My Koreanization

I've officially been Koreanized...haha!!! Last night I watched this korean film in WOWOW (really cool japanese movie channel)...it's title is Tae Guk Gi (Brotherhood of War)well the film was in Korean and it had Japanese subtitles and I still watched...haha...I actually cried my eyes out watching it...I can't imagine what may have happened to me if I actually understood what they were saying...haha!

The movie is about this two brothers who accidentally was forced to fight in the war (the Korean War in the 1950's)...while their family was preparing to travel south to escape the war the younger brother was forced by the soldiers to board the train carrying men who will be fighting for South Korea...the older brother, in the hopes of saving his younger brother boarded the train but was unsuccessful and ended up fighting in the war with his younger brother. The movie was really touching 'cause it showed how the older brother never left the younger brother's side even when they were fighting with the enemies....he even volunteered to join sucide missions just so the officers would release his younger brother and go home to their mother...to cut the story short...in the end the older brother became successful in making sure that his younger brother would go home to their mother safely but like most war films it ended in tragedy....he had to sacrifice himself to save his brother...so cliche but heck it worked for me...it made me cry 'til my head hurt...hehe! The film was really cool...it's cinematography was soooooooooooo rich...no wonder it got nominated in the Oscars for Best Foreign Film...I wonder...why we can't make films like that here in the Philippines???

Another sign of my Koreanization is how I now include Arirang channel among the t.v channels I surf through while watching T.V...haha! I especially enjoy the game shows and the talent shows at Arirang...I also love their features on their new films...I'm really impressed with how they are bold enough to make movies that are their own...they don't aspire to copy what they do in hollywood...they use their rich culture and history and are able to produce world class quality films. I really wish we can make films like they do in Korea.

Guess what we Filipinos can learn from the Koreans is how we should love ourselves first before we ask others to love us. One of my colleagues students shared his observation of us Filipinos...he said that Filipinos seem to be ashamed of the Philippines and of being Filipinos...we often look at our country and always see the bad things...according to the student...it will be impossible for our country to progress and develop into a powerful country if its own people would keep on pulling it down. I know it's very easy to say these things and still do nothing about it...but I wish the whole country is listening to me right now...haha...kapal no? feeling bayani...mukhang kelangan ko na matulog...hehe!

One thing I really like about my job right now is how it gives me a wider perspective of things...talking to people who are coming from an entirely different background is teaching me a lot of things...it's funny...it looks like the Koreans have taught me how to love the Philippines.