Angara illustrates stronger
Philippine - Korean diplomatic relations

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today cited the numerous facts and figures that prove how strong relations between Philippines and Korea continue to bear fruits, purely diplomatic and political in nature.

"The political alliance between the Philippines and South Korea goes a long way back. In fact, the government in Manila was among the first to send troops to the Korean peninsula to defend the South against the invasion from the communist North during the Cold War era," Angara said at the 60TH Family Reunion of Kookmin University in Soeul, South Korea.

"Today, Korea is the most important source of tourists for the Philippines. In popular tourist places such as Boracay, Bohol, Cebu or Palawan, the Koreans have become regulars. And apart from short-stay tourists, the estimated number of South Koreans who choose to permanently live in our country now stands at 46,000," he continued.

Angara said that Koreans began migrating in the country as early as 1950s when Korean students came here in great numbers to study business, science, economics, political science and agriculture.

Angara also said that many Koreans actually come to the Philippines today in order to learn English either in universities or in one of the numerous private language schools. He noted that some of these language centers even cater exclusively to Korean students.

Angara noted that the country has also been a recipient of Korea's cultural influence by way of patronizing a stream of television programs or soap operas popularly known as 'Koreanovelas'.

"Our country has been swept by the "Korean wave," a steady stream of TV programs or soap operas "made in Korea". These programs are shown on primetime Philippine television, and thousands of Filipinos religiously follow the stories in these deeply entertaining "Koreanovelas".

More importantly, Angara noted that Korea has continued to support the country's development effort to educate the illiterates through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Angara said that KOICA has been instrumental in the efforts to put up a "Digital Village" in Aurora province where farmers can use the Internet to access information on prices of goods, land records, weather forecasts, local government database and other agricultural knowledge support.

"Imagine if every province was connected to each other through a computer network where information could be downloaded in seconds. Think of the businesses to be spawned and the investments to come if such a system were in place," Angara said.

"Since Korea is acknowledged globally as a leader in wide broadband and recognized as having the highest internet penetration rate in the whole region, I envision that someday Filipinos, hand in hand with the Koreans, will be highly modernized in information technology. I believe the people of Korea have recognized the talent and skill of our workers - proof of this are the many Filipino workers in Korea. And similarly, the country is a host to the biggest overseas Korean population in the region," he continued.