Valentine’s Day should have been a rallying point for love and peace in the world –that is what many of us hope. Admittedly, Va-Day, in the commercial world, refers, more often than not, to personal love or relationships. But within the global, geopolitical context, I sincerely wish that the spirit of Va-Day had a more inclusive tenor to it. Perhaps this would result in less divisiveness and a deeper realization of the common bond of humanity, regardless of country, color, race, religion, culture, and what-have-you. We could use less misery and more joy in many lives at the moment. Remember the thousands of lives lost in Turkey and Syria just recently.
Well, we can dream, can’t we? Seriously though, I believe it is not a far-fetched idea. Let us just keep it mind, and heart. Who knows where this will lead us? The universal principle that “thoughts are things” is one that has proven true in my life and in many others. Of course, the principle has to be explained in more detail. I am not qualified, though, to expound on this. Suffice it to know that to a certain limited degree I have proven this principle in my life. Perhaps, you may want to do your own search. Happy journeys to those who will embark on this spiritual voyage.
Speaking of simple joys – I have just had an exhilarating time following one of the newest k-drama series on Netflix that just aired the final episode – The Interest of Love. The series is excruciating slow but exquisitely riveting. That is, if you are into understated but relatively mature romance/drama genre, and also into the main leading actors – Moon Ga-young and Yoo Yeon-seok. And I am. Irrevocably.
MGY and YYS are oozing with charm and charisma, aside from acting prowess. Kudos to the casting director for his/her choice of actors. Because of this series, I started a search of other dramas done by Moon Ga-young. It turns out she has an earlier drama series on Netflix also – True Beauty – released in 2020. She also had incredible chemistry with the male leading actor – Cha Eun-woo – an unbelievably beautiful man, if you ask me. A very engaging series for a slightly younger audience.
I have been a fan of Yoo Yeon-seok since his 2016 movie Mood of the Day, which I chanced upon on Prime. Lucky me. Ever since that movie, which I watched over and over again, I was a certified fan of YYS and followed all his dramas. At least the ones I could access online. He starred here with the equally charming and talented Moon Chae-woon of the 2012 KBS drama series The Innocent Man.
In The Innocent Man, Song Joong-ki (of Song-Song fame – or should I say infamy) was Moon Chae-woon’s male lead partner. This was pre-Descendants of the Sun – the 2016 global KBS drama series. K drama aficionados know what and who I am referring to. I first came across the then relatively-not-so- famous-yet SJK in the 2010 KBS drama The Sungkyungkwan Scandal.
Those were my first forays into the fascinating world of Korean drama which my late mother was so hooked on. Little did I know that shortly after, I would succumb as well to the irresistible call of Korean drama. Just like my sister Marilen Castellanos of San Francisco who watches back -to -back K dramas in between her online work and light cooking. Like mother, like daughters. Except my other sibling, Marilou Wadstein of Stockholm, Sweden, who, for the life of her, does not really quite understand our attraction to these Asian dramas. I guess she was just too Westernized, given her life for many years as the wife of a UNICEF official.
YYS gave outstanding performances as well, in the 2018 TVN drama series Mr. Sunshine, the hit 2020 drama series on Netfix, and the widely-popular 2020 TVN drama Hospital Playlist (also on Netflix). He has an endearing quality to him aside from being a wonderful actor. The nuances of his brand of acting is so true to life. I find that Moon Ga-young has that same kind of presence. They have a different, sensitive, with subtle nuances kind of performance that is not typical of most actors.
The Interest of Love has a bittersweet and frustrating but hopeful ending. Pardon the spoiler. I would have wanted it to go another way. And yet, it seems right for the kind of vibes, I think, the writer and director was going for. I am glad that the producers seem to allow quite a generous amount of leeway to the creative juices of the writers and directors. I can sense a good balance of artistic integrity and commercial profitability.
From The Interest of Love, I comfortably went on to another Netflix drama with Moon Ga-yeon – True Beauty. A bit more for the younger crowd but still quite entertaining and refreshing to watch and immerse yourself in.
