Three other prizes were awarded, in Arts, Literature, and Practice. McCann is the first non-Korean to receive the prize for scholarship.

Professor David McCann, Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature, has been named a recipient of the Manhae Grand Prize in the category of academic studies, a Korean selection panel announced on May 12, 2004. Professor McCann will travel to Korea in August to receive the prize. Other recipients are Nelson Mandela who will be awarded the Manhae Peace Prize, Hwang Suk-young in the literature category and film director Im Kwon-taek in the arts. Buddhist monk Beopta was also chosen as the recipient of the Manhae Grand Prize in the practice category.

The Manhae Grand Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes in Korea. Among the Manhae Peace Prize recipients was former Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who also received the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Association for Enhancing & Practicing the Spirit of Manhae set up the Manhae Grand Prize to honor the thoughts and profound spirit of Han Yong-woon (1879-1944). Manhae is the pen name for Han, a Buddhist monk and poet who devoted most of his life to the independence of his homeland. Born at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, Manhae spent most of his life in Korea under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) striving to achieve the universal ideologies of freedom, equality and peace.

When this story was posted in September 2004, here was the front page of PCOL Magazine:

Director Gaddi Vasquez: The PCOL Interview This month we sat down for an extended interview with Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. Read the entire interview from start to finish and we promise you will learn something about the Peace Corps you didn't know before. Then read the questions and answers one by one and leave your comments on the issues raised during the interview including Infrastructure Upgrades and the new Situation Room at Headquarters, Is there a Budget Crunch this year at Peace Corps, Peace Corps' Long Term Expansion, the Changes to the Five-Year Rule made last year, Safety and Security Issues, the Cooperative Agreement with NPCA, RPCVs in Policy Making Positions at Peace Corps Headquarters, Peace Corps' Departure from Russia in 2002, Director Vasquez's Accomplishments as Director, the Peace Corps Safety and Security Bill before Congress, Continuity at the Agency during Changes in Administration, the Community College Program, and the Director's Message to the Returned Volunteer Community.

Read the stories and leave your comments.