United Filipinos Korea (UFILKOR), an umbrella organization organized at the initiative of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines to support Korean-Filipino families, received 10 million won for 100 multicultural families in Seoul on Feb. 8.

UFILKOR President Grace Tadili accepted the donation from the United Peace Federation, an organization affiliated with the late Rev. Moon Sun-myung’s Unification Church, during a special event organized by the Philippine Embassy for the benefit of multicultural families in South Korea.

Tadili came to South Korea in 1999 when she married her South Korean husband. The mother of a 15-year-old son, she said she helped organize the group to assist multicultural families better adjust to South Korean society, language and culture.

“We need groups like UFILKOR to assist our Filipino marriage migrants, and inform them of the latest issues concerning multicultural families and help our children become contributing members of Korean society,” she said. The group was founded in 2010.

Tadili estimated there are 9,000 Korean-Filipino multicultural families in South Korea. UFILKOR has 7,000 registered members and works closely with local governments and the Philippine Embassy here.

“Multiculturalism is an opportunity for a society to benefit from the diversity of talents, cultures and skills brought about by the influx of foreign citizens,” said Iric Arribas, charge d’affaires at the Philippine Embassy in South Korea. “Building cooperation on this matter will make our society more mature, learned, caring and tolerant and will veer us away from the sad realities of discrimination and marginalization which are often experienced by multicultural families in Korea.”

The 10 million won donation will be spent on books selected by the children of the 100 families, including textbooks, novels for young adults and comic books.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)