Out of the Kloset Into Hallyu!

Carmina and Patch come out of the Kloset to own their BTS and K-Drama addiction. They stop fangirling long enough to discuss the Philippines' and South Korea's shared historical paths and ponder why Korean culture, as embodied by the Hallyu Wave, resonates so strongly with Filipinos. But it wasn’t all about “sarang” (love). They also discuss a 2020 controversy between Filipino and Korean netizens, explore emerging issues about Korean immigration to the Philippines, and their hopes for strengthened relations between the two. Most importantly, Patch solves a K-Drama mystery that has plagued them for many years!

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Thanks to the podcast's sponsor SOLEPACK. Visit thesolepack.com for more details.

For additional reading: The Birth of Korean Cool, Squid Game and the Korean concept of han, The Battle of Yultong, CLOY Inspiration, Good neighbors, [Analysis] Beyond Hallyu: Acknowledging the Koreans in our midst, Exploring Transnational Communities in the Philippines, Koreans in the Philippines: A Study of the Formation of their Social Organization, and Korea: The Impossible Country.  

View these to learn more: Front Row: Ilang Koreanong Pinoy at heart, The 1st Korean who Traveled Philippines in History, and March of The Valiant: The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea.  

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Transcript

Patch: 0:08

Hi Carmina.

Carmina: 0:09

Hi Patch! Hi listeners! Welcome to JeepneyTrip, a podcast where we explore everything fun, weird, and in between about the Philippines.

Patch: 0:21

A word about our sponsor.

Carmina: 0:24

JeepneyTrip is sponsored by SolePack, a functional shoe accessory bag. Its patented design stores your shoes on the sides of your backpack and provides an ergonomic and hygienic means to carry your shoes.

Patch: 0:38

Now you can travel hands-free, have more space inside your backpack and keep your dirty shoes away from everything. Be sure to also check out their string bags and backpacks for more options.

Carmina: 0:50

Visit thesolepack.com and enter JeepneyTrip10 at checkout for a 10% discount. Now back to our show. Today's trip is a K-Trip. K for Korea. This is the episode when we come out of the closet, spelled with a K. Anyeong, Patch!

Patch: 1:13

Anyeong, Carmina!<Laugh> a<laugh> That, that is, that is the, uh, summary of everything I learned about Hangul.

Carmina: 1:24

<laugh>. So I think we need to establish some things at the top of the episode, because I don't want our friends who are listening to think that this is gonna be us endlessly fangirling about our love of everything"K."

Patch: 1:43

Aren't we?<Laugh>

Carmina: 1:46

Don't hang up on me.<laugh>

Patch: 1:49

I was misled.

Carmina: 1:51

So I don't want them to turn us off.

Patch: 1:54

Yeah, good point. Okay.

Carmina: 1:56

It's not that kind of episode. Although, believe me, you and I know we can go on for days talking about that.<laugh> So with that, I'm here to reassure everybody that we're not here to talk about our BTS bias. Suga(whispered). V(whispered).

Patch: 2:13

< laugh>

Carmina: 2:14

- RM( whispered), Jin(whispered), Jungkook(whispered), Jimin(whispered), J-Hope(whispered).

Patch: 2:17

<laugh> Or our K-drama

Carmina: 2:23

Hyun Bin, Song Kang(whispered). Son Ye Jin(whispered).

Patch: 2:24

Gong Yoo.<laugh>

Carmina: 2:24

No, it's not that episode.

Patch: 2:30

Oh, bye<laugh>.

Carmina: 2:32

<laugh> Ano ka ba?

Patch: 2:32

This is gonna be a long recording, Carmina.

Carmina: 2:37

But on the flip side to those of our friends who would rather us talk about all of those things, I don't want them to turn us off either because I can guarantee that they'll also pick up a few things that they might appreciate.

Patch: 2:53

So why are we talking about Korea and Korean culture when this podcast is about the Philippines? Well, the primary reason is the popularity of Hallyu, right?

Carmina: 3:04

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Patch: 3:05

And in fact, the Philippines is third in the list of countries with the most K-pop fans, for example.

Carmina: 3:13

Wow.

Patch: 3:14

Yeah. Unsurprisingly, the Philippines surpassed South Korea to rank third in a list of countries with the most K-pop fans.

Carmina: 3:23

<laugh> That is amazing.

Patch: 3:25

Yeah. We're third behind Indonesia and Japan, according to Twitter, K-pop data for 2021 and also Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Indian Malaysia rounded up the top five. And that's just data about K-pop fans. We're not even talking about K-drama fans and other K-culture fans.

Carmina: 3:47

I think one of the reasons too, why we were so interested in doing an episode like this, the Korean wave or Hallyu, as you mentioned, it is really gaining global status now.

Patch: 3:59

And it's often said that Hallyu is part of the soft power of Korea.

