KCC gears up for year-long cultural event in Manila

IN celebration of the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between South Korea and the Philippines, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea will hold the 2019 KPop Friendship Concert on March 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The year 2019 has been designated as “Year of Mutual Exhange for Philippines and Korea,” and its Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to promote the anniversary with a free hallyu (Korean wave) K-Pop concert.

One of the biggest Korean cultural events in the country, the concert is part of Korean Cultural Center’s ( KCC) yearlong activities to celebrate the milestone.

In an exclusive interview with TheManilaTimes , KCC Philippines director Lee Jincheol said a number of famous K- Pop artists will join the event.

“We will be bringing four or five K-Pop groups for the Friendship Concert. We will also have cultural exchange performance from both Korea and the Philippines. However, the lineup of artists are yet to be revealed,” the KCC director enthused.

But before the big concert, the center has already prepared cultural events in the coming months. One of them is a collaboration of a Korean orchestra with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra ( PPO) for a concert on June 25 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“As you know, when the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Philippines dispatched 7,420 men from the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea that engaged in combat. So this event is an appreciation for the Filipino veterans of the Korean war.”

Another exciting event is the biggest Korean Film Festival in Manila which will bring Korean film productions to do a conference for the Filipino filmmakers.

“Although we are doing the Korean Film Festival annually by showcasing five to six Korean movies with our partner SM Cinemas, this year, it will be bigger. We have around 30,000 audiences every year for one whole month of the film festival and we circulate the movies within the cities in the provinces including Cebu, Baguio, Iloilo, among others.

“Aside from that, we are going to bring Korean Film Production here. We will have a conference with the Korean and Filipino filmmakers. The Film Development Council of the Philippines and its chairman Liza Diño is helping us.

“Lastly, we are also trying our best to invite big actors this year. I cannot tell you yet who it will be. We will share it with the public once they confirm,” Jincheol ended. Korean Cultural Center Director Lee Jincheol