Speech of Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye during the KBI-NBN International Co-Production Workshop |
Shangri-la
Makati |
| Thank
you, Mr. Rolly Reyes, Chairman and President of NBN 4, Mr. Gyun Yu, President of Korean
Broadcasting Institute, Mr. Sungmog Hong, Deputy Chief of Mission, Republic of South
Korea, other officials of KBI, Mr. Joey Isabelo, General Manager and Chief Executive
Officer of NBN, Mr. Bob del Rosario, Vice President of IBC 13, Mr. Pal Marquez of RPN 9,
our friend from DOT, Ms. Evelyn Alcaraz-Macayayong, our emcee, Ms. Chichi Robles Fajardo,
workshop participants, ladies and gentlemen. Today, the Philippines is host to the largest group of overseas Koreans in Southeast Asia. South Koreans have overtaken the Americans as our number one tourists. One day, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was pleasantly surprised to see a busload of South Korean schoolchildren on their way to the Banawe Rice Terraces. Many South Korean golfers come to the Philippines in droves to enjoy and relax in our verdant golf courses. During the Christmas holidays, my family and I went to Baguio and there I met a longtime friend, Mr. Gary Lising. For the information of our Korean friends, Mr. Lising is one of our best known Philippine comedians. He said: "Mr. Secretary, do you know what? I just learned that they have just changed the name of Camp John Hay?" I was surprised. And so I asked Mr. Lising. "And what is the new name of Camp John Hay?" Mr. Lising replied: "Didn't you know. It is now called Kim Jung Hoy." Of course, Gary Lising was alluding to the fact that Korean golfers now practically outnumber Filipino golfers in in the fairways of Camp John Hay. South Korea has invested and continue to invest in the Philippines as exemplified by Hanjin, the fourth largest shipbuilding company in the world which is now operating in Zambales. Employing close to 3,000 of our highly skilled welders, Hanjin has embarked on a very ambitious project, that of building the biggest ocean-going cargo vessel right here in our country. In addition, the Philippines is gaining popularity as a center for acquiring English education. Chairman Carlito Puno of the Commission for Higher Education estimates 100,000 are already enrolled in different private and state universities and colleges. South Koreans are beginning to take a look at the Philippines as a haven for retirees. And both South Koreans and Filipinos have benefited from these new relationships. Of late, Filipinos are showing appreciation for Korean culture. Korean television, or more popularly known as Koreanovelas, and pop music are a hit among the young as well as the old. Sandara Park, a Korean singer and actress, is a familiar face in Philippine television. If I may dare say, Filipinos have developed a growing fondness for many other things Korean. It isn't surprising at all that the cultural exchange between our countries-the Philippines and South Korea- is starting to flourish. That is why this international co-production workshop of the Korean Broadcasting Institute and our National Broadcasting Network is very timely and certainly most welcome. This workshop, I am sure, will further broaden and deepen the sharing and appreciation of cultural diversity among Asian nations, and, more importantly, it will serve as a model for increasing socio-cultural understanding among nations of the world. In this era of globalized mass media, where news and information, as well as ideas, are exchanged at the speed of light around the world, there is an even greater need for nations to foster socio-cultural understanding and cooperation. In the name of Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I therefore commend the Korean Broadcasting Institute for spearheading this international co-production workshop with our National Broadcasting Network. I was told that this workshop is part of your international program production exchange project and that you are also working with four other Asian countries aside from the Philippines, such as China, Indonesia, Mongolia and Vietnam. Through your partnership with us, may you inspire other nations of the world to appreciate the wealth and diversity of other cultures and traditions. Technology neither brings us together nor apart; but it serves to magnify what is in our hearts. It is our willingness to cross cultural barriers that we will be able to achieve understanding and create a safer, more stable and more humane world. I believe it is this willingness that brings us here today-our willingness to be beacons of hope and understanding that inspite of our cultural differences and backgrounds, we are indeed one humanity. We hope that with our commitment to the objectives of our partnership, we will be able to create a reciprocal mass media culture in Asia and succeed in strengthening this bridge of understanding and harmony. We have much to learn from and to share with each other, as well as with the world. Thank you very much and I wish you success in your international co-production workshop and in your international program production exchange project. More power to the Korean Broadcasting Institute! More power to NBN 4! |