KOREA BULLETIN

KOREA BULLETIN
The official publication of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea
November 2013
FROM THE AMBASSADOR’S DESK
H.E. LEE HYUK
The state visit of His Excellency
Benigno C. Aquino III to Korea on
October 17-18, 2013 highlighted the robust relationship
between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea. The summit
meeting between Her Excellency President PARK Geun-Hye
and the Philippine president His Excellency Benigno Aquino
III, at the Blue House was intended to further bilateral relations
between the two nations. This objective was easily achieved,
with the Korean and Philippine governments signing three
memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in defense and
sports cooperation, including a loan assistance of US$80.4million to ease the adverse effects of flooding in the province
of Pampanga. Minister KIM Kwan Jin and Philippine Defense
Secretary Voltaire Gazmin signed the MOU where the Ministry
of National Defense of Korea and the Philippine’s Department
of National Defense will maintain “friendly military ties”
founded on “equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit.” As part
of this cooperation, the Philippines will be purchasing twelve
(12) Korean fighter jets to beef up its air defense capability.
President Aquino’s state visit pushed through despite a
7.2 magnitude earthquake that devastated the provinces of
Bohol and Cebu on October 15th. World leaders immediately expressed their sympathies and support, including President PARK. The Korean government and people pledged a
US$500,000 humanitarian assistance for the victims of the
earthquake, as well as the conflict in Zamboanga.
During his visit, President Aquino also had time to confer
the Lakandula Award on Jasmine Bacurnay-LEE, a Filipina
who was naturalized as a Korean citizen, and the first immigrant to be elected to Korea’s parliament. She represents the
immigrant sector, especially foreign women married to Koreans. The Lakandula Award is one of the highest honors to be
given to Filipino citizens who have done well, even those who
have chosen to reside in other countries.
Successive typhoons and the recent earthquake have placed
the Philippines in a very fragile state, but these natural phenomena should not cast a cloud on the rosy economic climate
that the country has been experiencing. The Republic of Korea
is privileged to be a part of this development, as it inaugurated
the Cavite Collaboration Center for Public Health on Septem-
ber 9. The construction of the center is meant to encourage and
sustain collaboration among stakeholders and develop the capacity of human resources in health. This project will lead to
a well-coordinated public health system, which will result in
better health service delivery that will benefit some 3 million
Caviteños.
Earlier, on September 2, Korea Water Resources
Corporation (K-Water) and the Government of the Philippines
signed the Certificate of Effectivity, which finally concluded
the purchase of the 218-MW Angat Hydro-Electric Power
Plant. The project is very important because Angat Dam is the
main source of water for Metro Manila. The dam and the power
plant are utilized for power generation, irrigation, water supply
and flood control.
As a testament to the rapid growth of the Philippines’ GDP,
Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) opened its latest branch last September 4 at the Clark Freeport Zone, where some one hundred
Korean companies are based.
Expectedly, cultural and people-to-people relations
continued to flourish. The Philippines, with its many attractions
and very friendly people drew in about one million Korean
visitors. And while many Koreans come to the Philippines to
learn English, a number of Filipinos also strive to learn Korean,
either for their own personal development or for employment
purposes. The 9th Employment Permit System–Test of
Proficiency in Korean, or EPS-TOPIK was held on August 11
and involved nearly 16,000 Filipinos aspiring to work in Korea.
The Korean Cultural Center has been greatly instrumental
in the growing popularity of the Korean language, as well as
other facets of Korean culture. It celebrated its second year anniversary after a string of activities that served to deepen the
existing bonds of amity and friendship between Koreans and
Filipinos. The Korean Alphabet Jewelry Exhibit was launched
on August 16, then the Hallyu Forum was held on September
17, followed by the Korean Film Festival, that kicked off on
September 18. The KCC also promotes Korean cuisine and
other art forms by offering lessons to the public. Judging from
the positive response of the Filipino public to these Korean activities, I see in the future a stronger, more meaningful relationship between the Philippines and Korea.
CONTENTS
KOR, PHL hold
bilateral
summit; ink three
deals
Korea celebrates
National Day
Korea donates US$
500,000 to quake
victims and Zamboanga
KOREA BULLETIN
Korea Exchange Bank
opens Clark branch
Hangeul exhibit to
close Nov 30
Cavite
Collaboration Hallyu Forum, anCenter for Public Health nual Korean Film
inaugurated
Festival held
1
KOR, PHL hold bilateral
summit; ink three deals
President PARK Geunhye held summit talks with
Filipino President Benigno S.