Carmina: 4:05

So Patch, maybe we should discuss how each of us started getting hooked on this. I remember that you were already a big fan of their music from way back when, even before many discovered it.

Patch: 4:20

Yes. I was a big fan of big bang. I loved their music and my bias was P-O-P<laugh>. So...

Carmina: 4:29

Mine began when my nephew was two and a half, which was not so long ago, around 2017.

Patch: 4:36

Are you throwing your nephew under the bus, so to speak?<Laugh>

Carmina: 4:41

I hope he doesn't see it that way when he grows up, but around 2017, BTS<laugh>- I found another way to bring up BTS- was a guest on SNL. And I was babysitting him and my niece who is six years older than him and on the TV was a rerun of SNL. And BTS happened to be performing their song"Boy with Luv." He made us repeat it over and over and over. And so my niece and I were both very weirded out by this two and a half year old, who couldn't even speak full words yet, wanting to repeat the number over and over again. And then after maybe the fifth time we were dancing with him,<laugh>, in my living room.

Patch: 5:35

Are you going to claim that he made you dance too, or are we gonna be honest about this?

Carmina: 5:42

Let's just be honest. Who am I kidding?<laugh> So that-

Patch: 5:45

Full disclosure

Carmina: 5:46

- that was the beginning of my, um, obsession with BTS.

Patch: 5:51

<laugh>

Carmina: 5:53

Because when I started researching about them and going down that BTS rabbit hole, I found out all kinds of other facts that really made me admire, not just them, but Korea as a whole.

Patch: 6:10

Right. We often talk about the admirable qualities of the country, the culture, the language. I think a lot of this fangirling also has to do with our aspirations for our country. And I'm sure we're going to talk about this. There are similarities with our history that I didn't really, um, realize until recently,

Carmina: 6:37

In fact, if BTS was my gateway drug to the K culture<laugh>--

Patch: 6:43

Mm-hmm,<affirmative>

Carmina: 6:44

- what really made me an addict was"Crash Landing On You."

Patch: 6:50

Everybody loves"Crash Landing On You."

Carmina: 6:53

I think just the timing of the pandemic and when that came out, it really created the right environment for a lot of people like me to go deep into the K hole.

Patch: 7:06

Sure, sure. And it has nothing to do with Hyun Bin. Okay.

Carmina: 7:09

Of course.

Patch: 7:11

So for those who are not familiar, maybe the one or two people who are not familiar<laugh> with"Crash Landing On You," I did find a brief summary of what it is."Crash Landing On You" is set against an unexpected backdrop of North Korea and South Korea wherein Yoon Se-ri Son Ye Jin is the heiress to a South Korean conglomerate whose daring paragliding incident lands her within the neighboring country's forbidden military lines. She meets Ri Jeong-Hyeok played by Hyun Bin, a North Korean army officer who attempts to protect her and promises to assist her in returning safely to her home country. Did you know it was inspired by a true story?

Carmina: 8:02

Wow. No, I did not.

Patch: 8:04

Yeah. Apparently"Crash Landing on You" is about a South Korean actor, Jun Yang. In 2008, her boat was swept away by strong winds as it approached the Northern limit line dividing the two Koreas. She sent an emergency distress message to the coast guard. Needless to say, she found her way back home.

Carmina: 8:25

There was no North Korean soldier involved in her story?

Patch: 8:29

<laugh> I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Carmina: 8:33

Darn. Okay. But before we even go to the North and South Korea history, did you know, Patch that the first contact between Koreans and the Philippines happened in early history around the eighth century. There was this powerful Korean military general named Jang Bogo. He extended Korean trading activities to China, Japan, and other places in Southeast Asia, which of course includes the Philippines. His exploits were described in Chinese and Japanese writings. And there were some accounts in there about his contact with the Philippines. Then the next recorded interaction was in the 1800s in 1801. A group of fishermen were stranded in Jeju Island, which is in Korea. That was during the Joseon dynasty.

Patch: 9:34

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Carmina: 9:35

When these foreigners landed there, nobody understood what they were saying.<laugh> so what the Koreans did, guess what?

Patch: 9:43

What?

Carmina: 9:43

They sent them to China.

Patch: 9:45

<laugh> Of course

Carmina: 9:47

The Chinese didn't understand them either. So they sent them back to Korea where they stayed for nine years.

Patch: 9:58

Wow.

Carmina: 9:58

Can you imagine that? For nine years, nobody understood you.<laugh>

Patch: 10:02

Wow.

Carmina: 10:04

Sometime after those nine years, a Korean fisherman named Moon Soon-deuk went to JeJu Island and identified them as Filipinos.

Patch: 10:16

So Moon Soon-deuk, wasn't he in Vigan? And he was amazed at what he saw. He described these churches, the cooking methods that we used while he lived in the Philippines?

