Crossing barriers and bridging gaps
The UKCCLAP and other like Korean organizations have put unto themselves the weight of being ambassadors of culture and good will. They try to bridge cultural gaps amidst their own need to adjust in an environment where they themselves have yet to fully immerse.
Misters Park and Lee both recognize the typecasting that Koreans are rather snobbish and even bossy when they’re here in the Philippines. Both said that perhaps it can in part be traced in what they observed as rather “relaxed” Filipino work pace as against what may be placed as a “no nonsense” work approach on the part of Koreans.
It’s a general perception that Koreans as a closed group and their coming goes against the pattern more familiar to Filipino experience – that of people from poorer countries migrating to more developed ones like the United States or any place in Europe. Their arrivals is said to be even greater than the number of Filipinos retuning home.
Some Filipinos are baffled by the Korean ethnic-specific churches sprouting and assume that they are here to evangelize Catholics. Though the churches sometimes conduct charity outreach work in the local communities, their activities are believed to be mainly targeted towards their saram.
Koreans come en masse and on a quick look, their presence provides economic and social benefits to the Philippines. They come as tourists which means increased revenues; as road contractors meaning better quality of roads; as students, thus increased enrollments.
Some studies say Korean expatriates provide a significant stimulus to the local economy; they are estimated to spend between US$800 and $1000 per month, making an aggregate contribution of over $1 billion per year in consumer spending.
But the seedy aspect of barrier and gaps UKCCLAP and other Korean organizations have to confront is that Angeles City has long overtaken Ermita in Manila as the biggest and cheapest sex supermarket in the Philippines, as earlier reported by the militant women organization Gabriela.
Internet pages teem with “tourism oriented” sites of the seedy kind. A page focused on advising Korean visitors go as brash as this: … Angeles City … is primarily a go-go town, but there is some other nightlife activity too. Even so, come prepared to fulfill your ‘meat inspection’ duties. (Boobs, Legs, backside, face & so on.) There is a lot of fresh and tender ‘meat’ to be tasted. You can have them: ‘rare’ (young,) ‘medium’(just right) or ‘well done’ (boilers.) This piece went on to as much as advising on joints to visit, prices of drinks and range of bar fines if one opts for a few hours or over night of “enjoying life” which means hitting strip bars, paying for sex and getting temporary Filipina girlfriends.
But then such advisories are not uncommon and neither are they focused simply to the Korean “needs” as they are not the only people who flood Angeles City for “rest and recreation.”
But on a more sober note, there is the prospect of blissful and sincere union between Filipinos and Koreans. Bryan himself proudly admits to having a Filipina girl friend who he swears is real sweet.
Since 1990, the Korean National Statistics Office recorded about 6,216 Filipino women married to Koreans. This means some 388 Filipino women get married to Koreans every year based on the 16-year record.
But the second side to this picture is while it is but right to assume that “love” was the primary reason for marriage, a past study by Pai Chai University says Korean male respondents said that submissiveness, obedience, and traditionalist family practices of their Filipino wives were “most important reasons” why they married them.
On question of Kopinos
Kopinos are children born to Korean fathers, many out of wedlock, and Filipina mothers who in more cases are economically incapable,. Their number in the Philippines has increased as the number of Korean tourists visiting the country has grown, and too has grown as a problem.
Just like what the United Korean Community Central Luzon Association in the Philippines (UKCCLAP) is doing in Central Luzon some South Korean non-government organizations (NGO) like the Daejeon Migrant Workers Support Center have begun to establish branch offices in the Philippines to provide social services to Kopinos who are more or less 10,000 now; plus their mothers.
Another NGO, the Quezon City-based Kopino Children Association established by spouses Son Bum-sik, a Korean, and Normi Son, a Filipino; shelters a number of Kopino children.
Son said the rise in the number of fatherless Kopinos was a product of the mindset of Koreans who just “enjoy life.” Most fathers of Kopinos are tourists, students and businessmen who visited the Philippines for a short time and then went back to their home country. About 90 percent of the mothers of Kopino children work as bar girls or in brothels.
