Cultural Understanding as a Key to Development and Cooperation: The Case of The Philippines and The Republic of KoreaEssay Preview: Cultural Understanding as a Key to Development and Cooperation: The Case of The Philippines and The Republic of KoreaReport this essayCultural Understanding as a Key to Development and Cooperation: The Case of the Philippines and the Republic of KoreaJONATHAN J. LATUJAAbstractAs a result of globalization, there is an increasing importance given to the role of international cooperation for countries aspiring towards development. But in order to achieve effective international cooperation, cultural understanding should be present among the participating nations in order to bridge their differences and overcome conflicts. This paper aims to discuss the methods for creating cultural understanding among countries using the case of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, specifically the interaction between Filipinos and Korean migrants. And to stimulate further discussions regarding actions and programs that the Philippine and Korean government can take in order to further promote cultural awareness among their peoples.
The Philippines has been a dynamic player in the international scene and had successfully established many foreign relations. Among these is the countrys thriving diplomatic ties with the Republic of Korea which spans to six decades already. With the influx of Koreans in the Philippines which began in the 1990s and resulted to the establishment of Korean communities across the country along with the popularity of Korean popular culture among Filipino audiences, frequent cultural interaction between the two nationalities are expected. However, despite these, barriers and misunderstandings are preventing Filipinos and Korean migrants from forming casual relationships as a result of language and socio-cultural barriers. Filipinos have a tendency to distrust foreigners because of their countrys historical experience with foreign invaders while Korean migrants in the Philippines are reported to stay together and keep to themselves. Add to this the prejudices and biases toward each other born out of close-mindedness and cultural ignorance.
In order to enlighten Filipinos and Korean visitors alike and to further strengthen the ties of both countries, a passion for understanding each others culture should be fostered on the interpersonal level. This can be stimulated by riding the popularity of Korean popular culture and use it to attract Filipino audiences to delve deeper into the intricacies of traditional Korean culture. As for attracting Koreans to the Philippine culture, the Philippine government should formulate educational programs that expose foreign students, Koreans in particular, to its history and culture. Educational exchange programs, especially student exchange programs, also contribute to the cause. Now that prestigious Korean universities are known for giving scholarship offers and the continuing bilateral cooperation of the Philippines with
Korean authorities want to help Filipinos to learn the language, cultural and history of both communities. Filipinos seeking to learn how to learn the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Japanese languages should become part of this educational program, especially to educate students. In addition, it is important to keep awareness among visitors of Chinese, Japanese and Korean in and around the cultural center of the city and that they learn the characters as well as their heritage.
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1. For information visit: ngang.gov.ph/en; website: ngang.gov.ph for more information
2. In the course of his PhD thesis in social economics at the Seoul School of Social Policy and Economics, Prof. Ng Yoo-Kung has been pursuing a degree in Economic and Financial Studies and a Master of Sociology degree at the Korean University of the Institute of Economic Planning in the South Pacific. He received his M-A in Economics and Political Economy from the Korean University of the Institute of Economics and the Master of Studies degree from the Korean University of the Department of Economics and Political Science in Korea and his Ph.D in Economics and Political Economy from the Korea University of Economic Planning.
3. He has completed four research projects: the first one examining labor markets in Vietnam in 2000 and the second an examination of the Vietnam labor market in 2008. He has taught for a number of years in the political economy at both the South Korea and South Korean University of Economics.
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