There was this Korean camp that I wanted to go to last Monday. It’s a camp that goes on until tomorrow, Saturday. This Korean camp is for the many Filipinos who have learned to love the Korean entertainment industry, culture, food and languages but could not afford to go to Korea and experience the real thing. This Korean camp is supposed to let these Filipinos, which I am one of, experience the closest thing to Korea itself. There are lessons, several booths that simulate a Korean hotel, restaurant, airport, etc. Plus, the three meals to be served everyday are all Korean food. This is like the closest thing to experiencing my dream country.

I really wanted to go but since I live in Pampanga, it would be hard for me to go to Quezon City. I could only commute because my mom was in Singapore at that time and my dad had a company outing. I tried calling my mom in Singapore but she never answered. She had a meeting. I couldn’t possibly ask my dad because it was too sudden and I would never be allowed to commute alone (or with a classmate at least) going to Manila. All the more I wouldn’t be allowed because there’s an entrance fee of 2,000 pesos for food and lodging. Well, that’s what I assumed. I never bothered to try.

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I’d rather put it this way, “Korea and Japan”.

As someone who has started liking the Korean language and culture for more than 2 years ago, my recent interest for Japan has brought upon questions about my unquestionable love for Korea.

My friends from both the online community and in real life have been asking if I’ve forgotten everything about Korea already. I’ve started to study the Japanese language, watch Jdoramas and Naruto, listen to and sing J-Pop, and crave for Japanese food (which I used to dislike). I’ve started to turn my status messages and shout-outs into Japanese. I’ve also been using Japanese to mess around with my close friends who apparently started learning Korean too. And now they thought my love for Korea was nothing but a fad - a long one indeed.

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I’ve always dreamt of setting foot in the Land of the Morning Calm and in the Land of the Rising Sun. I’ve always imagined myself in the future having further studies or working in there. This dream is what drives me to pursue harder in my studies especially now that I’d be entering my first year in college. It’s been the fuel that runs the engine of my student-being.

One article by Katerina Rara has caught my attention while browsing the pages of the May 2, 2008 issue of the Philippine Star. It’s about the experiences of a teenage girl who has been an exchange student in Okinawa, Japan for a month. Here are excerpts of the article…

I showed my perky 1-D classmates the Philippines on a map, told them about our native foods, and taught them Filipino phrases. (Many of them started using Magandang umaga to greet me every morning.) My best friend Reiran showed me around school, taught me to read and to write some kanji characters, and told me about her future goals. Ayaka-san and I spoke the language of love — in other words, we talked about the guys we liked. Kotono-san, who worked part-time at a fast-food joint near my house, transliterated kanji into hiragana for me, so that I could sing the school song with her.

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