GANGNEUNG, 10 June 2016 - The Philippine Embassy recently joined representatives from the embassies of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam in an educational program promoting ASEAN among South Korean youth as a close neighbor and important partner of the Republic of Korea.

Targeting the middle school students residing in Gangneung, a city in Gangwon Province on Korea's eastern coast, the 2016 ASEAN School Tour Program was organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) together with local government organizations during the city's most important annual event, the Gangneung Dano Festival, a UNESCO intangible heritage.

"Although ASEAN is an important partner of Korea, there still remain prejudices and misunderstanding against the ASEAN in Korea," said AKC Secretary General Kim Young-sun, who was joined by Roderico C. Atienza, First Secretary and Consul General representing the Philippine Embassy at the main event on 10 June 2016.

"The ASEAN School Tour Program, having around 11,000 Korean youths been participated by so far, will continue to provide a useful avenue where the younger generation of Korea can learn and experience rich culture and history of ASEAN, thereby contributing to raising awareness of ASEAN," Ambassador Kim said.

Organized with the support of the Gangwon Provincial Office of Education, Gangneung Municipal Office of Education, and the Gangneung Danoje Festival Committee, the program started with activities held in advance to prepare the students for the main event that was attended by 450 local students and teachers at the Gangneung Dano Cultural Center.

The Philippine Embassy, through the Philippine Department of Tourism-Korea, provided materials for the Philippine stand, one of 10 ASEAN cultural experience booths set up at the Cultural Center square to allow local and visiting students from China and Japan to enjoy ASEAN traditional costumes, musical instruments, games, and snacks.

In the main program, middle school students asked the diplomats from the ASEAN embassies in Korea in an event billed as "ASEAN Talk Show" various questions about how to become a diplomat, experiences of their Southeast Asian counterparts in school and at leisure, ASEAN-Korea relations and their views about Korean pop culture, among others.

There was also the ASEAN Golden Bell Quiz, where all the members of the audience answered true or false and multiple choice questions about ASEAN. In the finale, students held an ASEAN fashion show using traditional costumes, and presented a selection of ASEAN traditional dances.

For the preparatory activities, the students participated in a drawing contest that took the themes of 'ASEAN and Korea, We are Friends' as well as 'My Favorite Destination in ASEAN.'