Ang Paga-asawa Ko ng Koreano -Cindy (hindi tunay na pangalan)-

Ako po ay 25 taong gulang, tubong Bataan.  Nakilala ko po ang Koreano na aking napangasawa sa isang “show-up” sa isang agency sa Makati.  May taga sa amin po sa Taguig na broker na nagdala sa akin sa agency para mag “show-up.” 

Noong mga panahon po kasi na yon maysakit ang nanay ko. At dahil sa hirap makahanap ng pera sa panahon ngayon, naisipan kong mag “show-up” dahil madami akong kilala sa amin na nag “show-up” nga doon.  Sinubukan ko para makatulong sana sa mga magulang ko dahil noong panahon na yon halos matatapos na ako sa pinapasukan kong trabaho.  

Ganito po ang nangyari:

Nag text po sa akin ang pinsan ko at nagtanong kung gusto ko daw pong mag asawa ng Korean kasi may ipapakilala daw po siya.  Akala ko po noon yong kakilala niya ay may kasamang Koreano na dumating sa Pinas. Kasi po yong anak ng kumare ng mama niya ay may asawang Korean.  Sabi ko po sige kasi nga maysakit ang nanay ko noon at baka ito na yong swerte ko na makapag-asawa ng Koreano.

Kinabukasan po nagpunta ako ng bahay nila tapos nalaman ko na agency lang din pala na kung saan nag “show-up” ang kapatid niya,  Sinamahan po ako ng kumare ng mama niya sa broker na Pinay sa may Taguig din po.

Pagpunta po namin doon, na interview ako kung single po ako at kung ilang taon na ako at kung wala ba daw akong anak.  Sabi ko po wala at kinunan ako ng picture. Sabi tawagan na lang daw ako kapag may guest na Koreano na dadating.  Kasi noong mga araw na yon wala daw pong guest.  Kinuha po and number ko.

Tinawagan nga po ako nung may dumating na guest.  Pinapunta po kami sa bahay niya. Tatlo po kami noong babae nang araw na yon.  Kasama niya kami pagpunta sa agency sa Makati.  Madami pang mga babae ang nag “show-up.”  Iba-iba pong mga broker na Pinay ang nagdala ng mga babae noong araw po na yon.  Hindi po ako napili noon.  

Sumunod na araw may tatlong guests po ang dumating at hindi pa rin po ako napili.  September 1 po uli, mayroon na naman, yon na nga po yong petsa na napili ako at kinabukasan po, September 2 kinasal na kami kasabay ng tatlong babae na napili noong August 30.  Apat po kasi kaming ikinasal noong September 2, 2012.

Ginawa ang kasalan sa isang hotel po sa Makati Avenue, sa may Aberdeen Court, 3rd floor at judge po yong nagkasal sa amin.  Bawat family po ng ikakasal ay mininum ng 10 tao lang po ang dapat imbitado sa kasal.  Umatend po sa akin yong nanay ko, kapatid na bunso, tito ko,  pinsan ko saka yong kumare ng mama ng pinsan ko.  

Judge daw po yong nagkasal sa amin. Sa palagay ko po, fake lang po yong marriage contract doon dahil noong nakita ko, may mga witness na nakapirma doon na kamag-anak ko daw pero di ko naman mga kilala.  Dinaya lang po nila, gawa-gawa po ba.

Ilang oras lang po kami nagkakilala ng Koreano, kinabukasan kasal na at 5 days kaming nagsama sa hotel. Tapos bumalik na po siya dito sa Korea.

Naiwan ako habang yong mga papers ko na gagamitin pagpunta sa Korea ay inaayos ng agency. Tapos noon, nakapunta na ako dito sa Korea. 

Hindi ko akalain na ganito ang magiging buhay ko dito. Lalo pang napasama sa kagustuhan ko na makatulong sa magulang ko, ganito pa nagdudusa ako ngayon,  pati sarili ko di ko matulungan ngayon.

Sising-sisi po ako ngayon. Marami po akong napulot na aral sa nangyari sa akin dito ngayon. Hindi ko po kasi pinag-isipan ng mabuti kung tama ba ang naging desisyon ko, basta ang nasa isip ko lang kasi dati kailangan ako ng magulang ko para makatulong sa kanila. 

