Celebrate Peace Corps Day at our Winter Potluck Gathering Sunday, March 1st
Join us for our Winter Potluck Gathering on Sunday, March 1st at 5pm – Peace Corps Day! This event will be held in the home of Nicaragua RPCVs Tim & Pam McCarthy in Fairfax Station.
Chuck Hobbie (Korea 68-71) will discuss his memoir The Time of the Monkey, Rooster, and Dog: A Peace Corps Volunteer’s Years in Korea (2011) about service, discovery, and change set against a pivotal moment in history. In 1969, while the Vietnam War raged to the south, an uneasy peace held on the Korean peninsula under the armistice. Nearly three hundred Peace Corps volunteers were then serving in Korea as teachers and health workers, including Hobbie, who taught English from 1968 to 1971.
Through vivid, observant prose, Hobbie recounts three formative years in Daegu and beyond—years that marked an awakening both for a rapidly modernizing Korea and for the young volunteer himself. He brings to life the streets and markets of Daegu, the camaraderie of students and fellow teachers, the warmth of Korean families, the drama of mountain landscapes, and the energy of traditional drumming and dance.
Told with insight and affection, the book offers a firsthand portrait of Korea’s early transformation while tracing Hobbie’s own life-changing journey as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
About Our Presenter
Charles A. “Chuck” Hobbie retired in 2018 from the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Peace Corps. He first served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Korea from 1968–71, teaching English at Kyungpook National University in Daegu and helping build a rural clinic. Over a 45-year association with the Peace Corps, he spent nearly 15 years with headquarters staff as a trainer, special services officer, Korea/Thailand desk officer, and associate general counsel handling labor, employment, and litigation matters.
For most of his legal career (1979–2011), Chuck was an attorney with the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, serving six years as staff counsel and then as deputy general counsel. In that role he supervised a team of attorneys, oversaw internal labor relations and compliance matters, and represented the union and its members in hundreds of administrative cases and more than a hundred federal court cases, including arguing Cornelius v. Nutt before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chuck has been active in the American Bar Association, the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, and numerous civic and nonprofit boards. He is a 2008 recipient of the James A. Van Fleet Award and received a 2018 award from the Korean ambassador for promoting U.S.–Korea relations. An author of several books, his latest was published in 2022. Chuck was married for 50 years to Young Ei Shin until her passing in 2024. They have two children and two grandchildren.
We will take the opportunity to host our Winter Potluck Gathering – bring your favorite dish or cuisine from your host country. We encourage to wear or represent your country of service and Peace Corps
Location: Home of Nicaragua RPCVs Tim & Pam McCarthy in Fairfax – address will be emailed before the event