In 1966 when the nation was desperate to cut the vicious circle of poverty under a state-led campaign to achieve economic growth, Korea saw a unique group of foreign visitors: U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. The first batch of Peace Corps volunteers to Korea, designated as K-1, arrived that year and most of them worked as English teachers. The group also included 24 science and eight physical education teachers, as well. Back then, Korea was a largely rural-based, impoverished country, as poor as an African country with a gross domestic product per capita of $133.