Korean Stuff on a Rainy Day: Korea Beyond Hallyu

- December 15, 2015, Tuesday.

- When thinking about Korea, the first thing that pops into anyone's mind would most likely be some form of "hallyu" (i.e."Korean Wave,") such as Korean television series, or K-Pop (Korean popular music,) cosmetic products, tourism, or Korean food. If not this, probably the North-South Korean conflicts. Because of these, other topics that involve Korea are usually overlooked by the masses, as they are not sensationalized and hyped by the media. However, I attended an intriguing lecture this morning in Ateneo de Manila University.

- The Ateneo Initiative for Korean Studies (AIKS) organized a small talk, and was held at the Window on Korea section of the Rizal Library this morning at 9:30am. AIKS invited Dr. Changzoo Song from the University of Auckland to talk about "Nation-State in a Transnational World: South's Korea's Effort to Create De-territorialised Nation." The event was attended by a "cozy" audience from various departments of the Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas' Asian Studies Department

Dr. Changzoo Song from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

The title of his talk.

- To simplify the topic, Dr. Song talked about the case of Korean migrants, and how Korea sees them, and reaches out to them. While other countries seem to have a more prominent/well-known scheme or set of policies that have something to do with their diasporic communities (India being one of those countries,) South Korea has also been catching up with the other countries in terms of policies regarding identity, rights and privileges, and the introduction of the Korean language and culture (i.e. via cultural institutes) to the Korean diasporic communities. Moreover, according to Dr. Song, the Korean government has proclaimed recognition of Koreans born abroad (even mixed Koreans) as Koreans, regardless of citizenship, as long as either parent is a Korean citizen or of Korean descent. However, as with the case of other diasporic communities (like the Brazilian-Japanese of Brazil,) the society of the country of origin of the diasporic community (i.e. Korea in this case, or Japan or the Brazilian-Japanese) do not fully accept, or do not accept them at all as part of the country of origin's society, despite inclusive policies and efforts by the Korean government. One member from the audience even raised during the Q-and-A portion that even though this was said by the Korean government, Korean embassies have released statements saying that the Korean transnationals holding foreign citizenship (particularly subsequent mixed-heritage Korean transnationals) are considered as part of the host country (for example, the Philippines,) and not Korean anymore. This point also surprised Dr. Song, and says that the Korean government and the embassies should be clear about this matter.

During the lecture.

Prof. Sarah D. Lipura, director of AIKS.

Dr. Diane Mendoza, professor of political science in the Ateneo, and the paper discussant of the morning.

Tadaaaaa.

- After the great and cozy lecture, we all gathered to have photographs taken. We had a catered lunch with Dr. Song, and had a casual chat with him. After lunch, Prof. Sarah and Prof. Capili took Dr. Song for a brief sightseeing trip around Manila. I can't believe Dr. Song is only staying in the country for only one day, and considering it's his first time in the Philippines too. Well, he did say that he had always wanted to come to the Philippines, and at least he had the opportunity to do so this time.

Dr. Song receiving the token from the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Dr. Aldaba.

Photo of Dr. Song and professors/lecturers/instructors of Ateneo de Manila University.

- Ateneo was quiet today since it the semestral/Christmas break has just started; both students and most faculty members have started enjoying their vacation. A storm also decided to visit the country and made me wet. However, I had no regrets in attending this lecture; I feel that as there are plenty of Korean diasporic communities around the world, this matter should be studied further by scholars.