Over a thousand Filipinos gathered at a riverside park in Seoul Sunday, to celebrate Migrant Workers Day.

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul organized the 13th Migrant Workers Day festivities. The mouth watering smell of boiled beef, chicken and rice mixed with that of garlic, onion and ginger, prominent ingredients in Filipino cuisine, made many people head straight to the food. People bobbed their heads and clapped their hands to tunes sung by popular Filipino singer Geneva Cruz and Korean singer Chung Dong-ha. For Luis T. Cruz, Philippine ambassador to Korea, it was his first time at the festival, and looking around at the countless participants having fun he felt that his embassy had done a great job. "Migrant workers contribute significantly to the economy of both the Philippines and Korea. Today, as with any other day, we honor them. But today is special as we bring together the many different Filipino organizations in South Korea and spend a weekend of fun and festivities," Cruz said. The ambassador estimated that about 50,000 Filipino workers are currently employed in Korea. Cruz has been actively advocating the protection of human rights and welfare of the Filipino migrant workers in Korea. During weekends, he visits cities and factories where Filipinos are employed, speaking with Korean management and individual workers. This isn't unseen among Asian ambassadors in Korea, as most seek to assist their citizens working in Korea, but the Filipino migrant workers day is the first of its kind here, a press release said. Approximately eight million Filipinos work in nearly 180 countries around the world, according to the embassy.