He explained that the Korean cultural history in the past of disapproving mixed marriages has been a factor in the abandoning of Kopino offsprings by their fathers. And by Korean law the chances for Kopino children to acquire Korean citizenship cannot happen unless their parents get married.
Business interests
and local investments
Koreans are impressed on Clark zone’s progress as an investment haven in the Asia Pacific region. At present, economic activities are predominant at the Freeport zones of Clark and Subic with the globally competitive Hanjin ship-building facilities in Subic Zambales as the single gigantic leap. The Subic-Clark expressway is expected to generate economic activities along this area.
Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second largest flag carrier have been ferrying passengers routing South Korea to Clark zone using the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.
Jangwon Real Estate Development is invest P3 billion in partnership with a Filipino group to develop an integrated resort-type residential and commercial complex complete with a language institute in Angeles, Pampanga to cater to Korean retirees and their children’s education.
The Koreans are building over 13 hectares of land as site for a 700-unit condominium building, 105 residential units, 16 store units, a language institute and amenities.
Korean firms invest in RP bio-diesel, coco projects. The Philippines and South Korea have forged a $600-million five-year cooperative agreement to promote and develop bio-diesel projects in the Philippines. Two Korean companies, Environment Plasma Co. Ltd. and Eco Solutions Co. Ltd. will develop lands for bio-fuels feedstock. CJ Corp. of Korea, has invested $7.5 million for an animal feed production plant in San Rafael, Bulacan.
The UKCCLAP’s Executive Vice President Chung Eui Kwoon owns the Drupe International which exports frozen fresh Philippine fruits to Korea; the Vice-President Mr. Park Jung Keun is the President of the construction firm Baek Jae Sung Development Corporation, while Mr. Lee Gyu Pung is also into construction business.
Just a few spans more
A joyful mix of culture is something that can be relished here, a doing away of value attitudes without compromising norms.
A thought that in a way can be savored by a generous helping of what’s believed to be the best yogurt in the country served in Cold Spoon I, a Korean restaurant by the Friendship Highway in Angeles City.
To build goodwill and friendship, a major mall here hosted a Korean Fest recently to recognize the Korean communities in Clark and Metro Angeles area as a major player in the business and cultural diversity and affirming of Kapampangan friendship towards Koreans, their food and culture – a good way to learn from each other’s culture.
The fest included Korean cultural performances like the Buchaechum a Korean Fan Dance, the Ham Sasio a Korean Wedding Dance, the all too familiar Taekwondo and of course the demonstration of the world-famous Korean staple Kimchi.
Filipinos now enjoy Korean movies, music and television shows. The Korean group Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” was a current hit among youth, while local adaptations of Korean telenovelas “Lovers in Paris” and Stairway to Heaven” had hit primetime with “Jewel In the Palace,” “Jang Geum” and a few more as precedent.
Names common enough along Friendship Highway but should not stay too alien are Hyun Jeong Korean Mart where since the 1990s one can buy Korean Noodles, Frozen Dumplings, Fresh Lettuce, Pickles Radish, Dangmyon, Korean Ice Cream, Fish Egg, Sun Dubu (Soft Tofu), Soju (Korean Tofu.) It is also a restaurant that serves Dolsot Bibimbop, Jeyuk Dupbop, Yulmu Gukso, Ramyun, Kochujang Samgyupsal, Daeji Galbi, Galbi Jjim and many more.
Another old diner on the same stretch is Kiwon Korean Restaurant which serves any kind of Korean dishes most specially Bok jiri (a stew of blowfish, bean sprouts and bitter greens), Sunji Gook, Chajangmyun (black bean paste and vegetable noodles.)
The Friendship Highway can still better live up to its name and for it to realize the coming days where Kimchi, biobimbao and bulgogi can be served along side burong isda, sizzling sisig and kare-kare .
Indeed, the UKCCLAP and other organizations had their work cut for them, no wonder they had to hit the ground running, but theirs is an effort to sincerely and unrelentingly reach out both to their saram and Filipino brothers alike. Kamsahamnida!