Carmina: 10:30

He was a Korean fish trader. During one of his fishing expeditions. He got caught in a typhoon and he drifted to Okinawa. He lived there for a few months and then set out to get back home to Korea but unlucky guy, he got into a typhoon again<laugh>. And this time he landed in Yeo-song, which is what was Luzon was called by the Chinese in that time. So when he drifted to Okinawa, Okinawa and Korea actually had an agreement for drifting fishermen. That was not the case in Luzon. So he had to find his own way home. And while he was doing that, to your point, he recorded his observations. He saw men cook, which was not common in Korea because in Korea, mostly women cooked. He also recorded the fact that the Filipinos used chairs when they ate. And then like you said, based on his writings about the beautiful churches and the descriptions of those churches in his writing, people guessed that he was in Vigan. He even wrote the words that he learned in Ilocano. So when he went back to Korea three years later since that first typhoon, he met a scholar who then recorded all of his adventures.

Patch: 11:56

In fact, Moon Soon-deuk has been acknowledged in Korea for his many contributions and testament to the friendship between Korea and the countries he visited. Part of which was the Philippines. And since 2015, Ui Island has been holding festivals that celebrate this. Scholars and experts from South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines gather together to discuss ways to achieve peace in Asia.

Carmina: 12:25

That's cool. So Patch, the next recorded interactions between Koreans and Filipinos happened in the mid 1800s. Because of the close relationship between Korea and China. During that time, there were Koreans who were living in Macau. One of them was a Catholic priest named Father Kim Dae Gun. Sometime in the 1830s, there was a riot among Portuguese and Chinese, and this group of Koreans escaped to the Philippines. So they were in the Philippines for several months and after the rioting, they returned to Macau. However, another riot broke out in Macau and they had to take refuge again in the Philippines.

Patch: 13:11

Oh my.

Carmina: 13:12

They lived in a monastery near Manila. And that actually became the foundation for the first Korean Catholic churches in the Philippines.

Patch: 13:22

So that's really fascinating, Carmina. And I wonder if that monastery or at least remnants of it is still standing in Manila today.

Carmina: 13:33

Yeah, that would be very interesting to find out. I found another reference that said that the first Korean generation in the Philippines was around 1935 or thereabouts, when several Koreans who were ginseng traders went to China by land in order to sell there and arrived in the Philippines via Vietnam. Now, I don't know if they really intended to come to the Philippines, but they ended up there.

Patch: 14:02

Was it because of another storm?<laugh>

Carmina: 14:05

It seems to be the main villain in all of these stories.

Patch: 14:10

<laugh>

Carmina: 14:12

I know we've been going down history lane, but I was just reflecting on some of the things that I read about Korea and it struck me that they were also a land of immigrants in the beginning. You know how we've talked about in past episodes that the Philippines was populated by clans who came to the country in the form of barangays, right?

Patch: 14:36

Right.

Carmina: 14:37

So Korea apparently was inhabited by peoples who also came in clans from north and Southeast Asia.

Patch: 14:45

I think mostly China and Japan.

Carmina: 14:48

And reminiscent of how the Philippines is mainly divided into our regions, right, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao?

Patch: 14:56

Right.

Carmina: 14:57

Korea also had three kingdoms before they were united. And those were the Goryeo, Silla, and Baekje regions. But I think one big difference that Korea has from the Philippines is that those three kingdoms were united very early in their history, around 920 to around 935 AD. So as a result, they have a very rich written history.

Patch: 15:29

As you said, they were able to unite before they were officially colonized, right-

Carmina: 15:36

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

: 15:36

- or they became officially a colony. Unlike us, the colonization of the Philippines became the precursor to uniting the barangays.

Carmina: 15:46

And in that way, I really envy them because do you remember when we were researching about pre-historic Manila? We really could barely find anything about it.

Patch: 15:56

Right. I remember there was a struggle.

Carmina: 15:58

We should also mention that very early in Korea's history, they were very much influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism.

Patch: 16:08

Interestingly enough, a lot of the hierarchy that we see in K-drama culture is probably related to the philosophy of Confucianism.

Carmina: 16:18

Yeah. There's a lot of historical dramas that we watch where that is really ingrained in the storyline. And a lot of Korea's history is really influenced by the melding of Buddhism and Confucian ethics.

Patch: 16:36

Not to relate everything to K-drama, but I must<laugh>-

Carmina: 16:41

Well, why not?

Patch: 16:43

Another theme that we always see in historical K-dramas is the theme of heroes wanting to pass the civil servant tests, right?

Carmina: 16:52

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Patch: 16:53

And apparently in Korea at that time, in order to join the civil service or to become an army officer, you had to pass these exams in Confucian thought. And in order to take the exams, you had to be the son of a yangban. A yangban is a class of scholar officials present at that time.

