KOREA BULLETIN

KOREA BULLETIN
The official publication of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea
FROM
THE
APRIL 2015
AMBASSADOR‘S
DESK
KIM Jae-shin, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary
Mabuhay!
When I arrived in Manila
last April 16, 2015, I realized
that Mabuhay is a common
greeting in the Philippines. So
I looked it up, and learned that
it is the Tagalog equivalent of
“Long live!” that signifies a
salutation as well as a wish.
In my case, it could also
mean “live happy,” which is
how I feel about my posting
as Ambassador of Korea to the
Philippines. I am most delighted to be here because of a few
factors, foremost of which is
the country itself, with its natural beauty and its people who
are always ready with a smile.
Some folks have observed that
the summer heat of Manila can
only be beaten by the warmth
of Filipinos. After visiting this
tropical paradise a few times
in the past, and being assigned
here now, I could not agree
more with this observation.
Yet, it is not just the warmth
or the mabuhay spirit that fills
me with a sense of instant affinity with the Philippines. Like
most Koreans, I know too well
the role that Filipinos played
in our history. Sixty-five years
ago, barely two months after the Korean War broke out,
7,500 members of the Philippine Army arrived in Korea as
part of a United Nations contingent to help repel the incursion from the north. The Philippine Expeditionary Forces
to Korea or PEFTOK fought
bravely side-by-side with their
Korean allies. It is the kind of
valor that is worth remembering. The Battle of Yultong, for
example, is celebrated on April
23 of each year both in Korea
and in the Philippines. Needless
to say, the “Fighting Filipinos,”
as they came to be called, suffered 112 casualties, but it was
a sacrifice that was instrumental in the eventual development
of South Korea as a strong and
independent nation.
It is not surprising, therefore, that through the years
our partnership has become
deeper in such diverse areas
as foreign relations, bilateral
trade, investment, development
cooperation, and cultural and
people-to-people exchanges. I
am, indeed, honored and privileged to be a part of this most
auspicious phase in our nations’
common history.
As Ambassador, I will do
my best in order to enhance this
relationship, and pursue important activities toward this end.
First, although bilateral relations between our nations are
already ideal, I intend to improve it further in all ways and
in all areas possible.
Next, ours is a relationship
that is recognized by our governments at the highest level.
President Aquino has visited
Korea twice since President
Park Geun-Hye took office.
This year, the two leaders will
get the chance to meet again
when President Park attends the
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation) meeting in November in Manila.
In the aspect of economic
cooperation, Korea is proud to
be riding on the crest of unprecedented growth in the Philip-
KOREA BULLETIN
pine economy. Korean investors will have a key role in this
development, especially considering the continuing influx of
Korean tourists and immigrants
to the country. With an increasing trade volume between our
countries, I will continue to
encourage Korean businessmen
to set up or expand their operations in the Philippine market,
an arrangement that should
prove to be mutually beneficial
to us.
On a final note, since the
Korean Wave or Hallyu has
made serious inroads into the
Philippine psyche, I intend to
invite as many K-Pop stars
to perform before their evergrowing Filipino fans. This, of
course, will be just one of many
cultural exchanges that I am
expecting to see with the active participation of the Korean
Cultural Center.
As we celebrate life and
friendship, I believe that the
cultural ties between our people will become even stronger
in the years to come. I am delighted to be an active participant in this period of mutual
understanding, and I hope that,
during my tenure as Ambassador of Korea to the Philippines,
the relationship between our
nations will become even deeper and stronger.
Allow me to end this message with the familiar Filipino
expression for gratitude, with
the addition of a single word –
“po” – which, I think, is a very
nice and simple way of showing respect:
Maraming salamat po.
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FAREWELL MESSAGE
LEE Hyuk, Former Korean Ambassador to the Philippines
After two years and seven
months, my tour of duty in
the Philippines has come to
an end. I will be leaving with
much optimism and a feeling
of fulfillment knowing that, in
the performance of my duties,
I may have contributed toward
further enriching the relationship between the Philippines
and Korea.
Thus, in the last few
months of my tenure, I was
privileged to be a part of
events that further enhanced
this bond between Koreans
and Filipinos.
