Nogin Bunda

노진 분다
Name in Latin Alphabet:	Nogin Bunda
Nationality:	Philippines
Affiliation:	University of Asia and The Pacific - 4th Year

인사말

안녕하세요! 저는 필리핀에서 온 노진 분다 라고 합니다! 저는 University of Asia and The Pacific에서 경영학과 인문학 공부하고 있습니다.

Self Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Nogin Bunda and I am from the Philippines. I am 19 years old and I am taking Master of Science in Management, minoring in Humanities in University of Asia and The Pacific. I am an incoming 4th year student in my university and my stay gave me a lot of opportunities to take a lot of subjects which made me incline into liberal arts and culture. Since then, it made a spark inside of me to pursuit more of East Asian studies especially the Korean Studies.

To be really honest, Korea is not my first choice but rather the Japanese history and culture. Tracing back in my younger days wherein television stations in our country used to aired a lot of Japanese animation, it was the time that I decided to learn the Japanese language and history since I thought that the vibe that the Japanese animations, music, history, and culture is very colourful.

But then as a dynamic human being, there will be a time in our life that our preferences will change due to the ever changing environment that we are living in. Upon the start of the 21st century, the boom of the Hallyu Wave started to spread around Asia. At first, I was not really giving much of interest over the Korean culture since I have not seen anything much about of Korea. I did not know that Koreans existed in the Philippines; I did not know that there is a place called Korea. But then there was this time that a girl named Sandara Park flooded the Philippine television when she joined a reality show called “Star Circle Quest” back in 2004. Since then, there happened to have a spark of interest about Korea.

Years after the discovery of Sandara Park, Wonder Girls appeared on the scene along with Super Junior and many other KPOP artists and songs. Since then, my interest in the Korean popular culture really grew and seemed to take its roots inside me.

Then the turning point came when I was in the second year of high school. It was the time that I started studying Korean during my spare time. I started by memorizing the Hangeul and then I proceeded on memorizing some basic words and phrases that I know that will be really helpful. My habit of studying the Korean language extended until I get into my senior year when my school required us to study Japanese and Chinese languages, and in the end, I gained the award of best in foreign languages.

After graduating high school, my interest in the Korean culture, and even East Asian cultures never stopped. Upon stepping into the realm of college life, I had a lot of chance to study these cultures. Being a student of humanities, we had the chance to take studies like North American studies, Latin American studies, Chinese studies, Australian studies, Japanese studies, and even Korean studies.

It was kind of unfortunate for me since I did not take Korean studies since we are placed into the Japanese studies instead. But then when the time came when we have to take our foreign languages, I chose the Korean language from the wide variety of languages that was available in our school.

I was really excited about it since it was the first time that there would be a Korean language class in the university. It was my first time attending a formal class regarding the language since back then, I was only studying on my own. My classmates were good speakers, and the professor really helped my classmates and I in cultivating our skills. After two semesters of studying Korean, I received a marking of 1 (the highest mark given at the university) for two consecutive times which allowed me to participate in the Korean Study Tour sponsored by a private business company who helped the university.

Despite my skills in the Korean language is still lacking and I am aware that I have to learn a lot more and that it will take a lot of time and effort. These things will not stop me in pursuing self-actualisation and excellence.

Hobbies

Hobby
Baking		Chocolate Drop Cookies
		Chocolate Cheesecake

The Philippines

Map of The Philippines

As I have said in my introduction, I came from the Republic of The Philippines. A sovereign archipelagic country in Southeast Asia located in the west of Pacific Ocean. The Philippines consists of approximately 7,107 islands in which about 2,773 islands are named and inhabited. Some islands may sink and rise depending on the tide levels of the water.

The Philippines is divided into three major islands: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital is Manila which is located in Luzon, while the largest city is also located in Metro Manila which is Quezon City.

The country’s official language is Filipino and English, but then since we were colonised by Spain before, some of the people consider Spanish as an optional language as well. The Philippines is also the home of a lot of regional and ethnic groups which make 19 different languages as its recognised languages.

The Philippines is a very dynamic country, almost considered as the “Melting Pot” of Asia since almost all of the cultures has been introduced in the country, from the cultures brought by the Western people, to the Asian values brought by the East Asian people, up to the shared cultures from the people who dwell in Southeast Asia. All of those met in the Philippines.

El Nido, Palawan

One of the things that you may appreciate in the Philippines is its richness in natural resources. From very vast forests to the crystal clear waters. The Philippines cater good tourist spots for people to come. An example of these wonders is the island of Palawan, located in the south of Luzon. With their crystal clear beaches and seas, it is considered as the cleanest region in the Philippines.

Chocolate Hills, Bohol

Another wonder in the Philippines is called ‘Chocolate Hills’ in Bohol that resembles a group small of mountains that looked like chocolate drops in summer. Bohol is located in the Visayas region of the Philippines wherein other wonders can be also found.