Aquino III during the latter’s
two-day state visit last October
17 and 18. They talked about
ways to boost cooperation
between the two countries,
where the talks covered
bilateral
cooperation
in
politics, security, investment,
trade, development, culture
and
human
resource
exchanges. The presidents
also discussed ways to jointly
deal with both global and
regional issues involving the
Korean Peninsula and East
Asia. This is the first state visit
by a foreign head of state to
Korea since President PARK’s
inauguration in February.
President PARK expressed
her hope that President Aquino’s visit could help deepen
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea celebrated
its National Day and Armed
Forces Day last October 3 at
the Ambassador’s residence.
Ambassador LEE Hyuk
led the celebration with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert
del Rosario, Jr. in attendance.
This marks the second
time that Ambassador LEE
has hosted the National Day
celebration since his posting
in Manila October last year.
In his speech, Ambassador
LEE noted that the year 2013
marks the official commemoration of the 60th anniversary
of the Korean War armistice,
signed on July 27, 1953.
“I wish to reiterate here
that the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea or
PEFTOK, which was part of
the United Nations Command
that defended the democracy
of South Korea.” Ambassador
LEE said. “I am quite certain
that this strong connection is
responsible for the nature of
diplomatic and economic interaction that our two countries are now enjoying. The
positive indicators of our bi-
2
bilateral ties, since the Philippines is one of the countries that participated in the
Korean War (1950-1953) and
the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
country with which Korea established diplomatic relations.
President PARK also expressed her deep sympathy
and condolences for those
who suffered from the Bohol
earthquake that caused loss of
many lives and property damages.
Both Presidents also witnessed the signing of three
agreements in areas of defense, disaster risk reduction
and sports.
Korea will be supplying
the Philippines with 12 fighter
jets following the signing of
Memorandum of Agreement
between Korean Minister of
National Defense KIM Kwanjin Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin last October 17.
Korea and the Philippines
also signed an MOU on sports
cooperation with Korean
Minister of Culture, Sports
and Tourism YOO Jin-ryong
and Foreign Minister of the
Philippines Albert del Rosa-
Korean Embassy celebrates
National and Armed Forces Day
Joining Ambassador LEE Hyuk (right) during the National Day celebration were (left) Brunei Ambassador Datin Paduka Malai Hjh Halimah
Malai Hj Yussof and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario (center).
lateral cooperation will attest
to this fact.”
There
are
currently
100,000 Koreans living in the
Philippines and the number of
Korean tourists is projected to
surpass one million; a testament to the flourishing peopleto-people relations between
the two countries. Conversely, there are approximately
50,000 Filipinos working in
Korea.
Korea is the fifth trading
partner of the Philippines,
ranking sixth in export volumes and fifth in imports. In
2012, the bilateral trade volume increased to US$11.5 billion. Within this framework,
Korea’s exports to the Philippines reached US$8.2 billion
and US$3.3 billion for imports.
KOREA BULLETIN
rio signing on behalf of both
countries. Finally, Export Import Bank of Korea chairman
and president KIM Yonghwan
and Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima and signed the Loan
Agreement for the Integrated
Disaster Risk Reduction and
Climate Change Adaptation in
the Low Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay Project.
Korea pledges aid
for Zamboanga and
quake victims
The Korean Government,
through its Embassy in the
Philippines, will be providing
humanitarian aid to the
affected provinces of the 7.2
magnitude earthquake that
rocked Bohol last October
15, as well as to the people
of Zamboanga in light of the
recent armed conflict.
In coordination with the
Department of Foreign Affairs
of the Philippines, US$200,000
will be given to assist the
people
of
Zamboanga,
whileUS$300,000 will go
to the provinces of Bohol
and Cebu to help in relief
operations.
His Excellency LEE Hyuk,
Ambassador of the Republic
of Korea to the Republic of
the Philippines, expresses his
heartfelt condolences to the
families and victims of the
earthquake, and of the armed
conflict, and hopes for their
immediate recovery.
Korea Exchange Bank
opens Clark branch
The Korea Exchange Bank
(KEB) opened its second
Philippine office in Clark,
Pampanga last September 4 in
an effort to enhance its sales
network in the region.
The KEB is the largest
foreign exchange bank in
Korea, with 40 currencies in
trading. With the opening in
Clark, KEB now has 54 fullyoperational branches in 23
countries.
