Seeing the Philippines through its artists’ eyes

From left, Philippine Ambassador to Korea Luis Cruz, Philippine Embassy first secretary Sylvia Marasigan and artists Loreta Medina and Jimmy Vista at the opening of the exhibition at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center, central Seoul, last Wednesday. Provided by Jed Dayang

To Loreta Medina, a Filipina writer, the world is flat.

Each person, regardless of nationality and wealth, has his own world view and should be respected as he is, she thinks. This utopian view, however, has been challenged by Koreans.

In her eyes, most of the Filipinos in Korea, now numbering around 50,000, live namelessly under the label of “migrant workers,” a sometimes derogatory term referring to foreign workers.

Medina has lived here on and off since 1990, working with Unicef as a writer and editor.

She has also seen Korean immigrants in the Philippines, mostly rich ones, behave like “emperors” among her people.

“I am sorry to say this but they look down on us,” said Medina, speaking of what she perceives as the general attitude of Koreans toward the Filipino people.

Also a painter, Medina believes art can be a remedy to the problem.

She said promoting Filipinos as artists, not just migrant workers, can help Koreans better understand their fellow Asians, who she said are as sophisticated and culturally rich as Koreans are.

With that in mind, Medina is holding an exhibition of her artworks, poems and paintings in Seoul. The exhibition, which also showcases works by three other Filipino artists, has been on at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center’s Gallery Nuri since last Wednesday.

“Wealth is not in money,” Medina said. “Wealth is in the heart. Here, we have it too.”

The other artists said they are proud to be able to let Koreans take a rare glimpse of the artistic aspects of the Philippines.

William Gaudinez has paper crafts on display. One of his works, a folding screen hanging on the wall, features a painting of a Filipina weaving cloth on one side. On the other side, he painted a Korean woman, also weaving.

“We [the Philippines and Korea] have similarities,” Gaudinez said. He said the two countries share cultural aspects and discovering them will enhance mutual understanding.

Jimmy Vista, who is also a suburban city councilor, brought 27 of his paintings. Many of them feature famous tourist sites in the Philippines, including Boracay Island.

“I want to show the beauty of the Philippines,” Vista said.

Samuel Penaso, the third artist in the exhibition, is showing paintings of his hometown, Bohol, south of Manila.

The exhibition, titled “Islands of Vision: A Philippine Exhibition,” is hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Seoul with the support of the Korea Foundation.

The embassy hosted a similar exhibition last year, and says it will continue its efforts to promote Filipino arts. Collaboration between artists from the Philippines and Korea will also be pursued, the embassy said.

“I think the next step will be to have collaborative arts among Filipino artists and Korean artists,” said Jed Dayang, second secretary at the embassy. “When you see artworks from the Philippines, and when Filipinos see artworks from Korea, they will be able to better understand their neighbors and become more tolerant.”

By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Reporter [joe@joongang.co.kr]