Carmina: 17:18

So Patch, I think the reason why Buddhism and Confucianism, or at least the tenets of those two are always featured in the K dramas is because they really figure very heavily in how the Koreans were able to achieve. Because one of the tenets of Buddhism is the capacity to overcome and to refuse to accept defeat. And Confucianism is very heavy on the ethic of merit and constant hard work. And we've talked about this in the past, how it's really very admirable that Korea was able to achieve in 50 years what others have taken centuries to achieve. And I guess they owe that to the melding of these two.

Patch: 18:07

Right. Even today, it's still a fundamental part of Korean society and it's really still shaping the way of life and many aspects of their everyday life.

Carmina: 18:19

So Patch, one thing that I also found really fascinating about Korea is that like the Philippines, it seemed to be a country that was just minding its own business, but people kept invading it.

Patch: 18:32

<laugh> Yes.

Carmina: 18:33

I think early in their history, they did make a conscious effort to be allied with the Chinese, but they had a really painful time in their history when they were annexed by Japan.

Patch: 18:47

Similarly, we also had a very painful time in our history when we were conquered by the Japanese.

Carmina: 18:54

So in 1910, Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan after many years of being at war with them. And that lasted until 1945. During that time, Japan forbade Koreans from speaking their own language and really tried to assimilate them under the Japanese culture.

Patch: 19:17

And in addition, many Koreans either volunteered or were forced to work in Japan.

Carmina: 19:24

I think around 725,000 of them. And some of them were even conscripted into the Japanese army where Koreans were said to be part of the Japanese troops that invaded the Philippines and World War II. During this colonization period, there were a lot of aspects of their culture that was also destroyed. So their temples, writings and other very strong cultural references to Korea were attempted to be erased. At the conclusion of World War II, the annexation of Korea ended and the north part of the country was controlled by the Soviets and the southern part was controlled by the United States.

Patch: 20:14

At this point in history, our paths crossed again.

Carmina: 20:19

That's right, because when the Soviets left North Korea and the United States left the South to govern themselves, neither one was really happy that the country was divided and both sought to unify the country. What happened was North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. And Patch, I am not really a big military strategy buff, but when that happened, North Korea advanced all the way up to the southern part of the island and the only portion that was controlled by the South Koreans was the Southeast tip called Pusan. Everything else in South Korea was controlled by the North and by this point, the US and the UN decided to intervene. And that's when the UN Forces were sent to South Korea to assist them.

Patch: 21:24

In the spring of 1951, Philippine Expeditionary Forces 10th Battalion Combat team, or BCT were caught up in fierce fighting between the Chinese troops near the strategic hill of Yultong.

Carmina: 21:38

So what you're describing, the 10th BCT, it's actually part of what was called the PEFTOK, which is Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea.

Patch: 21:49

There was a captain, Captain Conrado Yap led his men to counterattack, to rescue the wounded and to retrieve the dead. He opened the hatch of his tank and shot at the Chinese with the mounted machine gun, firing as fast as they could. Chinese soldiers fell at the rate of 17-to-one in favor of the Filipino soldiers.

Carmina: 22:10

Wow.

Patch: 22:11

Captain Conrado Yap was killed during the Battle of Yultong. In more recent history, the president of the Philippines, Fidel V Ramos said that Captain Yap's actions saved the Third Infantry Division, turning the war in its favor.

Carmina: 22:27

I think we should also mention Lieutenant Artiaga, who also was recognized as one of the heroes in Yultong. He was defending the hill when the Chinese forces overtook their position. Lieutenant Artiaga's company fought really hard, even though the Chinese eventually pushed them back. They were credited for giving the other troops enough time to be able to escape.

Patch: 22:59

Isn't that impressive?

Carmina: 23:00

Can you imagine, Patch? We were barely recovering ourselves from the war. And yet we came to the aid of South Korea under the UN Forces when we were called upon to do so. And that was such a heroic battle because not only were they outnumbered, they also had to get used to the weather because we're not used to the weather up in Korea,<laugh> right?

Patch: 23:28

Yes. Spring is still cold compared to our climate, right?

Carmina: 23:34

That's right. So I can't even imagine what they must have gone through. And yet to triumph in spite of that is really very admirable.

Patch: 23:44

A by President Quirino at that time, when the, uh, troops were leaving:"Poor as we are, this country is making a great sacrifice in sending you there. But every peso invested in you is a sound investment."

Carmina: 23:59

Speaking of President Quirino, do you know that he sent his son and son-in-law to that war?

Patch: 24:05

He was really committed to it.

Carmina: 24:07

If you have time, you really have to watch"March of the Valiant." That was a documentary that was told through the eyes of the actual living soldiers who served during that time. I nearly cried during some parts of them when they were describing their ordeal. It was so heartbreaking, but very inspirational at the same time.

Patch: 24:32

So where is that available? I wanna watch it.

Carmina: 24:35

I actually found a clip on YouTube, so I will definitely provide it to you and to the listeners<laugh> in the show notes. And a lot of Filipino figures actually served in that war. So one of them is our former president, President Fidel Ramos. He was part of the PEFTOK. And then the other famous figure was Ninoy Aquino. He was actually a war correspondent during that time.

