15 August 2014 – Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez met with the Daegu Vice Mayor Lee Kyun-dong on August 7. Daegu is Korea’s 3rd largest metropolitan area. The Vice Mayor expressed keen interest in expanding cooperation with the Philippines in the fields of education, labor, transport, trade and sister-city relations.
“We are interested in the substantial development of relations between our two countries,” Mr. Lee, Daegu’s vice mayor for international affairs, told Ambassador Hernandez at the Embassy. He added that Daegu is considering inviting President Benigno S. Aquino III to make a side trip to the city on his next visit to Korea.
“There’s so much we can learn from Korea,” Ambassador Hernandez said, praising Korean hospitality, efficiency, attention to detail, and systematic approach to governance. “We hope people-to-people exchanges will be enhanced not only for the good of the Philippines but also for the good of the Korean people.”
Mr. Lee said broader bilateral ties could help Daegu regain the leading role it played in the Korean economy, when it was the engine of growth during the rapid industrialization period in the 1960s–1980s. Apart from its traditional economic pillar of textiles, Mr. Lee said Daegu now also boasts of automotive parts, metals, medical, and ICT industries.
To do this, Mr. Lee said he has recommended to Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin a comprehensive proposal to invite more students and skilled workers from the Philippines to study and work in the city and surrounding North and South Gyeongsang Provinces, as well as establish sister-city relations and direct flights to Daegu International Airport.
“We need your people”, Mr. Lee said, noting that more than two dozen Filipino students study or teach at Kyungpook National University (KNU), one of the most highly ranked and well organized national universities in Korea, as well as at prestigious private institutions Keimyung University,Yeungnam University and Catholic University of Daegu.
Mr. Lee praised the English language skills, work ethic and friendliness of Filipino workers, adding that, “If we can invite more Filipinos, the globalization and internationalization of Daegu will come more quickly.”
In order to provide for the needs of city’s Filipino population, the Daegu Metropolitan Government is ready to provide free facilities for regular visits by consular officers and staff from the Embassy or, if need be, office space for more permanent consular branch should the Philippine government find it necessary to establish one.
Mr. Lee, a retired career diplomat whose last position was Consul General of Korea in Nagoya, Japan, said Daegu is also one of Korea’s regional centers of political influence. He noted that President Park Geun-hye represented one of the city’s districts as a member of Korea’s national assembly before winning the presidential elections in 2012.
As of December 2013, there are 1,552 Filipinos registered in Daegu, which is located 88 km from Busan and 237 km from Seoul, the two biggest metropolitan areas in Korea. There are 3,428 and 2,406 more in the surrounding South and North Gyeongsang Provinces, which are large manufacturing areas for electronics and steel industries.
Daegu and the surrounding provinces are home to a relatively large number of Filipino women married Korean men and settled in multicultural families. Due to its location and the high level of cohesion and organization of the regional Filipino communities, Daegu is also one of three convergence areas for Filipinos for national emergencies.
Currently Daegu has no twin town partnership relations with any Philippine municipality, Its sister cities are Atlanta, USA; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Qingdao and Ningbo, China; Minas Gerais, Brazil; Hiroshima, Japan; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Plovdiv, Bulgaria; and Taipei, Taiwan. END