The UKCCLAP and other like Korean organizations have put unto themselves the weight of being ambassadors of culture and good will. They try to bridge cultural gaps amidst their own need to adjust in an environment where they themselves have yet to fully immerse.
Misters Park and Lee both recognize the typecasting that Koreans are rather snobbish and even bossy when they’re here in the Philippines. Both said that perhaps it can in part be traced in what they observed as rather “relaxed” Filipino work pace as against what may be placed as a “no nonsense” work approach on the part of Koreans.
It’s a general perception that Koreans as a closed group and their coming goes against the pattern more familiar to Filipino experience – that of people from poorer countries migrating to more developed ones like the United States or any place in Europe. Their arrivals is said to be even greater than the number of Filipinos retuning home.
Some Filipinos are baffled by the Korean ethnic-specific churches sprouting and assume that they are here to evangelize Catholics. Though the churches sometimes conduct charity outreach work in the local communities, their activities are believed to be mainly targeted towards their saram.
Koreans come en masse and on a quick look, their presence provides economic and social benefits to the Philippines. They come as tourists which means increased revenues; as road contractors meaning better quality of roads; as students, thus increased enrollments.
Some studies say Korean expatriates provide a significant stimulus to the local economy; they are estimated to spend between US$800 and $1000 per month, making an aggregate contribution of over $1 billion per year in consumer spending.
But the seedy aspect of barrier and gaps UKCCLAP and other Korean organizations have to confront is that Angeles City has long overtaken Ermita in Manila as the biggest and cheapest sex supermarket in the Philippines, as earlier reported by the militant women organization Gabriela.
Internet pages teem with “tourism oriented” sites of the seedy kind. A page focused on advising Korean visitors go as brash as this: … Angeles City … is primarily a go-go town, but there is some other nightlife activity too. Even so, come prepared to fulfill your ‘meat inspection’ duties. (Boobs, Legs, backside, face & so on.) There is a lot of fresh and tender ‘meat’ to be tasted. You can have them: ‘rare’ (young,) ‘medium’(just right) or ‘well done’ (boilers.) This piece went on to as much as advising on joints to visit, prices of drinks and range of bar fines if one opts for a few hours or over night of “enjoying life” which means hitting strip bars, paying for sex and getting temporary Filipina girlfriends.
But then such advisories are not uncommon and neither are they focused simply to the Korean “needs” as they are not the only people who flood Angeles City for “rest and recreation.”
But on a more sober note, there is the prospect of blissful and sincere union between Filipinos and Koreans. Bryan himself proudly admits to having a Filipina girl friend who he swears is real sweet.
Since 1990, the Korean National Statistics Office recorded about 6,216 Filipino women married to Koreans. This means some 388 Filipino women get married to Koreans every year based on the 16-year record.
But the second side to this picture is while it is but right to assume that “love” was the primary reason for marriage, a past study by Pai Chai University says Korean male respondents said that submissiveness, obedience, and traditionalist family practices of their Filipino wives were “most important reasons” why they married them.
On question of Kopinos
Kopinos are children born to Korean fathers, many out of wedlock, and Filipina mothers who in more cases are economically incapable,. Their number in the Philippines has increased as the number of Korean tourists visiting the country has grown, and too has grown as a problem.
Just like what the United Korean Community Central Luzon Association in the Philippines (UKCCLAP) is doing in Central Luzon some South Korean non-government organizations (NGO) like the Daejeon Migrant Workers Support Center have begun to establish branch offices in the Philippines to provide social services to Kopinos who are more or less 10,000 now; plus their mothers.
Another NGO, the Quezon City-based Kopino Children Association established by spouses Son Bum-sik, a Korean, and Normi Son, a Filipino; shelters a number of Kopino children.
Son said the rise in the number of fatherless Kopinos was a product of the mindset of Koreans who just “enjoy life.” Most fathers of Kopinos are tourists, students and businessmen who visited the Philippines for a short time and then went back to their home country. About 90 percent of the mothers of Kopino children work as bar girls or in brothels.
