31 October 2013 – A Filipino mainstay of an Incheon-based multiethnic pop group won on October 26 the Outstanding Performance Award in a song and dance competition organized by an intergovernmental organization co-founded by 10 ASEAN countries and South Korea.
Erick Christian A. Robles, a permanent member of Montant, a multicultural transnational chorus, since March 2012, also took home one million South Korean won in prize money as the representative for the Philippines in the 5th Bravo! ASEAN in Korea competition organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre in Konkuk University in Seoul.
Robles, who survived two rounds of auditions in September and in October in Hongdae and Ansan, sang a rousing combination piece entitled Companion (Dongbanja), which was released a decade ago by veteran trot singer Tae Jin-ah, followed by modified GangnamStyle by PSY.
At the start of the three-hour program, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis T. Cruz delivered congratulatory remarks on behalf of all ASEAN ambassadors. Ambassador Cruz cited the importance of the annual event as a way for ASEAN residents “to celebrate our community with our friends here in Korea, to show them the diversity of our languages, cultural heritage and traditions, and at the same time to impress them with our strong sense of common purpose and of unity, and to gather together as one family.”
Hae-moon Chung, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Center, gave certificates of recognition to the various student organizations for each ASEAN country, including the PinoyIskolarsa Korea, Inc. headed by Eva Marie Wang.
Korea, which did not participate in the contest, featured two groups to demonstrate aspects of its culture: Y-Kick, a taekwondo demonstration and sparring team from Yongin University, and 100%, a seven-member K-Pop boy-band that debuted in 2012.
Bravo! ASEAN in Korea, which was held for the first time in 2009, gathers contestants from all 10 ASEAN countries living in Korea, including students, immigrants, foreign workers, naturalized Korean citizens, who have been selected through the preliminary elimination rounds of the contest. The purpose of this event is to gather and introduce each country's unique culture to the Korean public. END
