As you all know, many Koreans come here to the Philippines to study English as their secondary language.
Taking advantage of the low tuition fee, excellent service and cheap rates.
Their presence has done so much good for the country.
English institutions have popped up everywhere just to cater to their demands.
Having increased the tourism rate here and provided jobs for thousands.
In the process, not only do they learn English while staying here but they get to experience, observe and see for themselves the reality of everyday Filipino living.
One Korean student has this to say about the Philippines.
I hope us Filipinos would take what he says to heart.
For he really has a great point.
What this Korean said pretty much hit the nail on the head so to speak.
Corruption is not a problem that is only found here in the
Philippines, in fact any form of government or position with power has it.
Indeed what we lack now is love of country.
Most want to leave and never come back, with the thought that life would be
better in some place.
They say the grass is always greener on the other side.
What irks me is that we Filipinos could follow rules in other
countries but we seem to be so hard-headed in our own.
That is the sad part and clearly shows the lack of love and respect we have for our nation.
I hope more will be enlightened.
Just don't mind the grammatical errors, he's learning...
MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in
the Philippines. Do you really think the corruption
is the problem of the Philippines? I do not
think so. I strongly believe that the problem is
the lack of love for the Philippines.
Let me first talk about my country, Korea.
It might help you understand my point.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one
of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans
had to start from scratch because entire country was
destroyed after the Korean War, and we had no
natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines, for
Filipinos were very rich in Asia. We envy Filipinos.
Koreans really wanted to be well off like
Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine.
My father & brother also died because of famine.
Korean government was very corrupt and is still very
corrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea was
able to develop dramatically because Koreans really
did their best for the common good with their heart
burning with patriotism.
Koreans did not work just for themselves but also
for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired
young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the
government to reform Korea. He tried to borrow money
from other countries, but it was not possible to get a
loan and attract a foreign investment because the
economic situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had
only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that
they could send money to Korea to build a factory.
They had to go through horrible experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow
money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the
airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw
the President Park. They asked to him, "President,
when can we be well off?" That was the only question
everyone asked to him. President Park cried with
them and promised them that Korea would be well
off if everyone works hard for Korea, and the President
of Germany got the strong impression on them
and lent money to Korea. So, President Park was
able to build many factories in Korea. He always
asked Koreans to love their country from their heart.
Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA
came back to Korea to help developing country
because they wanted their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did their
best for Korea. They always hoped that their children
would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where
poor and physically handicapped people live. They
wanted me to understand their life and help them.
I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army.
The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we
have to love our neighborhood. And, I have loved my
neighborhood. Have you cried for the
Philippines? I have cried for my country several
times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid
prison. What made me sad in the prison were the
prisoners who do not have any love for their country.
They go to mass and work for Church. They pray
everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines. I
talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound,
and both of them said that they would leave the
Philippines right after they are released from the
prison. They said that they would start a new life in other
countries and never come back to the Philippines.
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that
we were able to share our wealth with our neighborhood.
The owners of factory and company were distributed their
profit to their employees fairly so that employees could
buy what they needed and saved money for the
future and their children.
When I was in Korea, I had a very strong faith and
wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines,
I completely lost my faith.
I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable
situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad,
and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic
country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here.
People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has
been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week and
saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer
than the present Philippines when they
were young. They are so sorry that there are so
many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan,
I forced my parents to take a boat because
it would fun. However, they were not happy after
taking a boat. They said that they would not take the boat
again because they were sympathized the
boatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it.
But, my parents did not enjoy it because of love
for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church
since I was very young told me that if we just go to
mass without changing ourselves, we are not
Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action.
She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things
for them because all of us are same and have received a great
love from God. I want Filipinos to love their
neighborhood and country as much as they love God
so that the Philippines will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos
should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once.
It should start from person. Love must start in everybody,
in a s mall scale and have to grow. A lot of
things happen if we open up to love. Let's put away
our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be
loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible.
Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and
relationships. It changes the world. Please love your
neighborhood and country.
Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we
do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God for people who
are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love.
If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines.
Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.
You already know that God also will be very happy if you love
others.
That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
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5 comments:
I think that the writer does make a point but the lack of love for pinas is not the only problem. Like most filipinos know, corruption is just rampid in Philippines. I just came back from a month long vacation and was amazed on how the economic systems works. Many nigths I found myself just staring at my surroundings and realizing the 50% of the jobs are pretty much useless. For example, I went to go buy a DVD player and it took 7 employees with 7 different obscur tasks before I could leave with my item. Crazy shit!!! But for all her faults, all the crazy traffic, terrible heat and floods, I'm considering moving back to Philippines.
A REACTION TO A KOREAN STUDENT'S ESSAY INSULTING FILIPINOS FOR BEING LESS NATIONALISTIC
We Filipinos don’t get progressive because we lack nationalism?
Before anyone makes such an insult against a particular race, he should first undertake the necessary research and some observations, like the following:
1. He should first read Philippine history books to know that we Filipinos have always fought for our freedom and our native land – from the times of Lapu-lapu, Raha Soliman, Sultan Kudarat, Dagohoy, Sumuroy, Palaris, and dozens of other local heroes, to Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo, Mabini, and Jacinto; to the World War II generation, when a million Filipinos perished; and recently to the 1986 People Power Revolution.
