MANILA — The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines aims to stage bigger cultural shows next year when the Philippines and Korea mark the 70th year of their bilateral relations.
“We are planning to create and organize bigger events and projects to celebrate the friendship of two countries,” KCC Director Lee Jincheol told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday afternoon.
Without mentioning names, he said the KCC plans to invite more Korean and Filipino performers to participate in the “milestone event.”
Last Saturday evening, KCC, in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the United Korean Community Association (UKCA), held a cultural show as a final activity for the 27th Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival in Aliw Theater in Pasay City.
“Every year, we try to invite different Filipino and Korean traditional performers to showcase the variety of each culture that we have,” Lee said.
This year, the National Folk Dance Company of the Philippines, “Bayanihan,” and the National Gugak Center from Korea’s Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism were among the performers.
Lee said performers from the National Gugak Center are among top performers in their field.
Admission was free, and attendees also witnessed the performances from Buk Chum-Drum Dancing Team from Cainta Sejong Hakdang, and opera singer “Bless.”
Millennials also enjoyed the performances from Filipino group SB19 and K-Pop group BNF.
During the finale, all performers sang “Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko,” using a mixture of Tagalog and Korean languages. “You can see the efforts of both Korean and Filipinos in learning the Korean and Filipino languages. Their performances show their passion and love for each other’s culture,” Lee noted.
The director said staging a cultural show like this aims to showcase the “ever-growing friendship” and cultural partnership between the Philippines and Korea.
“The presence of Korea and Korean culture in the Philippines has become stronger. This kind of festival helps the Filipinos and Koreans to understand and appreciate more each other’s culture,” Lee said, adding that what the public saw last Saturday was a harmony between traditional and modern culture through K-Pop performances.
“Also, the participation of the Filipino youth, who performed using Korean traditional instruments and Korean language is something that makes us, Koreans, proud. Their performance shows the extraordinary talent of Filipinos and their open-mindedness in embracing and learning other cultures,” Lee pointed out.
The executive added he is happy to see that many Filipinos and Koreans are looking forward to this yearly event.
“I hope there will be more Filipinos and Koreans who could dedicate their time in performing Korean traditional performances,” he said. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
