Seoul diplomacy and 'Only You'

For the past 10 years UNESCO National Commission of Korea with its Category Center – APCEIU or Asia Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding, has been holding youth camps all over Korea for Asian students and teachers. Free board and lodging, cultural and science field trips are provided, except round trip tickets which are on the account of the students and companion teachers and parents who wish to join.

APCEIU also organizes workshops like the photography session held at the Ifugao Rice Terraces a few years ago.

The following feature article “Seoul Diplomacy and ‘Only You’” by retired Ambassador Jose Abeto Zaide gives a comprehensive insight to a variety of Korean economic, educational, agricultural and industrial projects going on in the Philippines for the past 60 years.

60 years of Korea-Philippines relation

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s sojourn to the Republic of Korea (ROK) was to build a strong and symbiotic partnership with one of our largest trading partners and to participate in the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue.

President Arroyo’s stay in Seoul last May 30-31 was on the invitation of Republic of Korea President Lee Myung Bak on the auspicious year of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The working visit enabled both leaders to give a flip to new directions for the widening and deepening of partnership and to chart new directions for a strategic and prosperous region, especially in economic and trade areas, development cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

The present generation of Korean leaders is steeped in the memory of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK) which distinguished itself at the Korean War in the ’50s. Moreover, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, a former Korean Foreign Minister, informed this writer that as a senior diplomat he had negotiated with Manila to provide third-country transit for North Korean refugees from China; and that this exceptional accommodation has Seoul’s abiding gratitude. On the cultural side, President Arroyo recently gave fulsome and unilateral support to ROK’s successful bid for Yesou to host Expo 2015.

100,000 Koreans here, 60,000 Filipinos in South Korea

The next generational relationship is a work in progress. On people-to-people exchanges, the previous one-to-one ratio of expats residing in each other’s country has changed dramatically to nearly two Koreans for every one Filipino: there are an estimated 100,000 Koreans living in the Philippines to 60,000 Filipinos living in South Korea. Many residents here represent chaebols like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, etc., as well as the nearly 900 small entrepreneurs. But the largest number are students who avail the services of educational institutions in this country, and who will take back to South Korea the best memories of their stay here. On our side, our young are mesmerized by ABS-CBN Korean telenovelas like the “Princess Hour” and Korean matinee idols. (Before this, 18 TV episodes of “Jewel in the Palace” intrigued Filipinos with the historical film of the Ancient Korean Palace ladies–in–waiting and their expertise in Korean herbal cuisine.)

In the sincerest form of flattery, our television network did a remake of the Korean telenovela “Only You,” using local actors Angel Locsin, Diether Ocampo and Sam Milby. To reciprocate this, there is an incipient Korean TV broadcast of Filipino cultural fare for enculturation of Filipino children in ROK as well as to draw Korean interest. Finally, in filial duty to honor and respect elders, the Philippine Retirement Authority counts Korean retirees as the largest foreign group availing of its program of retirement in this country.

5th largest investor with $33-billion investment

During her stay in Seoul President Arroyo witnessed the signing of 10 agreements on labor, trade and energy. A $13-million grant-in-aid for construction of rice processing complexes in Pangasinan, Bohol and Davao del Sur was signed at the Blue House. It was followed by MOUs on employment permit system (EPSD); labor and manpower development cooperation; feasibility study on the multi-industry cluster program (IC); and agricultural, scientific and technical cooperation. A separate friendship agreement between Benguet Province and Chungcheungbukdo Province was inked. (Koreans are present as high as in Sagada, Benguet Province). The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency also signed an institutional cooperation agreement.

(From SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga’s latest update) Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. which opened in 2006 at the Subic Freeport has now a total investment of $2.54 billion. This is from the P40-million modern training center which has three classrooms, 70 welding booths, one pipefitting room, four painting rooms and a large working area that can accommodate a maximum of 200 trainees and instructors in 2006 and the $330-million contract entered into with the United Arab Emirates in 2008.

The shipbuilder has created 4,000 new positions on top of the 16,000 jobs that now exist at the firm’s Redondo Peninsula shipyard. This makes Hanjin still Subic’s top employer.

Bilateral trade between the Philippines and South Korea has passed the $5-billion mark, and Korea is our 5th largest investor with investments reaching $33 billion. Several Korean businessmen interested in investing in the Philippines have approached the DFA for a meeting with the President during her visit.

The ASEAN-Korea Summit in Jeju

After the bilateral visit in Seoul, President Arroyo and the Korean President Lee flew to Jeju to join the other nine ASEAN leaders at the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-Korea Dialogue relations from June 1 to 2. The summit tackled different pressing issues with the aim of strengthening ASEAN-Korea cooperation to address regional and global challenges such as the financial crisis, energy security and climate change, as well as the recent developments in the Korean Peninsula.

The summit follows through on the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) framework for the creation of a network of Bilateral Swap Arrangements (BSAs) among the ASEAN + 3 countries. In response to the “Asian Meltdown” member countries started this initiative to manage short-term liquidity problems and to facilitate the work of other international financial arrangements and other organizations like the IMF. In February 2009, the fund was hiked to $120 billion from its original $80 billion in 2008. The ASEAN pledged $19.2 billion of the amount (to which the Philippines commits $4 billion); RoK $24 billion and the major partners China and Japan $38.4 billion each.

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