A Blogger's Journey: From Bacolod To The Blue House!

         (Bacolod Masskara Festival performers)

I was born in Bacolod City, the home of the Philippines' Masskara Festival. This city happens to be the sister city of Andong, South Korea's home of mask festival, which made me realize this sisterhood between Bacolod and Andong was probably not a coincidence. Me, being born in Bacolod City where people celebrate by wearing colorful masks once a year and now living in Korea where masks are also part of the culture!

You see, I started this blog in 2009 in order to enter a Korea Tourism Organization's online competition. I remember it took me less than an hour to put this up and had it running, after which I received a small gadget from the competition.

That was in the summer of 2009. Ten years and 916 posts ago.

(Bloggers from different countries welcomed by 
the First Lady of South Korea at the Presidential 
Presidential Blue House. 
I wore a barong tagalog and told the First Lady that I was from the Philippines and she told me she recognized the outfit.)

And what was supposed to be an open online diary about my life in Korea with posts about my neighborhood, Korean dishes and tourists spots became a medium for organizations and people to invite me to events and competitions, concerts, out-of-town trips with free hotels and meals, and tours. Yes, through this blog, I was invited to meet K-pop celebrities, dined at a Michelin-star restaurant, and had a once-in-lifetime encounter with tennis superstars (my sports!), among other unforgettable experiences!

(2019 Korea.net bloggers with our official appointments from the Korean government!)

From b-boy competitions to beach volleyball tournaments, from holiday skiing to Winter Olympics, from my favorite neighborhood restaurants to my favorite Korean dishes, from K-pop concerts to Korean musicales, from discovering other neighborhoods to discovering my own, and everything in between, I have enjoyed more than what Seoul and Korea have to offer.

I was first active with the bloggers' group organized by the Seoul City government and the Korea Tourism Organization. And in 2014, I joined the Honorary Reporters program of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) that runs the Korea.net, the Korean government's official website.

And to welcome the 2019 Honorary Reporters, KOCIS held an induction ceremony in May 2019 at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul with no less than the First Lady of South Korea welcoming us! Those who live in Seoul and those who could fly to Seoul were able to join. And since I haven't been inside the Blue House before, I joined!

(The 2019 Honorary Reporters posing 

in front of the Presidential Blue House)

With a special ceremony covered by national TV channels and Korean media outlets and with a fabulous lunch at a separate location before the event, not to mention everyone went home with a lot of freebies that included a Cheonghwadae wristwatch that featured the signature of the President of South Korea, who would have wanted to miss it?

Now, as I am on my 11th year, I look back from where I came from so that my path towards the future is clear from where I sit and blog. My friend Cora, who used to be my neighbor in Hannam-dong in Seoul once told me that I should turn this blog into a book. Well, Cora, I'm not sure if anyone would want to buy it. But who knows? We'll see.

But in the meantime, thanks to all of you who once in a while drop by to read this blog. It has been fun writing for you and for anyone who cares to read stories from this blogger who came from Bacolod...and ended up at the Blue house!😄

(From Bacolod...to the Blue House!)  

Saint John Bosco's Mary, The Help of Christians

I hopped on a bus guided by a map and the will to find the ‘home’ of all Bosconians in the world. This wasn’t just a pilgrimage; this was a homecoming, too. Traveling around this city whose transport system I barely knew and whose language I barely spoke, except for asking directions and ordering pizza margherita, didn’t bring me fear or worry. I always felt safe like ‘someone’ was always watching over me and I always knew that human kindness would be there whenever and wherever I needed it.

After hopping off the bus, I recalibrated my directions and walked for 800 meters to the west until I found the piazza named after her. And when I looked up at the basilica right behind the open space, I was welcomed by a sight I would never forget. I froze for a moment, gazing up and mesmerized by the apparition, oblivious to the noisy traffic of cars and buses on the busy Corso Regina Margherita. The lady whose golden statue stands on top of a dome is identified by the words etched in also in gold across the basilica’s chest: MARIA AUXILIUM CHRISTIANORUM ORA PRO NOBIS.  Even in Latin, the words felt close to this Bosconian’s heart, the English translation of which always ended our prayers when I was still studying at Don Bosco in Victorias: “MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS, PRAY FOR US.”

This is the Basilica di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Turin in northern Italy, the church that the Virgin Mary herself asked Saint John Bosco to build in her honor.  The church was built in 1863 and was completed five years later, and on June 9, 1868, it was consecrated.  Also known in English as the ‘Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians’, this holy place was the request of the Virgin Mary herself from Saint John Bosco when she appeared in his dream. And this site where the basilica now stands was not just a random place picked by her; this was the spot where three martyrs from Turin, namely, Octavius, Adventor and Solutor, sacrificed their lives for the faith. The statues of these martyrs, who are the patron saints of Turin, also stand on the roof on a level below the Virgin.

