Buhay sa Korea

It irks me sometimes whenever I read something about stereotyping the Filipinos in Korea. As if all of us here are either factory worker (nothing wrong with this), prostitute or mail-order bride! While majority of the Filipino workers here are unskilled (?) and work in 3D jobs (dangerous, dirty, difficult), there are those who’ve managed to be employed in highly-technical and professional jobs.

The first Pinoy in Korea that I knew is an engineer. He came here a few years before I did. Still here Roger? Then there’s Kuya Reggie, who worked for a multinational company here and is currently working in Qatar. Last I heard, his former boss is courting him to come back here. I hope so… Most of the Pinoys I know here are working as engineers.

I also met a Pinay who worked for a major newspaper and later Korea Tourism Organization. She migrated to Australia with her family two years ago. Ate Weng?

I think the Pinay with the most enviable job is not Jasmine, but Cathy. She writes for The Korea Times. She goes to concerts for free. She gets to interview Hollywood and Korean stars. She even get calls from Andre Kim – the designer to the stars!

About two weeks ago, I met a Filipina whose (Pinoy) husband works for one of the top three companies in Korea. And then there’s Technomad.

Not to forget Mang Marlon a college professor. I also knew another college professor here (in Seoul), but I haven’t kept in touch with her for a very long time. There are also exchange students, scholars and graduate students, Mang Peter, who now works for an NGO.

There are more than 50,000 Pinoys here, both documented and TNTs. I know one TNT here who went home to the Philippines for a month because of his ailing father. His employer pulled all strings to bring him back to Korea.

Like I said above, there’s nothing wrong with being a factory worker. In fact, one of the most heart-tugging essays I’ve read is about the 3D workers. I read it about four years ago and it was written by a Westerner. He said something like some of the products admired worldwide are Made in Korea – by Filipino hands.

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