WHEN the Koreans invaded Angeles City some years back, we were introduced to samgyupsal, kimchi and a few Korean slang which we commonly hear now. The Koreans in the city slowly but surely built their own community in and around the spine road of Friendship Highway in Barangay Anunas. You should see this particular stretch, particularly during night time and with all those neon light blaring in Korean characters you’ll feel that you are in the Gangnam area of Seoul. It is dotted by many restaurants which in some way many locals are patronizing because we already developed a taste for the Korean cuisine.
Also at the Clark Freeport now, the Korean investments trebled over the years and housing subdivisions and restaurants aside from those manufacturing plants are too prominent to miss. There’s one restaurant which serves Korean cuisine at its best and this is the Kang Kang Sullai, which is located at the village an upscale area at the back of Midori Hotel and Casino. It is owned by Park Yeong In, a successful businessman from Busan. Mr. Park who has been in the country for five years now is an adopted member of our Wednesday Club which meets regularly each week. We “baptized” and gave him an English name “Paolo” for he has resemblance to the Filipino actor Paolo Avelino. He has a simple method in choosing any type of investment, and he has what we call the “Midas touch”. He has invested on Besco Clark and Provence Condominiums and still looking for more investments. He wanted and happy in giving jobs to the Filipinos.
Kang Kang Sullai is a destination restaurant and its 52 tables are almost full of diners, both Koreans and locals. (Kang Kang Sullai is a traditional dance in Korea which originated from war times. It is a dance where everyone holds hands and make circles while swaying in turns). The beautiful interior is so awesome and features several function rooms ideal for small meetings. The resto is wrapped with luminous glasses that diners get good view of the lush surroundings. Kang Kang Sullai is the first off-shore restaurants since many of these five star eatery are on upscale areas in Korea. Their menu is so fantastic yet medium priced. All those who experience dining there for sure will get back. It happened to me personally and it happened to Wednesday Club members.
Like Mr. Park, numerous Korean businessmen are making a beeline in Clark Freeport and adjacent communities. They are bullish. Investments here and investments there. It never stop. Now you might want to ask why are they here. Obviously for various reasons. But first the background. The Korean Peninsula was divided into two. The north and the south. The Korean war raged for three years, 1950 to 1953. The war divided the country into a communist northern half and an American- occupied southern half, the division marked by the 38th parallel as the demarcation line.
Few years ago I traveled to Panmunjong, there is a no-man’s land that separates the two Koreas. Our travel guide was so impressed when I told him about the participation of our Filipino soldiers during that war. That our soldiers were the last combatants repelling the onrushing North Korean contingents aided by communist Chinese troops. They were the soldiers belonging to the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) where former President Fidel Ramos saw action.
The postwar planners had intended the division between the north and south would be a temporary administrative solution but to this day the reunification effort on both sides was stonewalled. And every now then, due to change in leadership from Kim Il Sung, considered as great leader of the North Korean nation, to his son Kim Jong il and now the very young and inexperienced grandson Kim Jong Un would intermittently send shivers to the south every time the latter would order tests of their nuclear arsenals. That's one good reason why many Koreans are placing investments in other nations particularly in our country. The experience of the South Vietnamese people during the fall of Saigon in the late sixties after it was overrun by the North Vietnamese soldiers may have influenced actions now of the Koreans coming from the south.
The other reason why mostly they are settled here in Angeles City and some moved to Baguio City, Metro Manila and in Cebu City in the south is because of proximity. The activation of the Clark International Airport must have contributed largely to the coming of the Koreans. One of their legacy carriers, Asiana Airlines and some budget airlines like Jin Air make regular flights to Clark. Besides the proximity, the business climate in Angeles City is another attraction. And talking about attraction, many pretty young Filipina girls are now frequently escorted by Korean gentlemen. It will be no longer be a surprise to us that in the coming years we can have in the mainstream Philippine society Filkor kids, products of procreation by the two races. Gone are the days of Fil-Am kids after the closure of Clark Air Force Base in 1991.