Outstanding Filipino and Korean talent took center stage at the 2021 Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival held on Sept. 25.
Organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, United Korean Community Association (UKCA) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the online event (due to the pandemic) garnered combined views of 103,000 views on the Korean Cultural Center of the Philippines YouTube channel and Facebook page.
This year, the PhilKor Festival commemorated the 30th year of celebrating friendship and promoting cultural exchange between the Philippines and Korea.
Titled “We Stand Together,” the event aimed to remind Filipinos that the two countries stand hand-in-hand against the pandemic and became a success through the cultural and artistic presentations from both countries.
Hosted by Sam Oh, SB19’s Justin de Dios and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, viewers were treated to not only traditional culture but also pop performances from YouTuber-singer Jin Ho Bae, TikTok sensation Mona, baritone and soprano tandem Byeong-in Park and Rachelle Gerodias, K-pop dance diva Dasuri Choi and traditional performers Tago and the Philippine Women’s University Indayog Gong Ensemble.
P-pop groups 4th Impact, Alamat and SB19 showed what true Filipino talent was all about through their segments. To cap off the show, the artists performed a virtual collaboration of the Korean song “Evergreen Tree” to show some hope and inspiration amid the pandemic.
During the show, the winners of the Talent Contest were announced. Homies were named as the Dance Category winner while Julles was hailed as the Voice Category winner.
AESIR PH wowed the judges and took home the Grand Winner award. The Grand Winner in the Online Talent Competition took home P50,000 in cash while the Vocal Category and Dance Category winners received P30,000 each.
The Philippines and South Korea continue to be strong partners through cultural exchanges and bilateral relations.