Patch: 25:03

I didn't know that. I mean, I knew about President Ramos, but I didn't know about Ninoy.

Carmina: 25:09

After the Korean War, there were monuments that were built in honor of the Filipino soldiers contributions. There's one in Goyang city. Another one in Yeonjun where Yultong is located. There's also a marker in Busan. And then similarly in the Philippines, there's a PEFTOK Memorial in Fort Bonifacio and another monument in Marikina called the MariKorea Monument. And that's because the Filipino soldiers trained in Marikina before they were sent to Korea.

Patch: 25:44

I wonder if we'll ever see any of those monuments in a future K drama<laugh>

Carmina: 25:49

I hope so, but I already know that all of those monuments in Korea are gonna be part of our itinerary when we visit.

Patch: 25:58

That's right.

Carmina: 25:59

After the Battle of Yultong, there were many other battles in which Filipino soldiers participated, but it wasn't just during the Korean War that the Filipino soldiers and Filipinos in general contributed. We also were very instrumental in Korea's rehabilitation and rebuilding, for example, do you know that Filipinos helped in building Koreas ministry of sports and culture?

Patch: 26:32

I didn't know that

Carmina: 26:34

The other thing that Filipinos helped build was the Jangchung gymnasium, which was where the Judo and TaeKwonDo games of the 1988 Summer Olympics were held.

Patch: 26:46

Wow.

Carmina: 26:47

So I don't mean to be controversial, but it seems that Korea did authoritarianism better than the Philippines too< laugh>. A very central figure in their history Park Chung-Hee, he was considered an authoritarian, but he was also credited for setting Korea on the path of their economic recovery.

Patch: 27:11

Yes. I remember reading that South Korea experienced rapid industrial development and economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s under his reign.

Carmina: 27:22

And if you remember, Patch, do you remember this book that we talked about a while ago that we loved called the"Birth of Korean Cool" by Euny Hong?

Patch: 27:32

Yes<laugh>.

Carmina: 27:33

She really did a great job in describing the several different factors that basically contributed to Korea's successes. And I guess beginning in Park Chung-Hee's administration was this idea that government and the citizenry were working together. Their government really drove them to the best that they could be. So if you can imagine, in the aftermath of war, there was widespread destruction in South Korea, and that left a third of their population homeless plus, as a country, they had very little natural resources and of course they had no money for food. So they had to rely on their skills and brain power. Therefore education became really crucial and hard work is the backbone of their success. One thing I can say though, Patch, even in their most corrupt governments, they invested in the country's education and made it accessible to everybody.

Patch: 28:42

Something that we can really learn from

Carmina: 28:45

<laugh>. I mean, we don't want to have corrupt governments, but-

Patch: 28:50

Noooo, I meant investment in education!

Carmina: 28:55

Okay< laugh>. I just wanted to be clarified. And another feature of those early forms of government was the masterful use of the sentiment of beating the former colonizers, which encouraged everyone basically to work around the clock. Not only that, young kids were indoctrinated at a very early age that the future of the country depended on their hard work and service. Can you imagine living under those conditions? That was so heavy a responsibility to put on young kids. You can now understand how they were able to achieve in 50 years, right, what other countries might take centuries to achieve. I even read in Euny Hong's book that the Korean government had five, 5-year plans going at any given time.

Patch: 29:55

Right? I remember reading that.

Carmina: 29:57

There's a lot to be said about the collective unity that that took for Korea's achievements to be realized, but it had its cost.

Patch: 30:09

What could possibly be the cost<laugh>?

Carmina: 30:12

So it is said that happiness, you know, the environment, the freedom of expression and culture had all suffered in South Korea's pursuit. So for example, when they achieved the economic successes, it was found that the children in South Korea really had no childhood. They were studying all the time, even after school and on vacation. And there have even been studies done that said that Korean children are more unhappy compared to their counterparts. The other sad thing is that they have a very high suicidal rate. It's actually cited as one of the leading causes of death.

Patch: 31:00

Oh, my that's disturbing and very sad.

Carmina: 31:04

And it's also said that Korean workers work an average of 2,193 hours per year, which is above the average of about 1800 hours in other developed nations.

Patch: 31:19

So I guess that means I shouldn't complain about my 40 hours a week.

Carmina: 31:24

<laugh> Or 50. And speaking of suicides, that is even very prevalent amongst celebrities.

Patch: 31:33

Right. Sadly.

Carmina: 31:35

Very sadly. And in 2009, there were nine celebrities who died and a lot of it had to do with pressures and perceived loss of success or reputation.

Patch: 31:48

I remember that book was really interesting and a part of the book discussed the concept of Han. Do you remember?

Carmina: 31:56

Yeah, that was very fascinating. So the way I recall how Han was described is this emotional turmoil that's characterized by a sense of despair and injustice, very deep-seated.

