By: Joey Luces and Mae Anne Alipusan
The 9th Arts Day celebration of the Bachelor of Arts Department was graced by guests from Guatemala and South Korea, June 9, via Google Meet. This year’s theme was “Diversity and Unity through Arts and Language.”
Miss Carolina Ordoňez Franco and Mr. Park Jayden were invited by Dr. Aurora G. Victoriano, BAEL program coordinator, as resource speakers to the webinar entitled “A Glimpse in the Culture of Guatemala and South Korea.”
Miss Franco is a vice principal in a private school in Guatemala, Guatemala while Mr. Park is a licensed pilot and an instructor in Seoul, South Korea.
The two speakers shared with the participants informative and interesting things about their countries, specifically on their culture, arts and language.
Miss Franco shared some insights about Guatemalan culture and took the participants to a virtual tour to some landmarks in Guatemala such as Tikal and Natural Monument Semuc Champey. The discussion became more interesting when she taught the participants basic Spanish words like hola (hello), buenos dias (good morning), and adios (goodbye).
For the participants to learn about South Korea, Mr. Park discussed the brief history of their country, introduced to them famous Korean foods, took them to some tourist destinations such as Jeju Island, Seoul, and Busan, and taught them some Korean words and their alphabet known as Hangeul.
Satellite College Director Dr. Adelfo Z. Virtudazo, on his inspirational message, shared his thoughts about the significance of appreciating the diversity in culture and arts. He also emphasized how much grateful he is for the opportunity to envisage the culture and arts of Guatemala and South Korea.
OSA Chairperson Prof. Lalaine E. Ricardo also expressed her appreciation for the information shared by the speakers. “As a social science instructor in this University, I teach history and part of it are the culture, practices and even geography of the countries being studied. I really treasure the learnings today because it opened up our eyes, our curiosity, and our love for the beautiful country of Guatemala and South Korea.”
Before the program ended, the results of the different contests were revealed. In the Tiktok challenge, BAEL 3 won first place, BAEL 1 in second place and BAEL 2 in third place. BAEL 2 took first place in arts and crafts followed by BAEL 3 and BAEL 1 in second and third places, respectively.
In essay writing, first place went to Joey Luces (BAEL 1), second place to Keia Joy Millen Lozada (BAEL 3), and third place to Karen Mae Dela Cruz (BAEL 3). Finally, in spoken poetry, Leonel Bolido (BAEL 1) won first place; Mae Anne Alipusan (BAEL 1), second place; and Rj Lou Felasol (BAEL 2), third place.