Cebu Notes｜Chapter 2 "Korean Wave" in the Philippines

▲Chapter 2 "Korean Wave" in the Philippines

This time the group of nine people is mighty, no matter where they walk, they are a large group, and they will always attract attention on the road. In addition to staring, passers-by (whether children, adults, boys or girls) will blurt out: 안녕하세요. annyeonghaseyo, mistaken for South Korea There is an 80% chance of people, and other times they ask: Are you Japanese? When we walk in the markets and old streets with few tourists, everywhere we go is annyeonghaseyo, and children stare at us like they see some rare creatures, If we replied with a smile, they would run around smiling (?!).

2-1 Distances between South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines

Korean culture(?) is occupied by the Philippines. There are Korean restaurants in the alleys and streets. The foreign instant noodles in the grocery store also sell Shin ramen, but there is no Korean music (the drivers all play English songs) like the Taiwanese stores. Apart from the Taiwanese on the same flight, almost half of the people I met at the airport on the day of arrival and departure were Koreans, and the slogans at the airport were also marked in Korean. To a certain extent, it can be directly judged from the dress, including the clothes sold in some clothing stores, you can feel the target audience. I am curious how Cebu became a holiday destination for Taiwanese or Koreans?

One possible reason seems to be that students in South Korea and Taiwan have a summer vacation system, while students in the Philippines still have to go to school at this time.

2-2 Cross-border mobility under globalization

I remembered the forum I went to Jiaotong University and talked about the foreign labor policies of South Korea and Taiwan. If it is the link of the times, it may be an inextricable layer of cladding. There are still a few Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan. They live in the local airbnb. Our host is a middle-aged man, about 40-50 years old. Before departure, he thought that the driver who picked up and picked up at Bohol was himself. Later, he learned that he had hired a driver. During the conversation, he knew that it was a large family. His parents were Teacher, several brothers and sisters in the family work abroad, and basically there is not much time for reunion. When asked if many people here are farmers, he said that many people have gone to big cities to work with foreign countries. Maybe one of them Some people went to Korea or Taiwan.

I chatted with the coach when I went back to the river and talked about language. I learned indirectly that many language schools are located in Cebu, attracting people who can’t afford studying in Europe and the United States to learn English here. Koreans and Taiwanese are the bulk, and these border crossings and cross-border movements are hidden. There are certain values, and people struggle with them, hoping to swim to the other side of the ideal, and there are still people who are still surging and sinking.