ROK Ambassador inaugurates Rizal Library's revamped Window on Korea collection

On 15 April 2024, His Excellency Lee Sang-hwa, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines, paid a visit to Ateneo de Manila University to inaugurate the Rizal Library's newly renovated Window on Korea collection.

Prior to the inauguration, H.E Lee first paid a courtesy call on university leadership, represented by Dr Benjamin Tolosa, Jr, Vice President for Mission Integration and University Officer-in-Charge sitting in for Fr Roberto Yap; and Dr Maria Luz Vilches, Vice President for Higher Education.

Also in attendance from Ateneo were Dr Vernon Totanes, University Librarian; Ms Ma Cristina Alikpala, AVP for University Partnerships and Internationalization; Dr Josefina Hofileña, AVP for Undergraduate Education, Dr Anne Lan Candelaria, AVP for Graduate Education; Dr Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu, Dean of the School of Social Sciences; Dr Roberto Galang, Dean of the John Gokongwei School of Management; Dr Raphael Guerrero, Dean of the School of Science and Engineering; Dr Jonathan Chua, Dean of the School of Humanities; Dr Cenon Alfonso, MD, Dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health, Dr Randy Tuaño, Dean of the School of Government; Ms Carolyn Natividad, PhD (Cand), Director of Internationalization at Home; and Ms Aurea Javier, Director of Ateneo's Korean Studies Program.

Meanwhile, accompanying H.E Lee from the Embassy of South Korea in the Philippines were Mr Seonghyeon Cho, First Secretary, Political and Public Relations Section; and Ms Elisha Keith Asuncion, Executive Assistant, Political Section. Ms Asuncion is a graduate of Ateneo, having completed her Bachelor of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations in 2020.

Topics discussed during the meeting included the student exchange programs between Ateneo and various Korean universities, as well as the challenges faced by these exchange programs.

The inauguration ceremony itself began with some opening remarks from Dr Totanes, who recalled the story of the late Sen Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino who served as a correspondent during the Korean War, before proceeding with the ribbon cutting, inaugurating the new Window on Korea collection.

The Rizal Library's First Pacific Hall was the first Philippine library to receive a Window on Korea collection from the Korean Embassy in 2012. The original collection consisted of 3,805 print and non-print materials on Korean language, history, traditions, and culture, housed in a small corner on the fourth floor of the Rizal Library's First Pacific Hall. 

The revamped Window on Korea collection expanded that corner into a special nook with floor seating under a custom lighting installation with built-in shelving.

Meanwhile, additional shelves around the nook feature copies of books and other media on Korean music, cinema, and pop culture.

Following the ribbon cutting, H.E Lee began his lecture on the relationship between our two countries. He broke his lecture into four parts. The first part looked at the past with the ambassador noting that 2024, marks the diamond jubilee of the Embassy of South Korea in the Philippines, marking 75 years of formal relations between both countries.

The second part of the lecture focused on the current state of relations between the Philippines and Korea. Included in this were current points of cooperation between both countries. Examples included regional security, such as the transfer of the Pohang-class corvette BRP Conrado Yap (ex-ROKS Chungju) to the Philippine Navy. Other things mentioned included the Embassy's "easy visa" program for Filipino visitors.

The third part of H.E Lee's lecture focused on the future of Philippine-Korea relations and the challenges both countries will be facing. As part of this, Lee touched on the security issues in the Indo-Pacific Region as well as issues regarding the ease of doing business in the Philippines.

The final part of the lecture focused on the youth of both countries and how connecting them is an important part of the future of both. As part of this, H.E Lee touched on the fact the issues facing the youth of both countries, including those unique to each and shared by both.

H.E Lee concluded his lecture by encouraging the students to be global citizens, quoting a line from a speech by former US President Barack Obama on how the future of the youth is "bound with the fates of other human beings on the other side of the world."

Following the lecture, the ambassador and the students engaged in a lively open forum that went beyond the initially allotted schedule. In addition to the Ateneo students, some exchange students from Korea also participated in the forum.

The event was closed by Ms Ma Cristina Alikpala, AVP for University Partnerships and Internationalization, who thanked H.E Lee and the embassy staff as well as all those who were involved in making the event happen.