In February, for example,
I welcomed guests to Korea
Night (K-Beauty & Fun),
which was the culmination
of a three-day Korea medical
tourism event, and to the 2015
Philippines-Korean Contemporary Art Exchange, which
runs until May 27.
And last month, I witnessed the launch of the first
Korean Wind Tower System
in the Philippines during the
Signing Ceremony in Makati.
After living in this country
for two and a half years, I am
aware that supplying electricity to 7,107 islands could be
really challenging, especially
in the more remote areas. With
a severe power shortage anticipated this summer, the project
offers a viable and longer-lasting
solution to a recurring problem.
I also took part in the 4th
Arangkada Philippines Anniversary Forum which was
sponsored by the Joint Foreign
Chambers (JFC) of the Philippines. Our panel of foreign ambassadors – the first of its kind
ever convened in the Arangkada
forum – shed light on investment
and inclusive growth, with the
end in view of attracting foreign
businesses to invest in the Philippines.
This forum, together with
the launching of the SGV publication Doing Business in the
Philippines (Korean Translation), was very timely inasmuch
as I foresee a significant rise in
Korean investment in the Philippines in the near future. When
businessmen realize why they
should set up their companies
here and see the ease by which
they can do so, it becomes much
easier to attract investors.
One upshot of a rosy business climate is a rise in tourism.
In fact, people-to-people ex-
change between the Philippines
and Korea remains significantly
high. Many Koreans come to the
country as tourists or even as immigrants. Cebu and its neighboring provinces in the Visayas are
fast becoming popular destinations. On the other hand, many
Filipinos in the said region who
wish to visit Koreas used to go
to Manila to get their visa. This
is why the opening of the Korean Consulate in Cebu last March
18 was perceived to be not only
timely but even necessary. After
all, bilateral relations between
Korea and the Philippines are
riding the waves of development
in the Asia-Pacific region, and
tourism is an integral part of this
development.
Growth in tourism and business activity, however, can
sometimes lead to an increase
in criminality. This is why the
participation of the Embassy
delegation was indispensable to
the March 19 Joint DND-AFPDILG-PNP Coordinating Meeting on the Security Arrangements for Korean Nationals.
Attended by some of the highest
ranking officials in the Philippine Government, the meeting
intended to set the direction of
crime detection, prevention,
and resolution, specifically
pertaining to Korean nationals
in the Philippines.
It is a fact that one of the
challenges for potential Korean investors is the safety issue that was the subject of the
meeting. It was unprecedented
in the sense that the heads of
the pertinent agencies came
together to coordinate with the
Korean Embassy on the issue
of security of Korean nationals. It is efforts like this that
make us truly grateful to the
Philippine Government for
extending a very strong and
steady support in ensuring the
safety of our nationals.
In the end, I expressed –
and I still do express – confidence that with strong cooperation between Embassy and
the relevant Philippine agencies, the law and order situation will greatly improve, and
will promote the safety of Koreans and Filipinos alike.
For all these, as well as
for everything that further
enhanced already-strong relations between the Philippines
and Korea, I am, indeed, most
grateful.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
New Korean Ambassdor
arrives in the Philippines
Korea opens
Cebu consulate
PHL convenes meeting to
address safety concerns
Shinhan Bank
to open in Manila
Amb. LEE Hyuk ends his
two-year tenure
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Ambassador LEE attends
4th Arangkada Forum
Assembly Speaker visits
Malacañang, Congress
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4th Philippines-Korea
Contemporary Art
Exchange Exhibit opens
Korea opens Cebu consulate
Ambassador LEE Hyuk poses with the Cebu Consulate’s Minister-Counsellor and
Consul General LEE Ki-seog and staff during the opening ceremony last March 17.
Ambassador LEE attends
4th Arangkada Forum
Ambassador LEE Hyuk
participated in the 4th Arangkada Forum held last March 3
at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel,
and organized by the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC).
The forum, with the theme
“Invest Now for Inclusive
Growth!” highlighted the critical areas in need of reforms for
the achievement of inclusive
growth.
The forum also stressed
the need for a conducive investment environment for the
growth of seven important sectors recognized as drivers of
economic transformation.
Ambassador LEE sat on
the panel for investment and
inclusive growth, joining Ambassadors Philip Goldberg of
the United States of America,
Bill Twedell of Australia, Neil
Reeder of Canada, Ivo Sieber
of Switzerland, Kazuhide Ishikawa of Japan and Ambassador-designate David Strachan
of New Zealand.