Patch: 32:13

Right.

Carmina: 32:14

And I guess as a nation, right, because they have suffered deep racial trauma from their colonization and then from the separation of families because of the conflict between the north and the south, that is very much ingrained in their culture. And it was also said, and I don't remember if it's exactly in Euny Hong's book, but you can't really relieve Han through seeking revenge.

Patch: 32:45

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Carmina: 32:45

That is such a punishment. You have to seek alternative outlets to it, which I guess is the positive or the more productive way to do it, right?

Patch: 32:56

Right.

Carmina: 32:56

So if you can't do it through your revenge, then you have to kind of find your catharsis through other means.

Patch: 33:02

Well, interestingly enough, I found an article discussing the concept of Han as it relates to one of the most viewed Netflix dramas, including in the Philippines, which is"Squid game."

Carmina: 33:18

Yes.

Patch: 33:19

I'm sure you've heard of squid game, right?

Carmina: 33:21

Mm-hmm<affirmative>. So for those who are living under a rock<laugh> Or a seaweed,<laugh>

Patch: 33:28

A seaweed<laugh>. Squid Game was released in 2021, last year. It's a South Korean drama series about a group of people who take risks in order to win a large sum of money. There were 456 participants from diverse backgrounds and they were locked in a secret location. They competed in games for a chance to win 45.6 billion won. Each game is a traditional Korean children's game and the penalty was death. They said that to appreciate the show's power, one must first grasp the concept of Han, which is a uniquely Korean concept, like you said, with Han in mind, Squid Game's most powerful moments take on a new dimension. And one of the characters, Gi-hun's donghang face, in his outbursts are pure Han. They said another character Kang Sae-byeok, the show's other emotional anchor has a more literal Han than most as a North Korean, whose family was split apart during their escape.

Carmina: 34:41

There you go.

Patch: 34:42

Each choice, including a stint in life of crime, is motivated by the desire to earn enough money to reunite with them.

Carmina: 34:51

And I guess, Patch, one thing that we can say is perhaps this is why a lot of Korean dramas really tug at your emotional heartstrings. Maybe it's because at the heart of every one of them is this concept of Han.

Patch: 35:09

And that's why a lot of us can really relate to it.<laugh>

Carmina: 35:14

That's right. We've been talking a lot about South Korea's many successes- economically, socially, culturally, and even this huge success that they have in their educational system. One of the things that I read is people in the 25 to 35 age group, 98% of them have junior college or university degrees, which is one of the highest in the world.

Patch: 35:43

Wow.

Carmina: 35:44

So that means that when they graduate competition is very fierce. In a country that is a small as South Korea, you can imagine how crowded that becomes. And I mentioned that because there is a phenomenon about the increase of Korean migration to the Philippines. So one of the reasons why the Philippines is very attractive to Korean immigration is because in Korea, there is a very high demand for learning English and for higher education. Which right now the Philippines, it's no surprise, because we were a former US colony, we are very good in the English language. So while there are richer families in Korea who can avail themselves of English language classes, or by sending their kids to the US or other Western countries, the availability of the same opportunities to learn English in the Philippines at much lower costs, and of course the distance of Korea to the Philippines, gives Korean middle income families access to this learning opportunity.

Patch: 36:54

Aside from the opportunities for education, the Philippines is one of the top tourist destinations for South Koreans.

Carmina: 37:05

That's right, because of our warmer climates and vacation resorts.

Patch: 37:09

From 2010 to 2020, residents of South Korea ranked first in terms of visitor arrivals to the Philippines.

Carmina: 37:18

But Patch, did you hear that there is a growing rift between Filipinos and Koreans when it comes to immigration?

Patch: 37:26

Sadly, I heard about it. Yeah.

Carmina: 37:28

Filipinos have a reputation for being hospitable and welcoming. And sadly, some Filipinos have recently observed that Korean immigrants do not necessarily view them as equals. And some accounts have even said that some Filipinos feel discriminated against. And I guess one of the reasons why is because Koreans really do have a very strong feeling of nationalism. The observation is when they migrate to the Philippines, they tend to be insular and keep to themselves and preserve, you know, their very tight-knit communities.

Patch: 38:16

Hopefully the Korean organizations in the country can strengthen their ties to local non-government groups in order to increase their public visibility and to better their relationships with local communities.

Carmina: 38:34

And if you really think about it, there's so much to share between the two countries. I mean, we already talked about the historical ties and there is benefit to us opening our doors to South Koreans and with South Koreans opening themselves to us, right?

Patch: 38:52

Right.

Carmina: 38:52

There's so much to be shared. That's why I'm really very happy when I see Koreans who grew up in the Philippines who grow to love the Philippines as their own. And we're going to link a YouTube video in our show notes about two friends. Their names are Joshua Cho and Jin Eun Kim. The video that we're going to link was filmed in 2019. They're two friends and they're children of missionaries. Having grown up in the Philippines, they speak Tagalog really fluently.