“The Philippine economy
is growing at a very favorable
pace, and the number of
Korean companies enjoying
the benefits of an export
processing zone is growing
along with it. The opening of
this KEB branch will surely
help ease the way that they do
business here.” Ambassador
LEE Hyuk said, citing that
there are presently 92 firms in
the Clark ecozone which are
either partially or fully-owned
by Koreans. KEB is confident
that the second office will
“serve as a cornerstone in
raising revenues from abroad
up to 15 percent by 2015.”
Cavite Collaboration Center for
Public Health inaugurated
The Korea International
Cooperation
Agency,
together with the Provincial
Government of Cavite and
the Department of Health
formally inaugurated the
Cavite Collaboration Center
for Public Health (CCCPH) at
the General Emilio Aguinaldo
Memorial
Hospital
last
September 9.
The KOICA-funded CCCPH is the third phase of the
Korea-Philippines Friendship
Project for the health sector
and is the first of its kind in the
country.
“Through
KOICA,
we agreed to support the
construction of the Cavite
Collaboration Center for
Public Health to encourage
and sustain collaboration
among
stakeholders
and
develop the capacity of human
resources in health. I believe
that this project will lead to a
well-coordinated public health
system, which will result in
better health service delivery
that will benefit some 3 million
Caviteños.” Ambassador LEE
said, stressing that the health
sector constitutes one of the
primary areas for development
cooperation between the two
countries.
The
US$3
millionworth CCCPH will house
Cavite’s
Epidemiology
and Surveillance Unit, the
Health
Promotion
Unit,
Water Analysis Laboratory,
Family Planning Unit, MultiPurpose Surgical Facilities,
Blood Collection Unit, TB
Diagnostic Unit, and offices of
the Technical Service, Korea
Overseas Volunteers (KOV)
and the Provincial Health
Team of the Department of
Health.
Present during the inauguration were Ambassador LEE
Hyuk, KOICA and DOH representatives, as well as Cavite
Governor Juanito Remulla and
Vice-Governor Jolo Revilla.
Ambassador LEE Hyuk is joined by Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) CEO
YUN Yong-ro (center) and other dignitaries during the opening ceremony
of the Korea Exchange Bank branch in Clark Freeport Zone. Courtesy
of KEB
K-Water, PHL partner to take
over Angat Dam Project
State-owned Korea Water Resources Corporation
(K-Water) and its Philippine
partner San Miguel Corp., are
taking over the 218-megawatt
(MW) Angat hydroelectric
powerplant (HEPP) project in
Bulacan following the official
turnover of the Certificate of
Effectivity (CoE) last September 2.
Power
Sector
Assets
and Liabilities Management
(PSALM) Corp. President and
Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ledesma, Jr. handed
over the CoE to K-Water vice
president for overseas buying
business YUNE Byunghoon
with Korean Ambassador LEE
Hyuk in attendance, as well
as representatives from the
Department of Finance, the
National Power Corporation,
National Irrigation Administration, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
and the local government of
Norzagaray, Bulacan.
K-Water placed a bid of
US$440.88 million for Angat
HEPP, besting five others.
Angat HEPP consists of
four main units, each with a
50-MW capacity. With the
turnover, K-Water will be
overseeing the operations and
the maintenance of the powerplant.
Established in 1967, Kwater has been implementing national water resources
management policies regarding multi-purpose dams, water
supply dams and regional water supply systems in Korea.
3,911 pass EPS-TOPIK
The Philippine Overseas
Employment Agency (POEA)
released the list of passers for
the ninth Employment Permit
System - Test of Proficiency
in Korean (EPS-TOPIK) administered last August 11 in
the cities of Manila, La Union,
Cebu and Davao.
At 3,911, the number of
aspiring workers to Korea has
increased, which was orginally pegged at 2,800.
The EPS-TOPIK exam
is administered by Human
KOREA BULLETIN
Resources Development Services of Korea (HRD Korea)
together with the cooperation
of the POEA and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The Employment Permit
System
allows
Korean
employers to legally employ
foreign
workers.
It
is
aimed towards regulating
employment in Korea. EPSTOPIK passers are eligible to
apply for work in Korea.
3
Arts & Culture
Annual Film Festival highlights the
new wave of Korean cinema
Minister MIN Kyong-ho (center) is joined by the Director of the Korean
Cultural Center HWANG Seong-un (L) and General Manager of CJ Entertainment Vietnam JUNG Tae-sun during the opening night of the 2013
Korean Film Festival at SM Megamall last September 18.
