‘In a lot of ways, my story is typical of a Filipino immigrant to Australia,’ says the Korean-born envoy
When Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu entered the newly opened Panco Café, almost every head turned to her direction. With a charming presence, great posture, and style, plus a sincere tone when she greeted the owner and her staff, the ambassador easily commanded the room without intimidating anyone. It was her second time at the café, which serves Melbourne coffee and Filipino-Australian fusion dishes.
“In a lot of ways, my story is typical of a Filipino immigrant to Australia,” she says when asked about her background. At the age of 11, her family made a big move from Korea to Western Australia. “They had very little money and connections but they moved to Australia because they wanted to provide a better life and education for their three kids,” she intimated.
Before she left, her Korean teacher told her: “You should become a diplomat when you grow up. Now, you’re going to a new country and you can be a human bridge that connects different cultures and different people in different countries.”
Fergus Murphy
And so she did, carrying with her what she was once told. Her family arrived in Perth with her not knowing a word of English yet she persevered. “Australia—it’s such a multicultural society where hard work is rewarded,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what background, what connections you have. Everyone is given a fair chance, so we’re extremely lucky to have moved into a country like that where, frankly, our hard work paid off.”
Following her years in university where she extensively studied commerce, economics, and taxation, Yu graduated during a minor recession. She was lucky enough, however, to land a job at the tax office where she spent 11 years. The slight detour also led her to work for the treasury, then the prime minister’s office. In 2010, she was seconded to the Korean government to assist with the G20 presidency. She was awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) for her work. A full circle moment, bringing her back to what her Korean teacher said.
She later joined their foreign ministry, where she was first assigned as deputy ambassador to Japan before being sent to the Philippines as ambassador. It’s been quite a colorful career. Now that Yu is in Manila, she’s got lots of ideas and plans to advance relations between the two countries.
Manila’s relationship with Canberra has always been cordial and I know that adjective gets thrown around quite often within a bunch of diplomatese. This particular relationship, however, goes beyond lip service.
The two countries have one of the biggest Enhanced Defense Cooperation programs. Out of all Southeast Asian nations, Australia holds joint military exercises with the Philippines the most, from improving disaster risk reduction plans down to practical military capabilities. Just recently, during an exercise with their Australian counterparts, the Philippine Navy (for the first time) successfully refueled a ship at sea instead of going back to shore for it. Thirty thousand liters of fuel, transferred in five minutes.
‘I want more Australians to come to the Philippines and start businesses, more Australians to come here and study, travel around this beautiful country.’
Another thing Yu is passionate about that benefits both countries is labor mobility. Inspired by success stories like that of Visum Ventures CEO John-Michael Hilton, a Filipino-Chinese-Australian who brought Koomi and T2 to the Philippines, she says there’s much to be gained with such level of people-to-people exchanges. “There are so many examples of Filipinos who come back to the Philippines after time abroad and value add to the economy and to the Philippines’ soft power,” she says. “We have employers that are willing to do that—let them have a hands-on experience of the Australian system and the Australian way of working and, with all that knowledge and experience, come back to the Philippines to do what they want to do.”
Another example is the owner of Panco Cafe, Shanel Tan, who trained in Melbourne’s Market Lane café to learn the ropes of running a successful coffee business. “Without those links, this cafe wouldn't exist. This kind of creativity and innovation doesn’t happen in some high-tech science lab,” says Yu. “Innovation happens all around us and that’s what makes the economy stronger and grow.”
Currently, the Filipino diaspora is the fifth largest in Australia. They thrive on all levels of their economy, according to Yu, as students, employees, and professionals, even providing a voice for other migrants by being active in politics. But it must go both ways. “I want the same for Australians as well. I want more Australians to come to the Philippines and start businesses, more Australians to come here and study, travel around this beautiful country,” she says. “I want those rules to get stronger and stronger over time, because it’s only through there that we will find innovation and we will find even stronger alignment of ideas and objectives. It will make both countries stronger.”
Yu is in Manila with her husband, Fergus Murphy, and one of their four boys. Murphy, like his wife, has taken to his role quite well, juggling a successful career of his own while being active in the organization for the Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM). On weekends, they like to explore the city by checking out restaurants and hip galleries. They have made it to places like The Alley at Karrivin and even Cubao Expo where they chanced upon Australian-inspired coffee joint Roo’s Café. Soon, before the years ends, they plan on exploring the beaches too after some work-related travel.
Yu is the kind of woman Barbies should be modelled on. She can easily inspire younger women to set goals and really go for them despite the odds, all in a span of an hour, over brunch and a mean flat white. She just got here and it already feels like she’s doing so much. To that, she says, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”