“In order for the Philippines
to attract more foreign investors, the government must be
able to provide a more favorable investment environment
than other competing destinations in this region,” Ambassador LEE stressed, “However,
there is a need for the government policies to be more forward-looking, predictable and
credible so that foreign investors may not hesitate to make
long-term commitments.”
The panels included discussions on high employment-generating sectors, keys to unlock-
The Republic of Korea has
opened a consulate in the city
of Cebu last March 17 to serve
400,000 Korean tourists in the
province of Visayas and some
20,000 Korean residents. Visa
applications and processing
will also be accepted in the
consulate.
The consulate, headed by
Consul General LEE Ki-seog,
was established to protect and
service the Koreans within the
vicinity as Visayas is a popular
destination among tourists and
students. There are currently
15 direct flights from Seoul to
Cebu daily including the Korean carriers.
In a statement by MOFA,
“Cebu, where many Koreans
visit or reside, geographically
lies far away from Manila,
where the Korean Embassy in
the Philippines is located, so it
was difficult to protect Koreans
there or provide consular services in a timely manner. “
“The Consulate of the Republic of Korea is planning to
provide general consular services such as managing the
passports, notarization, issuing
visas for Filipinos and coping
with Korean-related incidents
or accidents rapidly and efficiently,” a statement from the
consulate said.
Shinhan Bank to open in Manila
Shinhan Bank, one of the
leading banks in Korea, is set
to open a branch in Manila this
September, having gained the
approval of the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP). The impending entrance in the Philippines is part Shinhan’s efforts
to aggressively expand its business overseas.
Shinhan has long been eyeing the Philippine banking industry for several years, having also dispatched a regional
specialist in 2011 for market
research.
In July last year, President
Benigno Aquino III signed the
Republic Act 10641, allowing
the full entry of foreign banks
in the Philippines. Following
the lifting of restrictions, Shinhan was able to quickly attain
the license to operate with a
few more procedures left to
complete.
Shinhan Bank was established in 1897, then as Hanseong Bank and has now set its
sights to opening branches in
Indonesia and Mexico. It currently has 16 branches around
the globe.
ing investment, transport and
power infrastracture and education and labor.
Arangkada
Philippines
was launched in 2010 as an
advocacy of the Joint Foreign
Chambers (JFC) to increase
investment and employment in
the Philippines by September
2016.
Korean Wind Tower System
to rise in the Philippines
President Benigno Aquino III confers the Order of Sikatuna to Ambassador LEE Hyuk during the latter’s farewell call to Malacañang Palace.
Odin Energy, a Korean firm
known for its utilization of wind
as a renewable energy, has entered
into a partnership with the National Power Corporation (NPC) of
the Philippines for the installation
of wind power generation facility
in the Philippines.
The signing ceremony was
held last March 10, with President
BAEK Young-mi of Odin Energy
and Ma. Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita of
NPC signing for both parties.
Odin Energy is set to install
wind power generation facility in
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one of the missionary areas in the
country. This will also be a pilot
project for the Korean company
in the Philippines, costing an estimated $2-million. NPC, for its
part, will be providing the project
site and documentary requirements.
NPC is currently looking into
three possible sites, namely the
Lubang Island in Mindoro, Polillo
Island in Quezon and Ticao Island
in Masbate. Construction for the
wind towers is slated to begin in
May 2015.
3
National Assembly Speaker meets
PHL president, House Speaker
Korean National Assembly Speaker CHUNG Ui-hwa with President Benigno Aquino
III (top) and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte (bottom) during his visit to the
Philippines last March.
(Photo sources: Malacañang Photo Bureau and http://korea.assembly.go.kr/)
A delegation of the National
Assembly of Korea, led by
Speaker CHUNG Ui-hwa, visited the Philippines last March
15-17, meeting with President
Benigno Aquino III, Senate
President Franklin Drilon and
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.
During his visit, Speaker
CHUNG requested the Philippines to strengthen the protection measures for Korean
residents in the Philippines,
and exchanged opinions on the
current issues between the two
countries and ways to bolster
the inter-parliamentary cooperation with Philippine leaders.
