WATCH: Seoul-Incheon, South Korea


Here is my video on my short trip to South Korea.


For more blogposts on Seoul, click the links below.


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The Butterfly That Can Not Fly

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In a beautiful garden, a man found a cocoon of a butterfly. It has a small opening in it. Very eager, the man sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then, it seemed to stop making any progress for although it appeared as if it had gotten so far as it could, it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly using a pair of scissors by snipping the remaining bit off of the cocoon. The man saw as expected the butterfly emerged easily from the cocoon but to his dismay, the butterfly it had a swollen body and small shriveled wings. Moreover, the wings never enlarged and expanded to be able to support the body. From then on, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around and never was it able to fly. The man in the story did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body...
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Seijaku: Calm in the Middle of Chaos

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There is a Japanese word I recently came across: Seijaku. It is connected with silence, stillness, and finding peace even when life around us is busy. I like this idea because my life is rarely completely quiet. There is work, studying, languages, travelling, exercise, family, friends, and always something to do. For years, I became quite good at being busy. Finish one thing, move to the next, and keep going. But being good at being busy does not always mean being good at living. I used to think peace would come later. After this busy week. After this course. After this problem is solved. But there is always another "after." Life never suddenly says, "Congratulations, everything is finished. You can relax now." 😅 Perhaps the challenge is finding small moments of stillness while life is happening. Drinking coffee without checking my phone. Walking home without rushing. Sitting quietly without feeling that I should be doing something productive. Working as a nurse ha...
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What Make Filipinos Happy?

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According to the recent Happiness Index and Positive Experience Index (2015), Filipinos are considered one of the happiest in the world. There are many empirical evidence supporting this, including the magnitude of resilence and effectiveness of Filipinos in coping with several calamities and personal challenges. There are ofcourse scepticism on these researches, given that happiness could not even be measured objectively, and even more difficult to be compared. Happiness is indeed subjective, such that it is experienced differently among various persons with unique backgrounds and histories. Therefore, it is a challenge to make a summary or list of what makes one happy for a certain group of people, such as Filipinos. However, there are similarities among Filipinos that one could deduce effectively to answer what makes Filipinos happy. This is the focus of this blogpost. Family counts first. Family is most powerful source of motivation and happiness for Filipinos. More importantly,...
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10 Sociocultural Differences Between Norway and the Philippines

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Soon, I would mark my sixth year of living in Norway. It is difficult to sum up the past six years in few words. A lot of things I have experienced, and many people I have encountered. At least, I could say I have learned a lot during this period. However, what makes it more challenging for me as an immigrant in Norway is the contrast in cultures and social norms between my home country, the Philippines and Norway. Both countries were ranked high in different survey of happiness, depending on how happiness is defined on these surveys. And this concept of happiness is reflected in the norms in both countries. In this blogpost, I would enumerate ten of these cultural differences. 1.         Love for nature I could say that both Philippines and Norway have been blessed with beautiful landscapes. Philippines is known for its beaches, while Norway has fjords giving way to beautiful unique sceneries not found in other countries. However...
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Padayon Lang: Just Continue ᜉᜇᜌᜓᜈ᜔ ᜎᜅ᜔

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There are words that stay with us long after the people who spoke them are gone. For me, one of those words is the Cebuano phrase: “Padayon lang.” These simple words describe my life motto. It is short, almost ordinary. It does not shine with poetry. Yet it has a quiet strength, the kind that you don’t just think about but actually feel deep inside. Literally, it means “just continue” or “keep going.” But in Cebuano life, padayon lang is less of a command and more of gentle encouragement, just a soft pat on the shoulder, a light that shows you the way in the dark. I first heard it as a child, when I struggled with school and say, “Padayon lang sa imong pagtuon.” Keep studying. It is not a word of triumph. It does not promise success. Unlike congratulations or I’m proud of you, padayon lang accepts that life is hard, that the road is tiring, and yet it reminds us that moving forward, even slowly, even step by step is still worth it. It is the Cebuano spirit of resilience, no...
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Not All That Glitters is Gold

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This saying is made popular by William Shakespeare's usage in one of his poems. However, there is more truth and wisdom imbedded into this saying. On the simplest terms, this saying reminds us that not everything we consider valuable based on our crude judgment may not be as  worthy as it is in reality. Some corollaries are also true saying that not all that is insignificant are not as less precious as we first thought. However, how about making this saying as way of life? How could man deduce the core propositions attached to this saying? A thorough analysis of this saying is the focus of this blogpost. What we see and believe is not entirely correct. It is impossible for us to know everything. There are things hidden to us deliberately or unintentionally. There are also by chance, we fail to acquire valuable information that could possibly change the way we act and think. It is therefore correct to say that whatever we know are pure truths. One has to recognize this fact...
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Traversing the North sea towards the Northern region of Denmark from the Norwegian southern coast is fantastic experience. One get to distinguish the common maritime interests of the Scandinavian countries, especially between Norway and Denmark. These two nations have shared history in the past several centuries, both good and bad, such that only the North Sea became an important witness of this rich cultural and historical exchange.  The North Jutlandic Island was connected to the rest of the Danish mainland before the 18th century, but due to the strong currents of the North sea, the Agger Channel was created, separating the island from the rest of the Danish northern landmass region. These geographical and historical backgrounds has encouraged me to embark in the journey to, from and between the important cities of North Jutlandic Island in Denmark. This will be the focus of this blogpost.  Frederikshavn Kirke This church is one of the biggest in Denmark in ...
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Today (November 30) marks the birth anniversary of the known Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio. Many including me are used to hearing Bonifacio's name but never really got to deepen the appreciation and knowledge about him. There were controversies and unresolved issues regarding the motivation, personality and death of Bonifacio; but in this blogpost, the focus would rather be on the learnings we could possibly derive from the story of Bonifacio and how we could reflect on it when applied on our own respective lives. Family and friends first At the age of 14, Bonifacio needed to stop going to private school to support his five other siblings because both their parents died of illness in a duration of a year. Because of this, he earned a living for his family until his siblings had been regularly employed thereafter. On the other hand, by mere impression, Bonifacio treated Rizal as a friend or as an important person of the Filipino revolution. Motivated by this, Bonifacio with his c...
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The Free City of Danzig, the former GdaÅ„sk was a creation from the former German province of West Prussia. The city was ironically, after the German defeat in First World War, more German in a Polish state with a minority of Kashubian language along the Baltic Sea. The city was a place of the mass exodus of the Polish and Jews during the reign of the German Empire, and as well as that of the Germans after the Allied Powers won before the Germans invaded it again during the Second World War and expelled again during the Soviet occupation. This movement of people could capture what the city is today, a bustling industrial port, shipping building area and important Polish access commerce route along the Baltic Sea. These are few of the reasons why I visited GdaÅ„sk. This is Part Two. Click here for Part One. 1.      Chmielna  The Chnmielna Street is running entirely on Granary Island. The island opposite where the Crane is located. There are museum...
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