SEOUL, 28 July 2014 –Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez welcomed to the Embassy Chancery on Monday, 28 July 2014 a group of Korean university students formed to support the Philippine contingent to the 17th Asian Games to be held in Incheon on 19 September to 1 October 2014.

“Thank you for having chosen the Philippines to support and cheer for during the Games,” Ambassador Hernandez told 15 members of Team Philippines Youth Supporters, nicknamed Endorphilippines, at the opening of a brief program at the Chancery’s Multipurpose Hall. “Your support will help bring our two people even closer together.\” Following a video introduction in Korean language about the Philippines, Ambassador Hernandez fielded questions from the students from Inha University, Incheon University, Sookmyoung Women's University, and Ajoo University about the Philippines, such as the most popular sports, representatives dishes, the number of Filipino residents in Korea, among others. Seung-a Lee, a senior at Inha University taking up a double major in Korean Language and Literature and Communication and Information, made a presentation about the Asian Games’ youth supporters. After the program, the students were treated to a light snack and were guided around the Chancery, especially the Consular Section on the ground floor. The group, made up of close to 100 studentswhose ages range from 19 to 22, is one among 45 support groups of 5,000 students organized in March this year by the non-profit Incheon International Relations Foundation (IIRF) to support each of the countries participating in the biggest sporting event to be hosted by Korea this year. These youth supporters have been engaged in various activities not only to promote this multi-sport event to the Korean public, but also learn about the countries they are supporting. On 12 July, Endorphilippines visited the showroom of the Embassy’s Department of Tourism in front of Seoul Plaza and watched videos showing major Philippine tourist destinations, obtained souvenir items, books and brochures, sampled Filipino dishes, and learned some basic Filipino phrases. They also attended and supported the Philippine booth at the 29th Korea World Travel Fair in Goyang City on 29 May-1 June 2014, where the Philippines garnered praise and recognition. The 2014 Asian Games is the largest sporting event in Asia, with 439 events in 36 sports and disciplines to be played in 16 days. Incheon is the third city in South Korea after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002) to host the Asian Games.