During ordinary days, the Basilica’s main door remained closed and I had to enter through the right side where, on its wall, was a copy of the Shroud of Turin.  But I was most interested in the most beautiful feature of the Basilica, a huge painting that is familiar to all Bosconians: the image of ‘Mary, Help of Christians’. The magnificent work of art that dominates the altar was painted by an Italian artist, Tommáso Lorenzone, as commissioned by Don Bosco himself. This image is everywhere in Salesian schools. It is seen on the school walls, on chapels, and even on estampitas.

The image of the Virgin, standing in glory and majesty and surrounded by angels paying homage to their queen while holding a scepter that represents power on her right hand and on her left, the Child Jesus with open arms as if offering love and mercy to whoever needs it, was painted based on Don Bosco’s detailed instructions.

The painting also includes the Evangelists and Apostles venerating the Virgin and the Child Jesus as they take their place as pillars in the spreading of Christ’s teachings. At the bottom of the painting is the Basilica (which I thought was the Vatican when I was a student) in the area of Valdocco in Turin and the Superga Hill in the background. It would have been helpful had our Bosconian priests explained this image to us when I was still a student. But it didn’t matter now as seeing it up close while I sat on a pew and whispering a prayer of thanksgiving, I realized this painting is more than just a work of art. It is a message of motherly love and grace for all God’s children.

Lorenzone took three years to finish the work and later admitted that when he painted the Virgin’s face, the most important part of the painting, he felt as if someone was guiding his brush, creating the beautiful expression on Mary’s face that must have touched everyone who has seen it over the years. The painting was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Leo XIII on May 17, 1903, conferring on it the title of “Mary, Help of Christians.”

During the day, Our Lady is seen standing on top of her Basilica welcoming everyone into her care and grace. At night, when the Basilica is bathed in light, she stands quietly in the dark and looks after the city and everyone else who asks for her help and intercession by calling upon her, “Mary, help of Christians, pray for us.”

From Manila to Seoul: The Korean Drama Fans from the Philippines

Though there are millions, I have met only a few, and among the few, I am happy to introduce to you four of the most loyal and enthusiastic Philippine fans of Korean dramas. These ladies always know the latest Korean dramas and films, and of course, the names of the actors and actresses who star in it!

Meet Cielo, Itchay, Jenny and Marlu. I call them the Korean drama queens of the Philippines. Although they’re not related by blood, they call themselves ‘Seoul Sisters’, having been brought together by a common love for Korean dramas and films.

Even before Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, reached the Philippines in the early 2000s, Koreana, the Korean quartet that sang ‘Hand in Hand’ in Korean and English during the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Seoul on September 17, 1988, was probably the first Korean group and the first Korean song that was seen and heard by the most number of Filipinos as the ceremonies were broadcast live in the Philippines that day.  Many years later, in 2003, came Bae Yong-joon and his Winter Sonata drama that swept the Philippines. And the rest, they say, was not only history but a flood of Korean dramas, Korean celebrities, and K-pop artists and music that couldn’t seem to satisfy the hunger of the millions of shrieking Filipino fans.

And just like any devoted fan, these ladies flew to Korea to visit locations of their favorite Korean dramas and realize their dreams of being in an actual Korean drama scene wearing Korean traditional costumes. Of course, shopping for Korean cosmetics was also in their hectic itinerary. 

The ‘Seoul Sisters’ visited the popular Gyeongbukgong Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, Deoksugung Palace, Insadong, Namdaemun, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Gangnam area and Hongdae in Seoul as well as Nami Island and the MBC Dae Jang Geum Park, a very popular location for Korean dramas that also offers drama tours in Yong-in City in Gyeonggi Province. With the help of the official website of Korea Tourism Organization that provides helpful information to tourists in different languages and their ‘man on the ground' (as Marlu called me), they had fun touring Korea and getting up close and personal with their favorite Korean dramas. 

According to these ladies, these Korean dramas are fun to watch because they are well-made and feature exotic locations, and the lead characters are always perfectly coiffed and impeccably attired even when they’re lying on their deathbeds. The dramas’ storylines always appeal to a wide audience as these are always about love, family and friendships. And as they hardly feature any violence or sex scenes that may be inappropriate for some audiences, they are generally viewed as wholesome.

They also said that another feature of these Korean dramas that makes them likable is that Korean actors and actresses have perfected the art of restrained acting. I think I understand what they mean. Having watched a lot of Philippine television, I noticed that Filipino actresses have a habit of going hysterical in every other scene like they just found a rat in the kitchen. Korean actresses, however, remain calm and just let tears flow even when such rat ate all her kimchi fried rice.

     (Photo courtesy of the Korean drama queens)

After their first visit to Korea a few years ago, the ‘Seoul Sisters’ have returned almost every autumn when their schedules allowed them to. They said that every time they’re here, they found the experience magical and so much fun. Although every time they fly back to Manila they feel the time spent in Korea seems not enough, they’re happy that, not only is their luggage full of Korean goodies and presents for loved ones back home, it’s also full of fun memories that would only make their watching Korean dramas more enjoyable.