June 27, 2013 (Seoul, South Korea) – The Filipino Channel (TFC) roused the “The Land of the Morning Calm” with its comeback via the Philippine Independence Day celebrations in South Korea dubbed “Bayani Ako.” Chris Santos, sales head of ABS-CBN Japan, Inc.(TFC Japan) joined thousands of Filipinos in the annual Independence Day Celebration last June 2 at the iconic Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium and shared the good news to kababayans in the country.
The Philippine Embassy in Seoul, South Korea headed by His Excellency Ambassador Luis Cruz, gathered over a thousand Filipinos from the five prefectures and together, brought a piece of home, including news on the premiere Filipino network’s return, to this year’s celebrations in South Korea. Embassy personnel and community members injected homegrown celebrations and assigned a traditional Pinoy fiesta (festival) to represent every area of South Korea – Kadayan festival for Daegu; Sinulog for Bucheon; Panagbenga for Incheon; Masskara for Ansan; and Ati-atihan for Gasan.
One of the highlights of the festivities included a full musical extravaganza on the history of the Philippines. As early as a few months ago, Filipinos in South Korea were already bustling with preparations for the grand fiesta on Independence Day. This year’s Philippine Independence Day celebration was a fruition of their months of hard work.
The staging of the Philippine Independence Day is a milestone in itself as well as the event was held at the Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium which was built specifically for the 2014 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
TFC Japan, a participating sponsor of the event, helped make the festivities more meaningful with the announcement of its return to the country under ABS-CBN Japan, Inc. (South Korea Branch). Enrique Olives, managing director of TFC Japan and its representative in South Korea said “True to the vision of our Chairman Emeritus Eugenio Lopez Jr., we are in existence to reach Filipinos wherever they may be and to bridge these Filipinos’ distance to home. We put forth this mission by bringing the best of homegrown news and entertainment to our kababayans worldwide. With an estimated 50,000 Filipinos in Korea, it makes perfect sense to fulfill our Chairman’s vision further by including South Korea in our expansion plan. We hope that by bringing TFC to South Korea, we are taking our Chairman’s dream a step further and are narrowing the gap between these Pinoys and home.
Aside from TFC’s return, Santos announced the launch of the Star Studio South Korea, distributed by licensed partner Worldcom Korea. As soon as Santos opened the booth, the Pinoys emptied the magazine stands, proof of how kababayans look forward to information and entertainment from the Philippines.
According to Santos, “South Korea is a rising super power in the world market. Filipinos are fortunate to be part of the growing economy. We at TFC want to accompany these Filipinos in their quest for their future here while keeping them anchored on their roots by providing them information that can equip them as Filipinos overseas and at the same time with the kind of entertainment which they miss back home. This is the reason why we are happy to return to South Korea to be with our kapamilyas.”
Like TFC’s breadth of programming, the Philippine Independence Day celebrations also showcased local Filipino talents. As the Kapamilya network’s representative, Santos announced the winners of the Street Dance of the Year and Arko of the Year (most beautiful fiesta arc of the year) – two major and much-coveted prizes in the yearly event.
Pinoys in South Korea say they anticipate these talents and festive elements in the Philippine Independence Day celebrations every time. In the coming months, Filipinos can look forward to more of this showcase and the best of homegrown entertainment which only TFC can deliver.