Top-grossing film “A
Werewolf Boy”, starring popular actor SONG Joong-ki,
opened the 2013 Korean Film
Festival last September 18 at
SM Megamall. The film, about
the developing affections between a young “wolf boy”
and a girl, was included in the
roster of six featured films for
the the film festival which ran
until October 13 in select SM
Cinemas across the country.
For Manila, the film festival ran from September 18 to
22 at SM Megamall, followed
by screenings in SM City Iloilo from September 26 to
29, October 3 to 6 in SM City
Cebu and from October 10 to
13 at the SM Lanang Premier
in Davao.
Apart from A Werewolf
Boy (늑대소년), the films
screened were Green Days (
소중한 날의 꿈), Masquerade (광해, 왕이 된 남자),
Sunny (써니), Deranged (연
가시), and Dancing Queen (
댄싱퀸).
The coming-of-age animated film Green Days (소
중한 날의 꿈), featured the
voices of actors PARK Shinhye, SONG Chang-eui and
OH Yeon-soo.
Cast in the period film
Masquerade (광해, 왕이 된
남자) were Hollywood actor
LEE Byung-hun of the G.I
Joe fame and HAN Hyo-joo
as their respective characters
tackle the intricacies of court
life during the Joseon dynasty.
The critically-acclaimed
film Sunny (써니) retells the
story of the friendship of seven girls as they move towards
Hallyu Forum 2013 centers on film,
cooperation between KOR, PHL
Joining Ambassador LEE Hyuk (center) during the Hallyu Forum were
the panelists for the first panel, namely: (L-R) Prof. Patrick Campos,
Dean Roland Tolentino, Tito Valiente and KCC Director HWANG Seongun.
4
Jewelry exhibit celebrates Hangeul
The Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines launched
the Korean Alphabet Jewelry
exhibit last August 16 in celebration of the Hangeul Day or
the Korean Alphabet Day and
for the promotion of the aesthetics of this scientific writing
system of the Koreans.
This exhibit is aimed at disseminating the use of Hangeul
and to introduce the beauty of
the Korean alphabet through
the diverse accessories related
to the figures of Hangeul. In
addition, this exhibit is envisioned to be a step towards
the globalization of Hangeul
through the aesthetic value it
has.
There are 170 art pieces in
the exhibit from 26 artists.
The Hangeul or the Korean alphabet, composed of
14 consonants and 10 vowels,
was developed in 1444 and
was promulgated in 1446 during the time of King Sejong.
It was primarily developed
for the benefit of the Korean
masses because King Sejong
wanted to create a writing system that is easy to learn and
access. In 1997, Hangeul was
inscribed on the UNESCO list
of Memory of the World Heritage. The exhibit runs until November 30.
an inevitable reunion.
Thriller movie Deranged
(연가시) tackled the suicide
epidemic and a man’s search
for cure amidst the panic that
sweeps the country.
The film Dancing Queen
(댄싱퀸) tackled the story of
the wife of the Seoul mayoral
candidate and the conflicts of
her marital life.
The 2013 Korean Film
Festival is in cooperation
with the Korean Film
Council (KOFIC), the Film
Development Council of the
Philippines (FDCP), the Korea
Tourism Organization – Manila
(KTO), the Korea Copyright
Commission, SM Cinema,
SM Cinema Megamall, SM
Cinema Lanang and LG.
The Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines held the
second Korean Wave (Hallyu)
Forum last September 17 at
the Manila Hotel.
In cooperation with the
Ministry of Culture, Sports
and Tourism (MCST) of Korea, the Korea Organization
of International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) and the
Film Development Council of
the Philippines (FDCP), the
forum, entitled “Hallyu Forum
2013: The New Wave of Cinema,” explored the industries
of Korea and the Philippines
towards a more strengthened
cooperation between the two
countries.
Guests Patrick Campos of
UP Film Institute, Roland Tolentino of FDCP, Tito Valiente
of Gawad Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, PARK Ji-yin
of the Korean Film Council
(KOFIC), Filipino director
Ato Bautista and JUNG Taesun of CJ Entertainment Vietnam. Also in attendance were
Isabel de Leon, Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Editor, filmmaker
Jade Castro, Korean producer
Jonathan Kim and Jag Garcia
of the De La Salle-College of
Saint Benilde.
KOREA BULLETIN