KCC PLANS FOR FACE-TO-FACE CLASSES IGNITED WITH FIRST OFFLINE SEMINAR IN 2 YEARS

Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS)’s Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines (KCC) introduced new conversations and marked new beginnings with Let’s TALK: Tastes and Lessons on K-Life, a 2-day offline seminar to give the public an overview of its operations for the face-to-face classes.

In a span of two days, a total of 40 participants experienced different facets of Korean Culture for free, evenly divided into 20 participants each day. Participants from both days were able to take a trip all-over Korea with the Korea Gastronomic Experience and eat like Koreans together with comfort food that healed their hearts. They cooked and ate authentic Korean Food with authentic Korean ingredients, giving them a taste of Korea’s rich culinary culture and customs with KCC cooking class teacher Lily Min.

The first day applicants learned more about K-Life with Dr. Inero Ancho, who experienced it firsthand when he took his PhD in Chonbuk National University. Dr. Ancho shares that K-Life is lifeless without Pinoy life or the Pinoy community as a support system, and that he was able to share Filipino culture with Koreans through cultural activities. The second day applicants, on the other hand, learned more about studying in Korea together with Ms. Loren Daryl Sarenas who took her Master’s Degree in Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Ms. Sarenas shared her process of scholarship and program applications, which sparked the interest of the participants in trying out to study in Korea. She also shared that it was hard to cope with Korean food, yet once used to can be tolerated. While the experience is not all glitz and glamour, it took them into a glimpse of an exciting life of adventure by meeting new people, learning about a new culture, and going beyond their comfort zone. Dr. Ancho even said that it takes determination, a strong heart and mind to live and survive in South Korea.

To top the experience, the first group was treated to the basic steps of Korean traditional dance with KCC traditional dance class teacher Jo Jang Eun, where they danced to the beat of K-life traditions. As for the second group, they learned more about Korean calligraphy and how every stroke is reminiscent of Korean traditions together with KCC Korean language class teacher Shul Jung Wha.

Aside from the memorable experience, participants had the chance to win exciting K-Prizes through a special raffle draw at the end of each day. 10 lucky winners were drawn each day.

KCC currently offers free Korean Language classes and in line with its goal of culture collaboration between Korea and the Philippines, it is planning to open Korean Culture-related classes such as Korean Cooking Class, K-Pop Dance, Korean Traditional Dance, and Korean painting. For two years, it has been offering classes online, and Let’s TALK: Tastes and Lessons on K-Life marked the start of its trial face-to-face classes as it gives an overview of what KCC can offer. As of now, there are a total of 18 students for its only on-site Korean.