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Mrs. Eun Mi Yoon,
Hyung Dae Kim and Ishikawa Yoshihisa |
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Babe Romualdez,
Consul Oscar de Venecia and Franklin Drilon |
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Egyptian
Ambassador Salwa Moufid flanked by Mme. Dalides
Eneida Cruz and Ambassador Juan Felipe Pitty |
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Spanish Ambassador
Luis Arias Romero and Norwegian Ambassador Torstein
Stole Risa |
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Text By Francesca L.
Ortigas
Photos By Butch C. Bonsol
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On October 3, the Korean
community around the world comes together to celebrate its
Foundation Day, or “Opening of the Sky Day.” The day is
significant because it commemorates the symbolic birth of
the nation some 5,000 years ago when, as legend has it,
Korea’s founding father, Tangun, the son of the King of
Heaven, created the first kingdom, or the Choson Kingdom in
2333 B.C.
In Manila, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, led by
Ambassador Hong Jong-Ki and his wife Mme. Lee Byungjin along
with embassy officials and staff hosted a reception at the
ambassador’s residence to mark Foundation Day. Guests from
the diplomatic and consular corps as well as the business
community, government and the media came in full force for
the festivities, spilling out into the sprawling grounds of
the residence.
Acknowledging the robust bilateral relations and shared history
between the Philippines and Korea, Ambassador Hong Jong-Ki
wrote: “The ties that bind Korea and the Philippines have
become increasingly stronger throughout the years and have
stood the |
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test of time.” He noted
that the Philippines was a close ally during the Korean War
and sent 7,000 members of the Philippine Expeditionary
Forces to Korea to fight for our democracy. “Korea’s
commitment to the Philippines stems from this resolute
bond,” he added.
Over the last 50 years, the country has come a long way from
having an agricultural economy to a manufacturing and
service-centered economy, and in the process it has emerged
as a global economic power with the 12th largest economy in
the world today. For this, Korea has been called the “East
Asian Miracle.”
Today, Korea is also the eight biggest trading partners of
the Philippines, with trade volume totaling USD6 billion in
2006, and that figure is expected to increase with the
recent signing of the Korea-Asean Free Trade Agreement.
Korean companies with interests ranging from shipbuilding,
power generation and manufacturing, are among the top
investors in the Philippines. Likewise, Koreans now make up
the biggest numbers of tourist arrivals in the Philippines. |