BACK HOME IN MANILA, CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS AND RELATIVES
I am back in the homeland after 3 ½ years of not travelling., albeit, still a bit overwhelmed by the change of environment (literally and figuratively) but all in all, glad to be back home to visit.
The highly successful and well-attended 51st Induction of Officers & Directors (2023 to 2024) of the Chiang-kai Shek Alumni College Association, Inc. (CKSCAAI) on February 1, 2023 at the Fiesta Pavilion of the historic Manila Hotel was my first taste (after the pandemic) of hob-nobbing with the elite of the Chinese-Filipino community.
The 3rd Vice President of the CKSCAAI Mrs. Lolita See Ching, who is also president of Chinatown TV, the longest-running Chinese-Filipino television show in the Philippines, was resplendent in her upcycled Filipino-inspired gown of her own design. The other officers inducted were: Joyce Day, president, Imperial T. Sy de Jesus, 1st VP, Sy Sun Eng. Alex, 2nd VP, Jimmy Lim, 4th VP, Grace Co Ho, Secretary General, Eddie Chua, Asst. Sec. General, and Reynaldo You Sy, Treasurer.
Chiang Kai-shek College was founded in 1939 as the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines by overseas Chinese-Filipinos. Its roster of alumni includes business luminaries Lucio Tan of Philippine Airlines and Philippine National Bank, Tan Kaitiong of Jollibee, Henry Lim Bon Leong of Maria miracle rice, George Ty of Metrobank (and president of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc.- FFCCCII), Tsaka Inasan Mayari of Oishi, and many other industry leaders.
It was a who’s who night with “ang pao” envelopes galore to celebrate the Lunar New Year as well. Congratulations to the officers and directors of the CKSCAAI. More success and prosperity in the coming year!
The next night, February 2, was another celebrity-studded event on the occasion of the 121st anniversary of The Manila Bulletin. It was on February 2, 1900 when its first issue came out. It was one of a number of newspapers set up at the start of the American occupation in 1899 that followed 350 years of the Spanish colonial era. Quoting from the editorial of the Manila Bulletin on February 2, 2023 –
“The newspapers organized at the start of the American era were in the great tradition of American press freedom, but Filipino publications date much earlier in the country’s history. La Solidaridad, which carried articles of young Filipino students in Europe – Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Jose Rizal – called for equal rights for Filipinos and Spaniards. These three went on to call for Philippine independence after the Philippine Revolution of 1898.”
The venue for the Manila Bulletin 121st anniversary celebration was also at the Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel, prompting Lolita See Ching and myself to book a room at the hotel for 2 nights. I was delighted to bump into my husband’s former boss, Joe de Venecia of Landoil (remember the 70s?) with his lovely wife Lilibeth Vera Perez de Venecia, Julie Yap Daza of Medium Rare, Barbie Atienza of Manila Bulletin, former big boss Sonny Coloma (former PCOO Secretary), Senator Dick Gordon, Senator Cynthia Villar, Emilio Yap III of Manila Bulletin, my good friend Lolita See Ching of Chinatown TV, and guess who – First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos, the guest of honor of the anniversary event. I was introduced to the latter by my friend Julie Yap Daza when the First Lady, by chance, was in our path on her way inside the Fiesta Pavilion. So I had the privilege of shaking her hands as she held out her hand to me. She seemed to be a simple, down to earth, no-nonsense person to me. At least that is the impression I got from that short casual encounter.
That was quite a generous dose of Manila society mingling since I had been away from my network media work in the Philippines for quite a while. It was somehow a trip through memory lane. It seemed like all the years I was out of the Philippine media world was compressed into those 2 back-to-back events.
All that being said, I shall have part 2 of my Manila sojourn in the next issue. Hopefully, with photos. For now, I am still acclimatizing myself to the environment here. Glad to be home and yet a part of me longing for the cold in Canada. Or maybe, I just miss my family!
Tessie Ochangco Taylor
taylorteresita@gmail.com