With the first official day of summer only a week away, the Philippines Embassy is using this month to bring Filipino warmth and hospitality to the big city.

“For Filipinos, the month of June is rife with meaning. Not only did we gain our freedom on June 12 1898, but Dr. Jose Rizal ― our national hero who galvanized the independence movement in the Philippines after it endured three centuries of colonization ― was born on June 18, 1861,” said Philippines Ambassador Luis T. Cruz.

It is also a month where Filipinos celebrate Migrant Workers’ Day in honor of some 8 million Filipinos who have found a second home abroad, added Cruz.

High on the agenda for the embassy is a Filipino Food Festival and cultural experience at the Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel’s Orangerie Buffet Restaurant.

For a taste of the Philippines, the food festival hosts renowned chefs from the Philippines who prepare favorites such as kare-kare (ox-tail in peanut sauce and sauted shrimp) and mechado (Philippines beef stew) while cultural performances provide entertainment at selected times.

To accompany the islands’ delights at the Millennium Seoul Hilton, artworks from Filipino artists based in Seoul are currently on display as part of the Filipino Food Festival.

Oil paintings depicting scenes from the Philippines and photographs focusing on the color, preparation and texture of Filipino food add to a tropical feel in the dining area.

The Food Festival was also the theme for the diplomatic reception last week, which featured traditional songs and dances performed by professional cultural troupes from the Philippines.

Also this month, high-level officials from the Philippines, including the Minister for Labor and Employment and the Minister for Tourism, took part in the month-long celebration.

The Filipino community from Ansan received the top prize for best group presentation during the “Philippine Festival in Yeouido,” which attracted some 1,000 participants.

Garbed in traditional clothes, Filipino migrants from as far as South Jeolla Province gathered on May 29 at the Yeouido Hanggang Park to take part in the annual celebration of the Philippine Migrant Workers’ Day, which marked the start of a series of events to commemorate the 113th anniversary of Philippine independence.

Dubbed “Philippine Festival in Yeouido,” the daylong cultural fanfare included a housing fair, a medical mission and onsite services such as counseling for Filipino workers and spouses of Korean nationals.

The Philippine Embassy also handed out awards to Korean individuals and groups that contributed to the welfare of Filipino migrants. For Filipino-Korean children, a special program introducing traditional Filipino games was one of the highlights of the afternoon activities.

Besides taking part in the Travel Fair earlier this month, the Philippines tourism office in Seoul coordinated meetings between resort companies from the archipelago and potential Korean buyers.

“The buying-and-selling mission at the Millennium Seoul Hilton on June 3 rode on the momentum created by similar missions in the past, all of which had been successful in generating greater tourist traffic and building relevant infrastructure in the Philippines,” said Cruz.

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)