MANILA – Filipinos and Koreans shared their love for each other’s cultures at the 2015 Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival last October 4 at Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila.
Celebration of ‘Filipino-Korean Friendship’
Ambassador KIM Jae-Shin expressed his delight with the increasing cultural exchange activities of both countries. “More and more Filipinos are becoming fond of Korean food, K-Pop dance and music, and Korean films and TV shows. With the growing popularity of Hallyu or the Korean Wave among many Filipinos, this cultural exchange festival will serve to further enhance the cordial relationship between Korea and the Philippines,” said Ambassador KIM.
Meanwhile, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) OIC-Executive Director, Adelina Suemith said, “Through this festival, we celebrate that which unites us, while at the same time, draw attention to our own unique cultural gifts. We hope that the performances featured today would inspire us to delve deeper into the wealth of our own traditions, to enforce a better understanding of each other.”
Performances
The Philippine and Korean national anthems were performed by the Philippines-Korea United Choir which was composed of 200 Filipino and Korean Choir members.
Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group showcased their renowned Philippine folk dance routines to the thousands of attendees in the event. Since 1986, the group has been one of Cultural Center of the Philippines’ leading resident companies and has presented over a thousand traditional folk dance performances in the Philippines and abroad.
Likewise, Korean traditional group Yeonhee Company Uhee wowed the audience with their joyful performances that was presented similar to a contemporary play. The group consists of young professional artists who streamline Korean traditional performances by encouraging the audience to be involved in completing the act.
K-Musical students of Korean Cultural Center (KCC) are the main leads of the Hanbok Fashion. Alongside with the fashion show, they performed the Korean musical “Chunhyang-jeon”. Chunhyang-jeon is one of the best known traditional love stories of Korea.
Rookie K-Pop idol groups FameUs and Asha also performed as special guests at the festival.
Competitions and Activities
Aside from traditional performances were Speech and Talent competition for Filipino and Korean participants. The competition showcased Filipinos performing in Korean and Koreans performing in Filipino. Preliminary rounds were held last September.
For the Speech Contest, Kevin Basco won the Korea Speech Category and CHOI Yeonjin won the Filipino category. Each received a trip for two to Korea.
In the talent category, six-member dance group Nemexis Crew won the grand prize with P50,000. Filipino Saxophone Team, ERA and 24-Minute won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
Hanbok-wearing and Korean photo exhibition were also prepared for the audience to experience Korean Culture.
The Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival is an annual event hosted by KCC and the Embassy of Republic of Korea together with the United Korean Community Association in the Philippines (UKCA) and the NCCA. This event aims to have a better understanding of both countries culture and tradition through the musical performances and various cultural activities.
Last September 24 and 27 the regional leg of the Cultural Exchange Festival was held in the cities of Iloilo and Baguio. (Eagle News Service/Korean Cultural Center)