Pero mas mabuti pa noong kasama ko sila at kahit paano kumikita naman ako ng minimum ang sahod, naalagaan ko ang magulang ko at nakakapagbigay kahit paano sa kanila.  Ngayon wala na po,  ang sama pa ng ugali ng sinamahan ko.  

Kaya po awang-awa sa akin ang pamilya ko hindi daw kasi namin alam kung ano mangyayari sa akin dito. Hindi rin sila tumitigil sa paghahanap ng paraan para makakauwi ako pabalik sa kanila.  Salamat din sa Diyos dahil hindi niya ako pinababayaan. 

Ito ay isinalaysay ng isa sa mga kababayan natin na natulungan ng Philippine Center na sa ngayon ay maluwalhating nakabalik na sa kanyang pamilya sa Pilipinas. Nawa’y kapulutan natin ito ng aral lalo na ang ating mga kababayan na nagnanais ding makapunta sa bansang Korea sa pamamagitan ng paga-asawa ng Koreano. Hindi natin sinasabing ang lahat ay “sad ending” subalit mapaghandaan sana at mapag-isipan ang bawat desisyon na gagawin.

Xenophobic voters shun ruling party By Lee Tae-hoon

 Many people against multiculturalism avoided casting votes for the governing Saenuri Party and the minor opposition New Progressive Party in Wednesday’s National Assembly elections on fears of having a nationalized citizen as a legislator.

Few hesitated to express their deep disappointment in the two parties’ support for non-Koreans and Korean nationals with multicultural backgrounds. They argued that the appalling recent murder in Suwon by a Korean-Chinese man reveals the side effects destroying the “homogeneity of Korean society.”

The two parties named Philippine-born Jasmine Lee and Pak No-ja, a Russian-born professor at the University of Oslo in Norway, on their list of candidates for proportional representative seats.

“I just cast my vote for the sake of the nation and the race,” a blogger posted Wednesday on Internet forum “Against Multiculturalism Policy.”

“Many people have lined up to vote in my town. Of course, the two foreigners will not get in.”

Another blogger, identified as “Multiculturalism means multiple races,” urged other voters to avoid casting ballots for political parties that have been supportive of Korea becoming a multicultural society.

“I cast my vote early by excluding parties eager to embrace a multiracial, multicultural society from my choice,” he said. “The Saenuri Party went insane. Don’t ever cast a vote for it.”

The blogger said he filed a complaint against the conservative party for placing Lee, secretary-general of non-profit organization Sharing Water Drops, 15th on its list of proportional representatives.

“It will just be a matter of time before East Asians make up the half of the population,” he argued.

A blogger, indentified as “inferno,” called for a rise in nationalism, saying the Saenuri Party has given up its conservative doctrine.

“I’m a conservative, but I refuse to vote for the Saenuri Party because it has become a load of trash that no longer deserves to be labeled conservative,” he said.

“Now is time for us to prepare for the rebirth of true conservatism in Korea.”

The blogger said he and members of the Alliance for Eliminating Crimes by Foreigners were planning to stage a rally today or Friday in protest of promoting multiculturalism in front of the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Numerous bloggers also expressed their deep concern over the promotion of multiculturalism, threatening to shun political parties that overlook problems created by foreigners on messages that they posted on the official website of Cheong Wa Dae.

“As you know Korea is a country with good security,” a blogger named Lee Hyung-in wrote. “If foreign criminal rings come to Korea and stay here as a hideout, Korea will be a playground for foreign criminals.”

Bae Jin-a, a kindergarten teacher, said that politicians are discriminating their own countrymen for the sake of giving more incentives to foreigners.

Bae said she discovered that the government subsidizes fees for kindergartens for families with a multicultural background regardless of their income level.

“They seem to believe it is obligatory for us to treat them as special because they are foreigners. Some do not take their children home even though they are not working and at home,” she said. “I don’t understand why the government fully pays for the education for all multicultural families, including the ones owning many apartments and lots of land.”

leeth@koreatimes.co.kr

Filipina Bridges Cultural Gap in Korean Musical By Katherine Deen

Filipinos have yet another reason to be proud.

Their kababayan, theater actress Cherish Maningat-Bae stood out in the lead role of the recently-concluded tour of “Arirang Fantasy” a Korean musical staged in Korea.

