SEOUL, 7 May 2015 – The Philippine Embassy joined the diplomatic community in South Korea’s capital city in participating at the 18th Seoul Friendship Fair, which staged a comeback on 2-3 May 2015 after it was cancelled last year during an extended mourning period for the victims of the tragic sinking of passenger ferry MV Sewol in April 2014.

Decorated with posters promoting the country’s culture to the mainstream and expatriate community in Korea, the Philippine booth sold at the Seoul City Hall Grounds Philippine-made tropical fruits as well as Filipino cuisine, with the cooperation of Kusina, a Filipino bistro located in the Embassy’s neighboring Haebangchon district in Itaewon, Seoul. On the first day, mangoes from Guimaras, part of which were donated by traditional fair partner Del Monte Korea, were sold out. Apart from Del Monte Korea pineapples and bananas, San Miguel Beer also sold well among the Korean public as well as the expatriate community. Tourism Attaché Maricon B. Ebron led her Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) team in distributing flyers, brochures and other tourism promotional materials at the Fair’s World Tourism Exhibition. Considered the largest cultural event in Seoul, this annual Friendship Fair features a wide spectrum of unique culture events, including traditional performances and sampling of cuisines from around the world. Performance teams from sister cities as well as teams from foreign embassies, tour agencies, and cultural centers from over 60 countries joined this year. The Seoul Metropolitan Government organized the fair into four events: Sister-cities Troupe Performance, the World Culture Art Fair, the World Tourism Exhibition and the World Food Fair. The Seoul Friendship Fair began in 1996 in celebration of Seoul Citizens’ Day. It was connected with the Hi Seoul Festival from 2003 until 2010, when it was spun off as a separate event and extended to two days. All the participating embassies donated to a charity fund, whose proceeds this year would be given to the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal. . –END–