The Korean community in the Philippines with the help of barangay leaders and volunteers got together and held a community pantry at the Manila Korea Town in Malate Saturday.

The Korean Embassy in the Philippines is supporting Manila Korea Town’s commitment to build a community of “bayanihan” between Filipinos and Koreans.

Filipino students from the University of the Philippines (UP) and University of Santo Tomas participated as volunteers at the community panty. The Korean embassy also volunteered and donated kimchi, a popular Korean dish of fermented vegetables.

The community pantry benefitted about 550 households in the Malate area. Items that were given away included rice, local and Korean ramen, cookies, bread, pechay, potato, onion, upo, sayote, labanos, corn and kimchi.

This was the second community pantry held at Manila Korea Town. The first was held in May and provided help to 550 households. In total, the two community pantries were able to reach out to 1,100 households in the area.

Cassandra Dela Cruz, president of the UP Arirang, a Filipino-Korean friendship organization, and two other members volunteered at the community pantry, helping “out with setting up the venue and distributing the goods.”

“We had more members who were interested but had to limit the number of volunteers for safety considering that there were volunteers from other universities as well,” she told Manila Bulletin.

She said participating at the community pantry “was very fulfilling and rewarding. Especially in a time where we all have to look for each other, it was great that we had this opportunity to help out and give back to the community.”

Dela Cruz said the Korean community’s act is inspiring amid the ongoing coronavirus disease pandemic.

“We were also able to see firsthand how even this simple act of giving and providing can do so much for our fellow Filipinos. As members of an organization that promotes Filipino-Korean friendship, this also inspired us to do more for both communities on our own end considering that this community pantry was hosted and set up entirely by our Korean friends who must also be having a hard time coping with the pandemic in a foreign land,” she added.

Cedrix Rodriguez and another student from UST also volunteered along with three others from the National Youth Commission.

“As a volunteer, this was a good opportunity for me to know and learn more about their culture. I also had the chance to talk to some of the Koreans who are working at the embassy. This kind of event is a good platform not only to introduce culture to each other but also to promote a long lasting friendship between the Philippines and Korea,” he said.

Lee Kyoo Ho, consul general at the Korean Embassy in Manila, said, “We will continue our joint efforts with barangay leaders and young Filipino friends to make Manila Korea Town become a town of ‘bayanihan,’ inclusiveness, resilience and cultural diversity.”