Patch: 39:28

It's very impressive.

Carmina: 39:30

So Jin Eun was born in the Philippines in 1993. He considers Tagalog his main language and he actually had to learn Korean<laugh>. So he went back to Korea for military service. And because they're both children of missionaries, they're also taking up missionary work as their life advocacy. On the other hand, Joshua, his best friend, went to the Philippines at three months old and his entire life from elementary to college, studied in the Philippines. And in this video, they compare and contrast life in Korea and the Philippines, and they give reasons why the Philippines is very close to their heart.

Patch: 40:16

It's really heartwarming to see Filipino-Koreans, as what I'm gonna call them, give so much love to the Philippines and our culture.

Carmina: 40:26

But Patch, did you hear about this controversy that happened in 2020, that led to a very unfortunate misunderstanding between Korea and the Philippines that led to the"Cancel Korea" movement?

Patch: 40:41

Um, not familiar with it. Maybe when I came across it, I was immediately in denial.<laugh>

Carmina: 40:48

Well, very briefly it involved an artist named Bella Poarch. She is Filipino-American. Bella became very popular. And in one of her videos, she showed a tattoo of the Japanese rising sun. Now, Bella didn't really know what it meant and really didn't appreciate the very deep emotions that that evoked in Koreans. And so a lot of Koreans got mad at her, unfortunately, in spite of her apologies. So there was a back and forth on the internet between Koreans and Filipinos. In the end, I think what happened was there was a deeper appreciation by the Koreans of Filipinos because of all of the very heated exchanges that happened online. And I really hope that we don't rekindle this controversy<laugh>, but I just wanted to mention it as one of the more recent examples of how we really should learn from each other and appreciate each other, especially given our very deep historical ties.

Patch: 42:02

I'm wondering how Bella Poarch recovered from that incident. I mean, usually you get in hot boiling trouble when you tweet something and you just delete the tweet.

Carmina: 42:13

Right.

Patch: 42:14

Unfortunately you can't just delete a tattoo. So-

Carmina: 42:19

I mean, if anything, I really hope that that just shows people that she had no ill intent. She probably just appreciated how it looked.

Patch: 42:29

Note to self, before I get a tattoo, I should do due diligence and research.<laugh>

Carmina: 42:35

Right. So in the spirit of finding similarities, why don't we talk about fun similarities between Korean and Philippine culture?

Patch: 42:48

Yay.

Carmina: 42:49

So one of the things that I wanna mention front is Filipinos and Koreans love their food and drink.

Patch: 42:56

Yes.

Carmina: 42:57

Korean dishes don't really taste the same as Filipino dishes, but they're both based on the same, thinking about the balancing flavors and having a lot of variety and contrast in their dishes.

Patch: 43:12

That's right. And in fact, there are some similarities. For example, Korea cuisine has fermented paste like gochujang and doeniang. Filipino cuisine, we also use fermented ingredients like buro and miso.

Carmina: 43:33

We had buro today for lunch.

Patch: 43:35

Oh, you did. Don't make me jealous.<laugh> And there also a lot of Korean stews. They're enhanced with fish sauce, salted fish or shrimp. And as you know, Filipino stews are also enhanced with our own patis and bagoong, so that's pretty similar. There's also a K drama food favorite called galbi jjim-

Carmina: 44:00

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Patch: 44:01

- which is quite similar to a Filipino food that we call pares, which is beef stew paired with rice.

Carmina: 44:11

One similarity that we also have is spam<laugh>.

Patch: 44:16

Yes. The love of spam, the world's most perfect food<laugh>.

Carmina: 44:22

It is a remnant of US army influence to both countries. But did you know that in Korea, they actually gift it to each other during special holidays?

Patch: 44:33

Oh no. I didn't know that.

Carmina: 44:35

<laugh> Another thing we share, but not exactly in the flattering category. For whatever reason, both countries have a stereotype that we eat dog meat.

Patch: 44:48

Some parts do, but it's not what is generally accepted as part of our cuisine.

Carmina: 44:56

Of either country's cuisines, right?

Patch: 44:59

Right. It's definitely something that the west frowns upon and obviously became some sort of, like, stereotype about Asians.

Carmina: 45:09

Segueing into the American influence and away from food. We did both inherit the American form of democracy and their political landscape has a lot of similarities with ours. They, as I said earlier, also had their share of authoritarians and dictators, and they also have a history of political dynasties. The other thing that we shared with them, not that it's a good thing to share is cronyism and corruption.

Patch: 45:48

Yes.

Carmina: 45:48

However, as I said earlier and similar to how they seem to do authoritarianism better than us, they also seem to have done better just based on the kind of development they've had compared to us. Again, nothing to aspire towards, but hey, them are the facts.<laugh>

Patch: 46:11

Another similarity is the proliferation of superstitious beliefs.

