Story & photo by Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
IT started as a way to help build friendship between the Philippines and South Korea almost three decades back, with both countries enjoying a strong mutual friendship.
That said, the 26th Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival took place at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City, highlighted by a showcase of festivities and a cultural program on September 9.
“This is an annual activity which started 26 years ago when Korean communities started to rise [here in the Philippines]. We are looking for ways to build friendship with [your country],” United Korean Community Association (UKCA) and Head of Philippines-Korea Festival Committee Vice President Lee Hyun-joo said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.
She added, “We are looking for ways to build friendship between South Korea and the Philippines, so we started with cultural exchange.”
For the first time, Lee said they decided to put a theme for the activity, dubbed as “We Go Together”.
The festival was divided into two parts. The first was the finals of an annual Talent Competition hosted by Sam Oh and Richard Hwan, where Filipino participants sang and danced to Korean songs, while Koreans performed to the tune of Filipino tunes.
The second part, which is the main program, underscored the friendship between the Philippines and South Korea that started as a military collaboration and eventually turned into deeper forms of cooperation in trade, politics, security and sociocultural exchange. The relationship between the two countries will be entering its 70th anniversary next year.
“Since the Korean war, we’ve been helping each other,” she noted.
The Busan National Gugak Team and Serotonin entertained the crowd with Korean traditional performances. For their part, Ballet Manila also showcased homegrown cultural dances, while boy group Offroad represented K-pop.
The lobby of the Aliw Theater was also filled with different cultural activities, such as nanta, which is a South Korean nonverbal comedy show; samul norri, or the genre of percussion music; K-pop displays; a Korean street-food section; and a showcase of singers and dancers from competing teams, among others.
Lee expressed belief that it was easy for Filipinos to love Korea nowadays because of hallyu, the diffusion of the Korean wave of culture into the country embraced by Pinoys.
Filipinos, on the other hand, have endeared themselves to Koreans because of their signature friendliness and warmth.
Lee is also looking forward to “more ore cultural events” in the coming years.
The 26th Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival was hosted and organized by UKCA, together with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, with support from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines and the Department of Tourism through its campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”.
The event is sponsored by BDO, Korea Tourism Organization in the Philippines, Tourism Board Philippines, Philippine Retirement Authority, Calla, Champion and Hana Leaf together with the special participation of Arirang Town Philippines and the Philippine K-pop Convention Inc.
Image credits: Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco