“I’ve been telling my officers to inspire the Filipinos to develop their talents,” said Philippines Ambassador Luis T. Cruz on his thoughts behind this year’s Philippines Independence Day and Migrant Workers' Day celebration.

The big difference this year compared to the past was that it was for the local Filipino community to showcase their talents. “They don’t know what they can really do, so if we provide them with recognition then they can do a lot of great things not only for their families but for the Filipino community in general,” he told The Korea Herald. This year, the embassy stayed in the background letting the community itself promote and organize the festivities with a little help from the International Conference on Foreigners Welfare office. Another difference from previous years was the venue. This year they held the events in Bupyeong at the ICFW offices. “Filipinos not only live in Seoul, they live in Incheon, Daegu and Busan, that’s why the embassy brought it outside of the city,” said Cruz. Shin Kwang-yul, president of the ICFW explained that apart from Seoul, Incheon City is one of the most active in organizing events for the various migrant communities. On the cards during the fiesta was a food festival. Cruz explained that part of their philosophy is to give the Filipinos in Korea the confidence to pursue their dream of maybe opening up a restaurant in either the Philippines or Korea. Two Filipino banks have representative offices in Korea not to mention KEB bank which offers loans to foreigners, explained Cruz. “They can obtain a loan from Land Bank for example,” he said. For Shin, his love in helping migrant workers comes from his love for his country. “During the Korean War, more than 7,400 Filipino soldiers came to support the South,” said Shin. “I appreciate that very much, and the Korean government and people should know about their sacrifice.” The event was such a success that officers from other embassies came to scout for possible ideas for their next migrant workers' day. The embassy also took the opportunity to showcase some of its departments that not only help their citizens like the consular office but also its commercial wing with the hopes of expanding agricultural exports. As for the future, Cruz will bring next year’s event to another big city in Korea so that Filipinos and locals alike will have a chance to experience little Manila in Korea. Also, Shin is organizing a migrant worker’s Olympics in the near future. He is also planning a black-tie event for the diplomatic community sometime in November and has already successfully organized meetings for several embassies’ first secretaries and consular attaches with the goal of sharing best practices.