Another highlight was meeting people with the same passion for Korea as I have, including fellow Korea.net Honorary Reporters in the Philippines. A lot of us met for the first time or reunited at the event. Since becoming an Honorary Reporter in 2014, I'd gotten to interact with a just few Philippine reporters before this opportunity came up.

Maria Lillia Grindle used to live in Gumi in Korea's Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, but moved back to her hometown of Iloilo earlier this year. "After becoming a Korea.net Honorary Reporter in 2015, I always attended events organized by KOCIS (Korean Culture and Information Service) despite living about four hours away from the venue, which was usually in Seoul," she said. "It was simply because I believe that doing so shows that I'm there to support the team, my K-family. When I moved back to the Philippines this year, I thought I'd be unable to attend any Korea-related events. So the invitation to attend the celebration of Korea Day and Armed Forces Day came as a big surprise. We felt so grateful and honored to be invited, so we decided to fly to Manila to attend."

Lilia and Vince both lived in Korea for over a decade. They traveled across the country and wrote about their experiences in their blog "Creative Adventourista Travels." Lilia now teaches Korean in her hometown of Iloilo in the hope of further spreading Korean culture there.

The Cebu-based Danes Sencil said she was happy was to attend the event and finally interact with her fellow Philippines-based Honorary Reporters. "Attending the event was an amazing experience because it wasn't just a venue for celebrating diplomatic ties but also opened doors for cultural exchange, network building and hopefully sustainable partnerships that are equally beneficial to the parties involved," she said.

Rein De Guzman took a 10-hour bus trip from his hometown of Santiago in the province of Isabela to show his support. "It was indeed great because the opportunity to be invited by the consul can happen only once. I attended the event because I wanted to see how deep our ties were, meet the ambassador and other personnel, and of course, see the Korea.net family who was invited as well," he said. De Guzman received compliments from Koreans at the event, including the ambassador, when he spoke to them in Korean.

University student Diana Kassandra Almarez said, "It's also important to note that this is the first time for Honorary Reporters to be invited to such a significant event, which shows that our roles are increasingly vital to the Korean government and the embassy. And as a diplomacy major, I saw how what I learned in class turned into a real-life event, which gave me an idea of how diplomatic protocols are applied.” She was also among the lucky few selected to ride the ASEAN-Korea Train in Korea.

John Paul Vergonia also jumped at the chance to attend despite living five hours away from Manila. "The journey was long and tiring but I don't mind traveling that much. I attended the event to share my part, get involved and know more about the still-growing and strong bilateral ties between the Philippines and Korea. Seven decades of bilateral ties are a milestone for both countries," he said.

Janine Pineda said she was also amazed that ties between both nations had been strong for 70 years, saying, "It gives me so much hope for the future endeavors the two nations will face and overcome together." Lani Matugas said she was amazed at how people were freely mingling with the other guests, who were from different sectors of society. "I was so happy to meet other fellow Honorary Reporters. I didn't realize how many of us are in the Philippines. I met new faces and was also happy to see familiar ones whom I'd met in Seoul and got inducted with me at Cheong Wa Dae on May 20 (this year)," she said.