Carmina: 46:17

That's right because pre-Christianization, both countries have had that kind of animistic belief system.

Patch: 46:27

Can I just mention one superstition that I came across that I thought was very interesting.

Carmina: 46:32

Sure.

Patch: 46:33

So in Korea, fan death is a superstition and I'm not referring to fan girling.

Carmina: 46:41

Are you talking about the fan that you use when you're hot?

Patch: 46:45

Yeah. Okay. There's a superstition about electric fans? Yes. Apparently there's an urban legend in South Korea that electric fans that are left on while you are sleeping in a room with the windows and doors closed can cause death.

Carmina: 47:04

Why?

Patch: 47:05

Well, it is believed that the fan can lower the body temperature and cause hypothermia or the abnormally low body temperature.

Carmina: 47:14

Well, this is, uh, I guess a testament to the fact that they have more seasons than we do, because<laugh>-

Patch: 47:22

I was about to say, this is never gonna be a superstition that we're gonna adopt in the Philippines.<laugh>

Carmina: 47:30

That's true.

Patch: 47:31

So Koreans also believe that fast-moving air caused by fans make it difficult to breathe, causing people to choke.

Carmina: 47:41

Okay.

Patch: 47:42

So because of this, automatic shutoff timers on fans in South Korea are seen as life- saving features.

Carmina: 47:51

Again,<laugh> not a problem in the Philippines.

Patch: 47:56

Correct. And again, not something we will adopt as a superstition.

Carmina: 48:02

So to end, Patch, I thought I would also just mention a few other things that culturally are very similar between the Filipinos and Koreans.

Patch: 48:13

Okay.

Carmina: 48:14

We have a very high respect for our parents.

Patch: 48:17

That's true.

Carmina: 48:18

We put a lot of value in education.

Patch: 48:21

That is also true.

Carmina: 48:22

In Korea, there is this concept of"jeong" and I would say that the very close parallel to it in Filipino culture is"pakikisama" or"bayanihan," which in our culture is providing help to relatives or friends. And the way they describe"jeong" is by going the extra mile that isn't exactly logical. And I can say that sometimes we see that in our concept of"pakikisama" or"bayanihan" as well. And alongside that is this concept of collective orientation or viewing oneself as part of a community. Korea has one of the highest scores in the world. And I guess the opposite of that would be individualism, right? That is also because we have similar farming and agricultural roots and our collective history of banding together against invasion.

Patch: 49:23

So Carmina, we can go on and on and on about this very interesting and entertaining topic, but I did want to enlighten you on a mystery that we've always wondered about when we watch Korean drama.

Carmina: 49:40

What?

Patch: 49:40

Well, you know how, when we watch Korean drama and we're always wondering why, whether they are eating in the living room or preparing food in the kitchen, there are chairs or a sofa present, but they are preferring to sit on the floor.

Carmina: 50:00

<laugh> Why are they so mad at dining tables and chairs? Yes. We have often asked this question.

Patch: 50:09

Well, I think I found the answer. Well, obviously it's part of their culture.

Carmina: 50:14

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Patch: 50:15

But also did you know that in Korea, heat rises through the floor?

Carmina: 50:22

< loud gasp>

Patch: 50:24

So most houses in the west, right-

Carmina: 50:27

Mm-hmm<affirmative>.

Patch: 50:28

- they have heating systems that's basically, the heat is through the air, right?

Carmina: 50:33

Right.

Patch: 50:34

Hot air goes through vents, hidden in walls, et cetera. But in South Korea, they use a different system in South Korea. Rather than sending their heat through vents, most Korean homes are heated through the floor. Pipes, which are underneath the floor, have heat passing through them to send warmth up the floor to the above apartments or houses. And so that means your feet are always warm on cold winter days. And when you sit on the floor, your bottom is also well-heated.

Carmina: 51:09

Oh my God! Mystery solved! And this is also why they like sleeping on the floor in those dramas.

Patch: 51:17

That's right.

Carmina: 51:19

Well, I am eternally grateful for your research on that because as you know, that has always been a mystery.

Patch: 51:29

You're welcome.<laugh>

Carmina: 51:31

Thank you. So Patch, we end this episode with a call to our fellow K appreciators. Make yourselves known and join us!

Patch: 51:44

Come out of the K closet.

Carmina: 51:46

It's fun out here, I promise<laugh>.<theme music>. So that's our episode. We hope you join us on our next trip. O siya, siya!

Patch: 51:55

Ingat! Thanks for listening to JeepneyTrip with Carmina and Patch. Logo design by Fred Agcaoili. If you want to listen to more episodes, please subscribe to our show at Apple Podcasts or wherever all fine podcasts are downloaded. We'd love to hear from you, so please rate and leave a review. Follow JeepneyTrip on Twitter and Instagram. If you have a question, email us at jeepneytrip@gmail.com. Ingat!