The National Assembly
delegation also discussed how
to strengthen bilateral cooperation, later adopting a resolution
on amicable partnership between the two countries.
Speaker CHUNG and his
delegation also sat in on a plenary session of the House of
Representatives.
During their discussion,
Speaker Chung expressed
gratitude to his counterpart for
making time for the Korean
delegation despite the House’s
busy schedule with the plenary
session.
4
Noting that over 80 thousand Koreans currently live
in the Philippines, he stressed
that when a pending immigration reform bill is passed by the
parliament, these Koreans will
enjoy more secure living conditions.
For his part, Speaker Belmonte stressed that Koreans
represent the single largest nationality of tourists to the Philippines, and that many Korean
nationals live in the country.
He also said that the immigration reform bill is in the final
stage before enactment, and he
expected it to be signed soon
by the parliament. The new
act will help make immigrants’
lives more convenient compared with the original 1941
law, he added.
Speaker CHUNG was accompanied by the National
Assembly members PARK
Dae-Dong, CHUN Soon-Ok,
PARK Hae-Ja, PARK SeongHo, PARK Kwang-On, YI
Wan-Young, and YUN Jae-Ok.
His visit was made four years
after then Speaker of National
Assembly PARK Hee-Tae’s official visit to the Philippines in
2011.
PHL govt convenes meeting for
security of Korean nationals
The Philippine government
recently convened a security
meeting between its Local Interior Department, Philippine
National Police (PNP), Armed
Forces of the Philippines
(AFP), and the Department
of National Defense (DND)
last March 20 at Camp Aguinaldo to discuss how to further
strengthen its measures on ensuring the safety of the Korean
nationals in the Philippines.
The meeting, led by Interior
Secretary Mar Roxas, was in
line with the government’s efforts at addressing the security
concerns of foreigners in the
country, especially the Korean
nationals.
In the same meeting, PNP
PNP CSupt. Ericson Velasquez
enumerated the measures that
his office has undertaken to
address the security concerns
of the Korean nationals in the
country.
Sec. Roxas said that President Aquino III “values very
much the close relations the
country has with Korea.”
PNP has earlier created a
Korean desk to monitor cases
involving Korean nations.
The meeting was also attended by Ambassador LEE
Hyuk, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Defense Secretary Voltaire
Gazmin, Tourism Secretary
Ramon Jimenez, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Philippine Ambassador
to Korea Raul Hernandez and
AFP Chief-of-Staff Gen. Gregorio Catapang.
New Ambassador
KIM Jae-shin assumes position
T h e
new
Korean Ambassador to
the Philippines, KIM
Jae-shin,
arrived in
the country last April to assume to position previously
filled by LEE Hyuk for almost two years.
Prior to his assignment to
the Philippines, he served as
an ambassador to Germany
and in 2010, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of
Affairs (MOFA).
“Recently there have been
some notable achievements
in the defense industry, development assistance, personal
interchange, and cultural exchange between the Philippines and Korea,” Ambassador KIM said in his message
to the Filipinos, “Therefore,
the comprehensive partnership has been intensified and
advanced. Korea and the Philippines have become close
neighbors, especially in 2014
KOREA BULLETIN
when over 1.6 million personal interchanges were accomplished and as it turns out,
over 10,000 Filipino international marriage immigrants
are now living in Korea.”
He ensured that the Embassy will continue its efforts
to deepen and develop the
relations between Korea and
the Philippines, as well as
ensuring the safety of the Korean nationals in the country.
Ambassador KIM graduated from the Korea University with a BA degree in Political Science and International
Relations. He joined the diplomatic service in 1980, and
served in Myanmar, Japan,
the United States and China.
For MOFA, he worked for
the Asian and Pacific Affairs
Bureau and the Northeast
Asian Affairs Bureau.
Ambassador KIM also
served as Senior Assistant
Secretary for the National Security Council, and Secretary
for Foreign Affairs of the Office of the President. He was
awarded the Order Service of
Merit (Red Stripes) in 2008.
art & culture
4th Phil-Korea Contemporary
Arts Exchange Exhibit opens;
highlights utopia
The Korean Cultural Center
in the Philippines launched the
4th Philippines-Korea Contemporary Arts Exchange Exhibit, entitled ‘Somewhere Out
There’ last February 27.
