ASEACCU Conference at South Korea Day 3

Day 3

                Day 3 was a tour day. We went to Gyeongbuk Palace where I got so mesmerized with their historical sites. I was just too happy to see the palace where the Joseon dynasty lived, the room of the Queen and King, their guest hall for visitors, and all the other places inside with rich history and culture. We then went to the National Museum of Korea, the largest museum in the world. It was where I saw a lot of historical ornaments and figures of Korea and of Asia as well. In the evening, it was our cultural night. Each participating country performed a creative presentation wearing the national costume. In our part, we danced the “Piliin Mo Ang Pilipinas” with the “I choose Philippines” video of the Department of Tourism as the background. The presentations of the different countries filled me with awe, as these performances spoke so well of their culture. As all other celebrations go, the night ended with a picture-taking.

In front of the Gyeongbuk Palace

Group 3

At the Kings's bedroom

In front of the town's hall with my Japanese groupmates

A local tree

CUK extended campus

The ASEATTI, the ASEACCU organizers

With Claudia, my roommate from Thailand

Picture taking with the Japanese delegates

ASEACCU Conference at South Korea Day 2

Day 2

                Day 2 of the conference mostly consisted of lectures. There were credible speakers who talked about major topics of the conference. We were then divided into different sub-groups in which we discussed specific topics on Catholic issues per group. I belonged to the Economy group. Our team discussed economic issues in our respective countries which in one way or another affect Catholicism in general. We then spent the whole afternoon debating on some occurring issues in which we would then come up with feasible solutions that we can implement in our universities. The discussions that we had in that sub-group would then be reported to the whole ASEACCU audience. In that night, I represented our team together with my groupmate from Indonesia. We reported to the whole ASEACCU audience about the highlights of our discussion.

My Economy group groupmates

Picture-taking at the Photobooth

Reported in behalf of our group, together with Theo from Indonesia and Yuri from South Korea

                After the program, my co-Filipino delegates and I toured around the area. It was already 11PM when we went outside CUK to try night shopping, as Seoul is famous for its 24/7 shopping areas. We had a 1AM curfew so we tried to go as fast as we could. Unfortunately, most of the subway stations were already closed when we reached the city proper so instead we had a “food trip” just near CUK. We tried the famous Korean streetfood which I only see in TV.

Korean street food

Random picture taking on the street lol

Night lights

ASEACCU Conference at South Korea

             Last August 22-26, 2013, I was at Seoul, South Korea to represent Xavier University in the ASEACCU Conference. It was my second time this year to travel abroad for free but I felt the same excitement as I had when I found out that I got accepted to become a youth ambassador for the Kizuna Project with the opportunity to travel to Japan. When my friends knew about it, the initial response that I got was commonly about “Wow, Korea. Iregards nalang ko sa K-Pop” or “Grabe makaadto na jud ka’g Seoul”; Nothing really different from their excitement when they talked about Otaku, Anime, Nintendo, and etc when I shared about my Kizuna acceptance. To be honest, these things never excite me. I was never a fan of Anime, nor did I fancy K-pop and all that. Cherry blossoms, yes.  Seoul, yes. But above all else, what really excites me everytime I travel is the people I would meet in those once in a lifetime experiences. And I guess that’s what makes my ASEACCU Conference very memorable, just like how my Kizuna experience went.

Day 1

                At the Incheon International Airport, many of their signages have English translations. These were very helpful since I only travelled with a companion who is as old as I am. We had no chaperone to accompany us during the trip so we had to travel on our own. We arrived 5:00 AM at the airport and we were expecting a bus to pick us up by 8:00 AM and bring us to the venue. Hence, we spent the whole time eating, and just doing random things while waiting. When it was near 8 AM, we began to panic because the bus was not there yet and the organizers of the conference can’t be reached through phone. We desperately asked some airport staff to help us go to the venue since we were afraid that we might had the wrong information on the location where we were supposed to be fetched. Thank God most of them can converse in English, much better than the Japanese. We got information on what subway stations to take and all that, but with our heavy bags, we didn’t take the train as an option. Provincial buses were available but it would still take as 2 hours to get to the venue and we were running out of time. There were taxis then, but the ride would cost us 80,000 won (approx. P3,600). We felt so hopeless then. Fortunately, at exactly 8 AM the bus arrived and all our worries were gone. It was then when I realized that Korean time is on time.

At Incheon International Airport, the world's best airport

                The venue of the conference was at the Catholic University of Korea. We then stayed at their university dormitory, which was not a usual dormitory like we see in the Philippines. Their dormitory has state of the art facilities, with elevators larger than hotel elevators in our country. Their rooms have automatic power system, and automatic lock with key cards. They have a centralized air conditioner, too. Their dorm is more than 30 floors, with a canteen that’s much like an expensive restaurant here. Truth is, that dormitory is even better than a 4-star CDO hotel. I stayed there for 2 hours while waiting for lunch. Then I had lunch with a friend at a nearby pizza restaurant which introduced us to the scrumptious Korean pizza. The opening program would start by 6:00 PM so in the afternoon, we went to Time Square and shopped with our eyes because everything there was just too expensive.

At the Catholic University of Korea

                The opening program in the evening was so overwhelming. It was in that time when we were introduced to the other participants from different countries. They were from Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, and South Korea. I was wearing a flag shirt together with the other Filipino delegates and everyone in the hall was just so amazed to see us with a uniform attire. Well, we just found a way to contact each other in Facebook and discussed what to wear, and had online meetings for the cultural presentation which we will perform on the last day. The CUK ASEACCU student volunteers who were called “ASEATTI” performed an intermission number of Gangnam Style and the hall was too active and alive. Keynote speakers were also there to welcome us to the event. 

A Korean dance number

With the other Filipino delegates wearing our flag shirt costume

We were welcomed with these freebies