2. He should observe that Filipino farmers, fishermen, professionals, employees,industrial workers, service personnel, and others work hard here and abroad to earn a decent living for themselves, for their loved ones, and for their country.
3. He should also observe that we Filipinos help one another in our works and festivities, and during personal agonies, man-made disasters, or natural calamities.
4. He should also look at those Filipinos who volunteer in social service and humanitarian endeavors like the Red Cross and rescue efforts; those who extend financial assistance to poor patients in the hospitals, to students from poor families, and to other needy people; those who plant trees and care for nature, the environment, and animals; and those many other unsung heroes among our countrymen.
Patriotism and nationalism may not always be tangible in our everyday lives, but when the imperative call for it comes, Filipinos respond enthusiastically.
A humbling example of that is the national and local elections of May 10, 2010, in which 38 out of the 50.7 million registered Filipino voters (that was a 75% voters’ turnout) trooped to the polling precincts, and most endured the 2- to 6-hour long wait, the extreme heat and humidity, the hunger, and the exhaustion, just to be able to cast our votes. We did all those sacrifices because we want change – a good government and good leaders. Why do we want all those? Because we care for our country – that’s how simple it is.
The Philippines is also a defender of the democracy of the free world. It is one of those countries that dispatched soldiers to the Korean Peninsula in 1950-53 to defend the South Koreans against the suicidal invasion by the fanatical communist North Koreans. One of those sent soldiers was Fidel V. Ramos, who became our nation’s president in 1992-98.
I am saddened by the fact that after we helped Korea defend its freedom and democracy in the past, here now comes an irresponsible Korean sporadically spitting on our faces by calling us less patriotic, which is a severe insult to all of our painstaking and hard-earned efforts towards a better country.
The problem with some people is that because they are already prosperous, they feel that they already have the right to lecture other citizens about nationalism.
And why did that Korean single out the Philippines? Of the more than 230 countries in the world, more than half are poorer than ours. Why doesn’t that Korean go to the more than 100 countries poorer than the Philippines and also lecture the peoples there about this thing called patriotism?
For those who want to know the real reasons why the Philippines is a poor country, the following link may help:
http://emanila.com/philippines/2010/01/19/why-is-the-philippines-a-poor-country/
MORE REACTIONS TO A KOREAN STUDENT'S ESSAY INSULTING FILIPINOS FOR BEING LESS NATIONALISTIC
PATRIOTIC DEEDS ARE ALL NOTHING!
For some people, the patriotic deeds of the Filipinos in the past and in the present are all nothing!
The past is past; it doesn't count anymore. And so the gallantry, sacrifices, blood, and tears of our ancestors, of our heroes and heroines, of the Filipinos who staged in 1896-98 the revolution against Spanish, of the Filipinos who fought in 1899-1906 the American forces, of the more than one million Filipinos who perished in the fight for freedom against the Japanese invaders in 1941-45, and of the Filipinos who braved armored tanks and warplanes during the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution -- all of these are nothing because they are already the past! They don't prove anything at all that we Filipinos had done patriotic deeds in the past and that we could still do them again.
The majority of Filipino voters who demonstrated the spirit of burning patriotism in the May 10, 2010, national and local elections -- they are all nothing!
The majority of Filipinos today who work hard and strive hard, here or abroad, to earn for themselves and for their loved ones, and to become productive and honorable citizens of our country -- they are all nothing!
For some people, the patriotic deeds of the Filipinos in the past and in the present are all nothing! They don't measure up to anything! They don't count!
For those people, the one that counts is that Korean student's essay!
Purihin ang langit! Yepeee!
TRAITORS
Those people who obstinately cling to that racist Korean student's essay belong to the breed of individuals who love believing what foreigners say against Filipinos.
Instead of defending their very own race, the race of their ancestors, parents, and children, they rather clap the insults of the foreigners.... See More
They are no different from those canines who betrayed their own countrymen to the Japanese during World War II.
If the Japanese invade again our country today, those canines will be the first to their point fingers at, and betray, their countrymen to the invaders.
STUPID BELIEFS
The belief that rich nations are rich because their citizens are patriotic and that poor nations are poor because their citizens lack patriotism is no different from such other stupid beliefs as the following:
1. Handsome or good-looking guys cannot commit rape; only the ugly men can.
2. Rich people don't steal; only the poor do.
3. White people don't shoplift; only the blacks do.
Most countries and most citizens of the world are poor. If we would follow that stupid belief on patriotism, it would appear that it is only the wealthy people who are and who know how to be patriotic, while the poor citizens don't know how to love their respective nations.
Mahal daw ng mga Koreano ang bansa nila. Pero tadtad sa corruption ang lipunan at kultura nila. Mula pa sa kauna-unahan nilang presidente, hanggang sa kasalukuyan.
Pati sa ibang bansa, nagkakalat ang pangungurakot ng mga Koreano. Napaparusahan ang mga korporasyong Koreano sa ibang bansa. Ang mga parusa ay umaabot sa daan-daang milyong dolyar. Nakakahiya.
Tapos, huhusgahan nila tayo tungkol sa ating pagkamakabayan. Unahin muna nila ang mga sarili nila.
For more:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/topic.php?uid=76351714377&topic=14121
i just want to know the moral lesson of this story
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