The exhibit features the
works of Filipino artists Christopher Zamora, Eric de Leon Zamuco and Lyra Garcellano and
of the Korean artists An Gyung
Su, An Se Eun, Hong Soun and
Jung Jae Ho; and expresses the
respective stories of the artists
on the ideal world, utopia and
happiness which might exist
somewhere else and which they
have vaguely yearned for. The
works also highlights the artists’ varied views on life goals
and the achievement of happiness which everyone is pursuing, relevant to his background,
experience and socio-cultural
environment.
In addition, Somewhere Out
There is aimed at exploring the
emerging styles of contemporary art both in the Philippines
and Korea.
HONG Soun, one of the
Korean participating artists
elaborates, “Historically, the
Korean Contemporary Art underwent a complicated transition between traditional art and
the avant-garde, resulting in a
distinct and unique Korean artistic expression. The Korean
Contemporary Art has developed a sense of awareness of
its own history and culture, and
has the potential to lead its own
future.”
The artistic tendencies of
the Philippine Contemporary
Art, on the other hand, are
evolving forms of expression
based on freedom and intelligence. The modern Filipino
artists freely explore their own
culture, and try to grasp the
essence and beauty from what
they have experienced. Their
Registration for new
KCC term set to open
The Korean Cultural Center
in the Philippines is set to open
its registration for the second
term of classes for the year
2015, with new schedules and
class offerings.
The online registration will
run from May 15 to 23, on a
first-come, first-served basis
and classes will begin on May
25 and is set to run until August
15, from Mondays to Thursdays.
efforts tell a deeper message
which the audience has missed,
giving them the opportunity to
rethink the present and reflect
on the future.
In his speech, Ambassador
LEE Hyuk said, “In keeping
with the theme of this exhibit, I
am confident that “somewhere
out there,” in the future, there
will be between our countries
more exchanges – cultural or
otherwise – that will further
strengthen the bonds among
people bound by history, tradition, and values. I am optimistic that the works shared by our
artists today will evoke in each
beholder a feeling of healthy
expectation for a better world.”
The 4th Philippines-Korea
Contemporary Art Exchange
Exhibit is one of the flagship
projects of the Korean Cultural Center, initially launched
in 2011 as an experimental
exchange project. Now held
annually, this exhibit is aimed
at expanding the exchanges
between Korea and the Philippines in the field of culture and
the arts.
The exhibit runs until May
27. Admission is free.
KCC to celebrate Children’s Day
Additional advanced language classes will also be
scheduled on Saturdays to accommodate a bigger number
of students seeking to advance
their knowledge on the the Korean language.
The culture classes, on the
other hand, include cooking,
dance class, samulnori, basic
gayageum class, taekwondo.
The first term ended with a
graduation recital last April 25.
In celebration of the Children’s Day, the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines
will be holding a workshop for
children on May 5 aimed at
providing children experience a
holistic view of Korean Culture
through its language, traditions,
history and food.
Included in the program is
the introduction of the Korean
culture through the screening of
Pororo, Korea’s iconic cartoon
character.
This will be followed by
Korean name calligraphy, a
basic Korean class consisting
of greetings, a coloring activity and Korean games such as
ddakji and tuho.
Ddak-ji is a popular Korean
children’s game, played with
cardboard disks that resemble
pogs.
Tuho, on the other hand, is
a Korean traditional game usually played during Chuseok, or
the Korean New Year. Players
attempt to shoot rubber-tipped
arrows in simple canisters from
around ten paces away.
The Korean holiday Children’s Day was popularized by
influential intellectual figure
BANG Jeong-hwan, following its conception by Korean
students and social leaders of
the March 1 Movement. It was
originally agreed to celebrate
Children’s Day on May 1, but
having overlapped with the Labor Day holiday, it was eventually moved to May 5.
In 1961, May 5 was officially designated as the Children’s
Day after having been written
in the constitution, together
with the children’s welfare law.
Nine years later, it was officially declared as a holiday.
The Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines is located at 2F Mancor Corporate Center, 32nd Street Bonifacio Global City, Taguig 1634. It can be reached
through landline no. 555-1711, or via email at [email protected]. Visit its
offficial website at koreanculture.ph
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