Tag: Philippines

The Korea Herald has an article about a ethnic Filipina from Hawaii who was bashed on social media for a tattoo resembling the rising sun flag:

A brutal war of words erupted on social media from what started as a mistake by a Filipino American TikTok personality.

Over the past few days, ethnic Koreans and Filipinos have been exchanging derogatory and discriminatory insults over social media, with the Filipino side sharing posts with hashtags like #CancelKorea. An air of reconciliation was looming just as the weekend arrived.

It all comes down to a dance video posted on TikTok on Sept. 5. A Filipino American TikTok personality in Hawaii named Bella Poarch posted a video of herself dancing on the social media platform with a tattoo resembling the Rising Sun design.

The sunburst symbol with 16 rays is regarded as offensive by some, especially among Koreans and Chinese, for its association with Japanese imperialism and war crimes in the early 20th century, similar to the Nazi swastika. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the woman apologized and said she would cover up her tattoo or even get it removed. However, she and Filipinos in general were further attacked by racist comments by Korean social media users. This caused a back and forth of racist comments.

At Gusts of Popular Feeling he has a good posting up about this incident that discusses how little many Koreans know about their own colonial and World War II history with Japan:

What amazes me about this story is the way in which Koreans felt the need to explain that the rising sun flag has negative connotations for Koreans due to the actions of the Japanese military… to people from a country that was invaded by Imperial Japan and whose citizens resisted the invasion. Korea, it should be remembered, never fought a war with Japan. Japanese troops landed in Korea in February 1904 and Emperor Gojong quickly signed a treaty of alliance with Japan. Yes, from 1906 to 1909 the Righteous Armies waged a guerrilla war against the Japanese, and tens of thousands of people rose up against Japanese rule in 1919, and there were sporadic acts of resistance in the following years, but Korea never fought a war against the Japanese in 1904 or any time after. The same can’t be said for the Philippines, where hundreds of thousands died (particularly during the Manila massacre in 1945). The time period when Koreans suffered the most under Japan was during WWII when they were forced to toil or fight for the Japanese war machine that oppressed the Philippines. The number of Koreans who died during the entire colonial period is almost certainly less than the number of Filipinos who died during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. 

Another uncomfortable fact is that the theater with the largest number of deaths of Korean soldiers serving in the Japanese army during WWII was… the Philippines (according to the Japanese records quoted in Brandon Palmer’s book, Fighting for the Enemy: Koreans in Japan’s War, 1937-1945, 2,156 of 5,870 Korean soldiers recorded as having died during WWII fell in the Philippines). Needless to say, these soldiers certainly didn’t die fighting on behalf of Filipinos (as Filipinos did fighting on behalf of Koreans during the Korean War).

That Korean netizens feel the need to explain to Filipinos the nature of the brutality of Imperial Japan just goes to show how narrowly Korean textbooks and popular culture depict colonial era history, with, for example, high school textbooks spending only two pages on World War II. 

I recommend reading the whole thing at the link because plenty of more good points are made. With that all said, I see this stuff and it just makes me wonder how much of this online racist back and forth is being fueled by the 50 Cent Army to raise tensions between Filipinos and Koreans?

It looks like President Duterte has finally realized that playing nice with the Chinese will not get them to back down from their South China Sea claims:

The Philippine president got rare praises Wednesday from his key critics for invoking before the United Nations a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, in a surprise move that will likely pique Beijing.

President Rodrigo Duterte made one of his strongest defenses of the Philippine victory in the arbitration case in his first address before the annual U.N. General Assembly where world leaders spoke mostly in prerecorded videos due to the pandemic. China has long refused to bring the issue to any international arena.

Duterte, who has nurtured close ties with China since taking office in mid-2016, has long been criticized for refusing to immediately and forcefully demand Chinese compliance with the ruling by a U.N.-backed tribunal. It found China’s claims on virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds inconsistent with international maritime law.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link, but for those that have not followed this issue, the Chinese have claimed nearly the entire South China Sea as their territory. This includes the waters and islands of other nations in the region to include the Philippines. They have slowly been bullying these nations into submission and President Duterte initially tried to play nice with China which did nothing to stop their territorial ambitions over Filipino waters and islands.

It appears that President Duterte was bluffing in regards to ending the US-Philippines defense pact:

The Philippine president has suspended his decision to terminate a key defense pact with the United States, at least temporarily avoiding a major blow to one of America’s oldest alliances in Asia.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Tuesday he dispatched a diplomatic note to the U.S. ambassador in Manila informing the U.S. government that the Philippines is delaying its decision to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement by at least six months.

Washington immediately welcomed the move.

“Our longstanding alliance has benefited both countries,” the U.S. government said in a statement released by its embassy in Manila. “We look forward to continued close security and defense cooperation with the Philippines.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more a the link, but but Duterte is probably going to keep suspending this decision in order to keep pressure on the U.S. to give in to whatever demands he wants.

Meanwhile in the Philippines:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants Canada to come get tons of trash that was wrongly sent to his country — and he’s threatening extreme steps if Canada doesn’t clean up the situation. “We’ll declare war against them,” Duterte said Tuesday.
The president was referring to a large shipment of municipal trash that has sat in Manila since its arrival in 2013 and 2014. The more than 100 shipping containers had been declared to hold recyclable plastic. But when the doors were opened, customs officials found “household trash, plastic bottles and bags, newspapers, and used adult diapers,” according to Filipino news outlet ABS-CBN. 
“I will not allow that kind of s***,” Duterte said at a news conference Tuesday, adding that Canada has attempted to provide educational grant money to the Philippines — on the condition that it also accept the garbage.
Duterte said he wants the trash gone within a week, even if he has to return it by force. (…..)

