The Korean Embassy in the Philippines congratulated Filipino Margie Maldo for winning first place in the 42nd Workers’ Song Festival held in Korea last May 1.
Maldo, 30, beat other contestants and received the presidential award, the top prize, in the festival for her interpretation of Korean singer Park Wan-kyu’s song “Love Over Thousand Years.”
“Congratulations to Ms. Maldo Margie on winning the presidential award in Korea! Her winning means a lot to both countries, as she is the first immigrant worker to Korea to win the presidential award,” according to the Korean Embassy.
“I never thought of it but thank you for giving me such a big award. I am very grateful to my family for giving me courage and cheering me silently and I love my husband,” Maldo said as she accepted the award during the show, Korean news outlet Hankyung reported.
Maldo has been working in Korea since 2013 and she is married to a Korean and has three children. She works at an assembly plant for automobile parts.
The song festival for workers is an annual event co-hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor, Korea Worker’s Compensation and Welfare Service and TV channel KBS, and is open to all domestic laborers and workers including immigrant workers in Korea.
The 42nd Workers’ Song Festival was aired on channel KBS 2TV in celebration of Labor Day on May 1. This year, 1,463 workers participated in the festival. Of the total, 24 advanced to the finals.