택견

지난 수요일에 AKS 학생들이 한국문화의집에서 갔다고 탈춤 하고 택견 배웠다. 나는 택견은 처음으로 배웠는데 재미 있어 것 같다. 선생님이 택견을 보여 주던 방식은 정말 재미 있었다. 선생님이 우리에게 택견을 보여주었었다. 솔직히 말하는데 택견은 춤과 무술을 조합 것 같다. 이 무술이 아름답다고 생각한다 왜냐하면 택견 하고 있는 사람들이 운동을 너무 우아하다고 생각하다.  우리가 택견 배우기 시작할 때 수업의 가장 신나는 부분을 시작했다. 학생들은 서로 제휴 시키고 택견을 연습했다. 그리고 택견 선생님은 우리에게 여러가지 기능을 가르쳤다. 사실은 택견은 처음으로 배워서 너무 어렵지만 경험이 재미 있어 것 같다. 왜냐면 학생들은 기억을 만들었다.

사물놀이

지난 목요일에 학생들이 한국의 전통적인 악기 사물놀이를 배우게 되었다. 수업에서 학생들이 악기를 선택해야 되는데 나는 장고를 선택했다. 장고를 연주하기 쉽다고 생각하는데 좀 어렵다. 우리 선생님이 너무 잘해서 학생들이 사물놀이를 빠르게 배웠다. 선생님이 학생들에게 악보를 주었 때 악보를 배웠다. 이 악보는 별달거리을 포하고 있다. 이 노래를 너무 빠르지만 사물놀이 할 때 흥미롭다고 생각했다. 경험은 너무 재미 있어서 우리 선생님이 너무 웃기다. 누군가 실수를 할 때마다 선생님이 yellow card 주웠다. 그래서 학생들이 사물놀이를 잘 연주했다.

Gyeongju Trip

Last July 27 to July 29, the students of the 24th AKS summer program went to out of the Gyeonggi province to experience the ancient city of Gyeongju, the capital of Shilla Dynasty and the seat of Buddhism.

It was not my first time in Gyeongju but then the three-day trip was exceptional since I was out with my newfound friends. Our trip started by going to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin where we experienced the traditional culture that was promulgated in the Joseon period. Upon arriving the village, a lot of cultural themes presented itself to us, from the shamanistic statues, to the traditional houses, and even the farm dance and the traditional military arts of Joseon dynasty. Surprisingly, there was also a small amusement park wherein my friends and I enjoyed the remaining time in having fun by riding the Vikings, the gyro drop and even entering the horror house to learn the traditional ghosts of Korea.

After going to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, we proceeded to Gyeongju where we will be spending the rest of the two days. When we arrived in Gyeongju we had our dinner and we went to the Anapji pond to see the beautiful view of the garden that was used as a receiving area during the Shilla Dynasty. After that, we did our check-in in a hotel called K Hotel where we spend the first night. Before we even went to our rooms, we were notified that we will be having our new roommates for the next two days. When we received the paper, I was surprised that I was roomed with Neeraj since the both of us has not bonded much since the start of the program. I was happy that I was given a chance to share a room with him for the next two days.

The next day of the trip was spent on going to the observatory, the great tombs of the Shilla, the National Museum of Gyeongju, the underwater tombs and the pillar shaped joints. The day was really tiring but then I really liked when we spent in the beach to play in the water and enjoy the view.

The last day of the Gyeongju trip was spent on visiting the temples of Bulguksa and the Grottoes in Seokguram. To be really honest, visiting this place for me was so calming since I could have prayed a little bit in front of the Buddha in the Seokguram temple.

The trip in Gyeongju was really memorable even though I have spent my time in there before. Since I was going there with new friends I felt that it was the first time I went in the place. It made me create new memories with new people.

Han River Cruise

For me, Han River cruise is one of the most memorable experience that I will have in this program. I never expected that there will be a day in my life that I will go to Han river and have a cruise on it since the idea of ‘cruise’ in the Philippines is something expensive and luxurious so I never felt so privileged in having one.

For a person like me, I always get to appreciate the things that are served to me. That is why I really like buffets since I get to experience wide variety of food and drinks. In this case, I get a plus of having the beautiful view of Han river.

In the cruise, we had the chance to bond with my friends and of course, the coordinators and the other participants which is definitely something that I will not forget.

Seal Engraving

Seal is one of the most important things in Korea as it signifies the legitimacy of the paper or the documents that has been made. We also had the experience to create our own seals that we perhaps can use in the future.

The experience of the seal engraving was really interesting. It was difficult yet if you get the process on how you do it, you will know what are the things that you need to do. The teachers of the program will also help you in the things that you have to do and you can also ask for their guidance on how to make your own seal more beautiful and more appealing to the eyes of the other.

In the end, upon doing a very simple design of the seal, it went out really nice and beautiful as compared on how I conceptualized the seal before. This seal engraving is one of the things that I will not be able to forget since it will mark a seal in my memories.

한국어 수업

한국어 수업은 너무 도움이 되었고 너무 재미있었어요! 가끔씩 수업이 힘들지만 나는 많이 배웠어요. 우리 선생님이 학생에게 잘 가르쳤어요. 선생님은 우리가 하나씩을 가르쳐 주려고 노력했어요 그래서 학생들이 잘 배웠어요. 수업 후에도 나는 필리핀에서 한국어를 계속 공부할거예요!