“Arirang Fantasy” features the ups and downs in the life of a young Filipina widow (played by Cherish) who lives with her mother-in-law and nine-year old daughter in Korea. The musical aims to portray the differences between Filipino and Korean culture and bridge the gap that comes from it.   It is the first Korean musical to feature a Filipina as lead actress.

The role seems to be tailor-made for Cherish, who chanced upon the opportunity to play the part when she learned about the musical from a friend who worked as the musical’s costume designer. Cherish, extensive theater training and directorial credits under her belt, was supposed to enter the project as a cultural consultant who advises the cast about the nuances of Philippine culture.  But after reading the script (and crying buckets), Cherish was convinced she had to do the musical herself.

Not for fame or fortune

Fame or fortune was the last thing on her mind when Cherish, who is in Manila for a short vacation, agreed to do  “Arirang Fantasy.”

“I want to do something for the Filipinas in Korea. I want to uplift their image because I am also a part of the Filipino wives in Korea (she married a Korean). There, our image is really not that good. There is a lot of negative media coverage and I felt like I want to help so I talked to the director and the staff. I told them I really wanted to do it. I gave them my reason for wanting to do it and I told them I am really passionate about it.”

The director didn’t even audition Cherish.  He offered her the role as an understudy for 10 of the 40 shows.  But that was only for starters. The talented Filipina ended up headlining the musical after the original lead actress was relieved for certain performance issues.

Adjusting to Korean work culture

Working with a predominantly Korean cast and crew has been a learning experience for Cherish. She shared that one of the reasons why “Arirang Fantasy” became so successful was her chemistry with the leadactor.



Since it was a traveling musical, the lead actor, a popular comedian, threw impromptu lines at her during performances. Cherish proudly said that “even if I am not Korean, I was able to catch up with him. I knew how to deal with his adlibs. That is why our play was fun.”

Working on the musical was not a bed of roses, though. 

Cherish notes: “What is most difficult for me is that it was so comfortable for them to work with me that they sometimes forget that I am not Korean. They think ‘why don’t you know how to relate to us?’ Sometimes they get angry.”

She recalled how she cried after she was scolded for sitting on her make-up chair ahead of the Korean seniors.

She shared that “I didn’t know that the seniors have to find their places first. If you sit down first, you’re thought of as rude.”

Cherish the true-blue Filipina was not accustomed to this Korean cultural nuance.

“There were a lot of instances, not just this one -- from  rehearsals to the performances --  where they thought I made a lot of mistakes but they were not really mistakes,” adds Cherish.

She shared that their director had to remind the actors about their cultural differences to promote understanding among cast members.

Breaking misconceptions about Filipinas

Her”Arirang Fantasy” experience has made Cherish “more concerned about our kababayans in Korea.

She explains, “Before the musical, I just felt that I wanted to help them. But now, I want to help them because I can see myself in them. I want them to experience what I am experiencing right now. I’m happy. I love my husband and I love his family and I’m really working hard to make the relationship work and to make the family relationship work. If they only knew how to deal with the mother-in-law and father-in-law, then it will be a lot easier. If we adapt to them [Korean] first, it will be a lot easier. I want to help them through that and maybe not just in this musical but even in another line of work.” 

To further dispel the Filipinos’ negative image and bridge cultural gaps, Cherish injects Filipino lines and even sang  Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak” in “Arirang Fantasy.”

Plans to go international

Cherish will return to Korea to continue work on “Arirang Fantasy.” The musical, originally sponsored by the Korean Racing Authority, will continue its run, this time on a larger scale.  The show will now be funded by the Korean government itself.

“They want us to go international too…if they will have their own national musical, they want to make it ‘Arirang’ because ‘Arirang’ is like their national song, so ‘Arirang Fantasy’. If London has ‘Miss Saigon,’ Korea has ‘Arirang’,” says Cherish.

Indeed, Cherish is proudly carrying the Filipino flag in Korea and she welcomes the task.  She is happy to be the first Filipina cast in the lead role of Korea’s first big-scale musical.

And she appreciates all the support her  kababayans are giving her. 

“I’m really really very thankful because they recognize me as someone who will uplift our image abroad which is really very important because there are many negative news and I want to be part of those who uplift Filipinos all over the world,” Cherish states.

Source: http://ph.omg.yahoo.com/news/only-on-omg----filipina-bridges-cultural-gap-in-korean-musical-.html