Duterte said he doesn’t care what Canada does with the garbage: “Eat it if you want to.” He jokingly suggested Canadians should prepare a gala reception to mark the repatriation of the refuse, which dates from the previous Filipino administration headed by President Benigno Aquino III.
“Prepare and celebrate,” Duterte said, “because your garbage is coming home.”

NPR via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but one obvious question is why is a country as big as Canada exporting garbage to a country as small as the Philippines? Secondly what would a war between the Philippines and Canada look like?

This is a lot of garbage with no place to put it for now. Hopefully they don’t just decide to dump it in the ocean:

Part of some six-thousand tons of plastic garbage that was illegally exported to the Philippines has returned to South Korea.

A vessel carrying about one-thousand-200 tons of garbage arrived at 6:40 a.m. on Sunday at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province, three weeks after it departed from the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

The garbage, mainly consisting of used batteries, electronic devices and medical waste, was exported to the Philippines in July of last year after a joint venture firm between the two countries reported the contents as synthetic plastic.

As the company that illegally exported the garbage failed to respond, the Seoul government used emergency funds to cover the transport cost to bring the garbage back.

The Environment Ministry said it will look inside a couple of containers to check the conditions and types of garbage on Thursday after the Lunar New Year holiday. The Pyeongtaek City government is expecting it will take about six months to dispose the garbage through due procedures.

KBS World Radio

In today’s connected society it is not very smart to make a comment like this about the Philippines and not expect to get blowback:

Many Filipinos have reacted with fury after a Korean lawmaker belittled their country during a recent interview with Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo.

The reactions came after Rep. Lee Un-ju of the minor right-wing Bareunmirae Party said the people of Korea “would have lived in a country worse than the Philippines” if former military dictator Park Chung-hee had not ruled the country.

“Filipino soldiers shed their blood and died in Korea,” Romeo Santos Mandinggin, a Filipino man and a fan of Korean culture, told The Korea Times. “By all means she should (apologize), but I doubt she will.”

Belittling the Philippines, which was one of the first countries to send troops to South Korea during the Korean War (1950-53), is nothing but a disgraceful act, another Filipino said.

“The Philippines may not be as rich as Korea is right now, but part of Korea’s development is due to the help of Filipinos even after the war,” Jerry Yusi said.

The lawmaker made the comment as she defended the economic policies of Park, whom she compared with former dictators in other countries such as the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos.

“There have been many dictators across East Asia and Africa,” Lee said. “Most of them failed to develop the economy, unlike former President Park. We should recognize his achievement.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but if you haven’t already I recommend reading my prior posting about Hero of the Korean War, Lieutenant Colonel Dionisio Ojeda who led Filipino troops during the Korean War.

https://www.rokdrop.net/2016/03/heroes-of-the-korean-war-lieutenant-colonel-dionisio-ojeda/

Philippine Marine Corps chief Alvin Parreno (C) listens to a South Korean military officer as he visits the South Korean Marine Corps’ 1st Division in the southeastern city of Pohang on Nov. 13, 2018, to inspect major military equipment, including amphibious assault landing vehicles, in this photo released by the Marine Corps Command. (Yonhap)

This reminds me of the old Keys to the Kingdom book that used to be sold in Korean villes to GIs a long time ago:

Major book retailers have stopped selling an “obscene and racist” book about Filipinas.

Online retailers, including Aladin, Yes24 and Bandi & Lunis, have removed the e-book, “How to Treat Bar Hostesses in the Philippines.”

This move came after a tweet about the book was widely spread earlier this month. Many people have taken issue with the contents, which objectify Filipinas from a Korean man’s perspective.

“Once you go to the Philippines, you will soon be attracted to nightlife and meet many kinds of women there. Language won’t be a problem. A few words will be enough to communicate with them,” the book’s author, identified just as “Kevin Cho,” writes.

“Even if you are not a womanizer in Korea, you will definitely be one in the Philippines. This is not the case only for Koreans but also Japanese and Americans. The fact that the Korean Wave is sweeping across Asia makes you feel even more proud. While studying English there, women can be either medicine or poison.”

In the book, published three years ago by Scene in the Moonlight, Cho urges readers to “make the best use of Filipinas, who can give unforgettable memories.”  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link.

This is a bizarre incident that of course President Duterte of the Philippines was the cause of during his visit with Filipino workers in South Korea:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s mouth has landed him in hot water again, this time for kissing a married woman on the lips in front of thousands of his cheering supporters.

Duterte, known for his verbal outbursts and other antics, is being slammed by critics for the kiss, which took place Sunday during a town hall-style meeting with overseas Filipino workers in South Korea. One senator called the act “a despicable display of sexism and grave abuse of authority.”

Duterte sought a kiss from the woman after he called her on stage to give her a copy of a book at the event in Seoul. When Duterte asked if she can explain to her husband that the antic was just a joke, and she said yes, the president leaned in and kissed her as thousands erupted in cheers.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the kiss was a joke towards the end of Duterte’s two hour long rambling speech in Seoul to Filipino nationals living in South Korea.  The woman that allowed him to kiss her is married to a South Korean man and has two kids.  No word on what he thought of all of this.