He explained that the Korean cultural history in the past of disapproving mixed marriages has been a factor in the abandoning of Kopino offsprings by their fathers. And by Korean law the chances for Kopino children to acquire Korean citizenship cannot happen unless their parents get married.
Business interests
and local investments
Koreans are impressed on Clark zone’s progress as an investment haven in the Asia Pacific region. At present, economic activities are predominant at the Freeport zones of Clark and Subic with the globally competitive Hanjin ship-building facilities in Subic Zambales as the single gigantic leap. The Subic-Clark expressway is expected to generate economic activities along this area.
Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second largest flag carrier have been ferrying passengers routing South Korea to Clark zone using the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.
Jangwon Real Estate Development is invest P3 billion in partnership with a Filipino group to develop an integrated resort-type residential and commercial complex complete with a language institute in Angeles, Pampanga to cater to Korean retirees and their children’s education.
The Koreans are building over 13 hectares of land as site for a 700-unit condominium building, 105 residential units, 16 store units, a language institute and amenities.
Korean firms invest in RP bio-diesel, coco projects. The Philippines and South Korea have forged a $600-million five-year cooperative agreement to promote and develop bio-diesel projects in the Philippines. Two Korean companies, Environment Plasma Co. Ltd. and Eco Solutions Co. Ltd. will develop lands for bio-fuels feedstock. CJ Corp. of Korea, has invested $7.5 million for an animal feed production plant in San Rafael, Bulacan.
The UKCCLAP’s Executive Vice President Chung Eui Kwoon owns the Drupe International which exports frozen fresh Philippine fruits to Korea; the Vice-President Mr. Park Jung Keun is the President of the construction firm Baek Jae Sung Development Corporation, while Mr. Lee Gyu Pung is also into construction business.
Just a few spans more
A joyful mix of culture is something that can be relished here, a doing away of value attitudes without compromising norms.
A thought that in a way can be savored by a generous helping of what’s believed to be the best yogurt in the country served in Cold Spoon I, a Korean restaurant by the Friendship Highway in Angeles City.
To build goodwill and friendship, a major mall here hosted a Korean Fest recently to recognize the Korean communities in Clark and Metro Angeles area as a major player in the business and cultural diversity and affirming of Kapampangan friendship towards Koreans, their food and culture – a good way to learn from each other’s culture.
The fest included Korean cultural performances like the Buchaechum a Korean Fan Dance, the Ham Sasio a Korean Wedding Dance, the all too familiar Taekwondo and of course the demonstration of the world-famous Korean staple Kimchi.
Filipinos now enjoy Korean movies, music and television shows. The Korean group Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” was a current hit among youth, while local adaptations of Korean telenovelas “Lovers in Paris” and Stairway to Heaven” had hit primetime with “Jewel In the Palace,” “Jang Geum” and a few more as precedent.
Names common enough along Friendship Highway but should not stay too alien are Hyun Jeong Korean Mart where since the 1990s one can buy Korean Noodles, Frozen Dumplings, Fresh Lettuce, Pickles Radish, Dangmyon, Korean Ice Cream, Fish Egg, Sun Dubu (Soft Tofu), Soju (Korean Tofu.) It is also a restaurant that serves Dolsot Bibimbop, Jeyuk Dupbop, Yulmu Gukso, Ramyun, Kochujang Samgyupsal, Daeji Galbi, Galbi Jjim and many more.
Another old diner on the same stretch is Kiwon Korean Restaurant which serves any kind of Korean dishes most specially Bok jiri (a stew of blowfish, bean sprouts and bitter greens), Sunji Gook, Chajangmyun (black bean paste and vegetable noodles.)
The Friendship Highway can still better live up to its name and for it to realize the coming days where Kimchi, biobimbao and bulgogi can be served along side burong isda, sizzling sisig and kare-kare .
Indeed, the UKCCLAP and other organizations had their work cut for them, no wonder they had to hit the ground running, but theirs is an effort to sincerely and unrelentingly reach out both to their saram and Filipino brothers alike. Kamsahamnida!
