Korean and Philippine Forests

Found this book while trying to arrange the books and journals in the bookshelves in our laboratory. I can't seem to concentrate on what I'm supposed to do before I've arranged the books.

Anyway it's just one of the very few books that is in English plus it would be a good reference for me so I started reading it.

Learned quite a lot already by just reading the introduction: ROK (South Korea) occupies 45% of the Korean Peninsula, they usually just have two typhoons per year (kakainggit naman, the Philippines have more than 20), forest covers 64% of their land area which is composed mostly of coniferous forests, and they have a growing stock od 97.8 cu.m. per hectare in 2007 which means it could be higher now.

It was not as if they haven't had problems on deforestation. They had their fair share in the 1950s that in the 1960s their growing stock was merely 10.6 cu.m. per hectare. How they've come from that to the present situation is amazing.

Having spent most of my life in a mountainous area and having been witness (both first hand - where I've seen recovered bodies of victims of a landslide laid in an elementary classroom - and through the television) to various disasters caused by typhoons which was intensified by the lost of forest cover, I could not help but wish that the Philippines could do the same.

The first chapter is about Changes in Forest Ownership. The Korean government conducted a Forestland Cadastral Survey and subsequently the transfer of forest ownership. After reading this part I realized it's a very long, winding, and difficult road for the Philippines to follow what was done in Korea. With all the land disputes and the claims of ancestral land domains by indigenous groups. Even government agencies' roles (DENR and NCIP) and laws or policies are sometimes in conflict.

Will I see greener mountains with the implementation of the NGP? Will the local governments especially in the Cordilleras be able to stop the conversion of forested areas to vegetable farms? These, and a lot more questions are still hard to answer.

When Koreans Party, They Party Hard!

May 15 was 스승의 날 (Teachers' Day) here in Korea. I've seen students in other departments or laboratories preparing various gifts for their professors. Other's buy expensive gifts, while others prepared personalized gifts. I then asked my lab mates what we're going to prepare for 교수님.  I learned that in the past he has expressed that he doesn't like receiving gifts, especially lavish ones because he doesn't want the students to be burdened and so our laboratory captain just bought cake which we then ate together.

It's a simple celebration indeed but for me it was very meaningful one. We spent time talking (well for my part mostly listening) and we've learned a lot of things about each other. And to top it all, I've seen 교수님 being goofy and playful, teasing one or two of the members in our laboratory.

But when I said "When Koreans party, they party hard", I wasn't referring to the aforementioned, but the things that happened after.

Anyway, before our modest teachers' day celebration, 교수님, 관희, 치웅 and I had a meeting with a professor and students from the Civil Construction Department about a project on Forest Road. When the meeting was done they made a reservation at a restaurant that serves Korean Native Beef, and so that's where we went to have dinner.  Since the four of us didn't drink any alcoholic beverage, we finished eating first. We then proceeded to a coffee shop, where we were joined by 2 other students from our laboratory, then after a while by the professors from the Civil Construction Department.

교수님 went home and we went back to the laboratory, but only to shut down the computers, get our bags, tag along another 2 students, and headed back to downtown.  As 성은 (who I learned later during the night is our resident rapper) said while calling others to join us, "We're going to party! 관희어빠 will buy 치맥! (chicken and beer)" By the time we found a place that can accommodate us and would serve us alcoholic beverages (some students didn't bring their IDs and the waiters wouldn't take our words for it that all are more than 18 years old) there were ten of us.   Halfway through the time we spent there, one student who said he can't speak English, gathered enough courage or probably with the help of alcohol started talking with me. We probably stayed in the restaurant for more than 2 hours, eating chicken, fruits, etc; drinking 소주, 맥주, soda, and water; watching music videos and talking about various things.

When we left the restaurant, it was after 11:30. I thought we were walking towards the terminal where a taxi line is located but then we passed by a 노래방 (karaoke). Someone asked, "shall we go?" I didn't even hear an answer to the question, they just went straight in. We sang, danced, laughed for almost two hours. They tried to make me sing a Korean song but I still can't read fast enough to be able to do so, so I 'played' the tambourine.

By the time one of the female undergraduate student and I got back to the dormitory, it was almost 2 am.

Well probably those in Metro Manila area do the same, but since I'm not a Manila Girl, I wouldn't know. I went out with my workmates before and stayed out much later but we usually go to bars with live bands in Baguio City and stay there for the whole time. At times however, the guys are too drunk by the time we leave the bar that fun turns to irritation.

For the most part, I didn't say much during the night, I was just an observer because of the language barrier but I still enjoyed being in their company. It  surely is an experience that I will definitely remember for a long time.