Buhay sa Korea

hooray! a very popular filipino band will perform in seoul… learned about this through a friend and a trip to hyehwadong… the concert will be held on the 16th of april, sunday at 4PM right after the Sunday Mass for the filipino community… but instead of the Mass being held at the Church, it will be at the Dongseong Auditorium…

the band is none other than “parokya ni edgar”… the concert’s title is “awit ng parokya, alay sa kapwa”… tickets are available for 10,000 won ($10) — a bargain!

so if you’re a pinoy in korea and you’d like to see the band play, then drop by hyehwadong on a sunday afternoon and go to the Church, where there are people selling tickets…

From the ABS-CBN News website, it was reported that at least 66 people (which could unfortunately still rise) have been killed in a stampede at the ULTRA where a television show will celebrate its first anniversary.  Things like this could have been avoided.  I remember almost the same thing happening last year here in Korea.

It was in October of 2005 when 11 people died at the Sangju Sports Arena in Gyeongsangbukdo.  It was a Sunday and we just got back from watching a movie when almost every channel on television was reporting about the accident.  The images shown were hair-raising.

One of Billy Joel’s songs goes like this… “Honesty is such a lonely word, Everyone is so untrue”. I couldn’t agree more specially these days when you hear about a president who had lied to her countrymen and a scientist who had lied to the world. You’d think that this world has no more hope!

Enter Cristina Bugayong… she isn’t a famous teen star nor an athlete but she’s been reaping praises and rewards left and right back home in the Philippines. For what? For her honesty. That virtue has become so rare that when you hear a story about a poor 12-year old girl returning 300,000 pesos (roughly US$6,000) in cash and checks to its rightful owner, you just have to join in the chorus of praises. She did not keep the money to herself like some people would have done had they been in her shoes. She doesn’t have a master’s degree nor a phD but she absolutely knew the right thing to do. Maybe she can teach a president and a scientist a lesson or two.

She is a role model for the young and I hope she would hold on to her values. I can just imagine our national hero, Jose Rizal, with a big smile on his face thinking… may pag-asa tayo sa kabataan natin.

Precious is the fourth Miss International beauty title holder from the Philippines. Other winners were Gemma Cruz, Aurora Pijuan and Melanie Marquez. Congratulations! You were born to be a beauty queen. Visit her official website at Precious Lara Quigaman.

TOKYO, JAPAN: 2005 Miss International winner Miss Philippines Precious Lara Quigaman, 22, (C), receives kisses from first runner-up Miss Dominican Republic Yadira Geara (L) and second runner-up, Miss Finland Susanna Laine (R) in a photo session of the 2005 Miss International beauty pagent in Tokyo 26 September 2005. Fifty-two beauties competed for the Miss International crown. AFP PHOTO / Kazuhiro NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)
Click for picture!

Source: Miss Philippines wins Miss International 2005

Last week, I was contacted by a young man from GMA Network asking me questions about Korea and specifically, about “pinoys” living in Korea. I haven’t been watching Filipino TV the past few months so I’m not updated about the new shows on ABS-CBN and GMA 7, the Philippines’ largest broadcasting networks. Actually, there is no Filipino TV in Korea… meaning no TFC nor Pinoy TV!!! Why not? There are about 50,000 documented pinoys in Korea and I’m sure most of them have been missing the shows and actors in the Philippines. Two years ago, somebody who works for an ABS-CBN subsidiary told me that the we’re going to offer their Filipino channel in Korea… but I guess his information was wrong. Pinoys in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea are luckier since they have access to The Filipino Channel. Our only option is to subscribe to ABS-CBN Now! I did that before but the quality of their videos is unsatisfactory, though worth the $5 that you have to pay per month. One might say that korean dramas are the rave and we’re lucky to be living in Korea, being able to access those shows… BUT they don’t have Jean Garcia (I miss Madam Claudia Buenavista)… Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz (hehehe!)… Regine Velasquez… Star in a Million… The Buzz… The Probe Team on their television channels!!!

Anyway, the guy who called me works as a researcher for the program “Pinoy Abroad“, a show about Filipinos living abroad, hosted by Rhea Santos and Ivan Mayrina (he was a schoolmate in Angeles City, and was my niece’s classmate). He said that their staff will go to Korea in mid-October and that they want to feature the lives of Filipinos here. I have been staying here for two years and I don’t really know a lot so I referred him to Fr. Glenn of the Hyewhadong Church and Jan, who’s been living here for ten years and speaks Korean fluently (she’s so good… she should be a translator). I think I shared with him my experiences before coming to Korea, like getting a visa, attending a CFO seminar (more on this in future posts) and my first impressions of the country.

I’m really excited about this show and I hope to be able to see it. Other shows in the Philippines have been here like “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” (they interviewed Bi and Song Hye Gyo), “Reporters’ Notebook,” and “Extra Challenge” (where Cesar Montano, Sunshine Cruz, Carmina Villaroel and Zoren Legazpi were challenged on the snowy slopes of Korea) but I think “Pinoy Abroad” is going to be different…

I received a call this morning from a Filipino organization here in Seoul. They are looking for Filipinos who would like to fill-in positions for “personnel assistant” (maybe “personal” … not sure, thought I heard her say that) and helpers for a sauna.

So if you’re a Filipino and looking for a job, better call them at 02-462-3575 and ask for Marie. Good luck!

This is the title of a thread in Pinoyexchange that caught my attention. I thought it was an old thread revived or bumped just for fun. Unfortunately, it’s for real and I was saddened because it wasn’t a long time ago when I read on Ms. Luchie’s site about a Filipina in the same country who gained attention for her scholastic achievements. Now this might be another setback for those who are trying to improve the image of their “kababayans” abroad. Read more from this PEX thread…