ONLY ON OMG! - Filipina bridges cultural gap in Korean musical

Filipinos have yet another reason to be proud.

Their kababayan, theater actress Cherish Maningat-Bae stood out in the lead role of the recently-concluded tour of “Arirang Fantasy” a Korean musical staged in Korea.

“Arirang Fantasy” features the ups and downs in the life of a young Filipina widow (played by Cherish) who lives with her mother-in-law and nine-year old daughter in Korea. The musical aims to portray the differences between Filipino and Korean culture and bridge the gap that comes from it.   It is the first Korean musical to feature a Filipina as lead actress.

The role seems to be tailor-made for Cherish, who chanced upon the opportunity to play the part when she learned about the musical from a friend who worked as the musical’s costume designer. Cherish, extensive theater training and directorial credits under her belt, was supposed to enter the project as a cultural consultant who advises the cast about the nuances of Philippine culture.  But after reading the script (and crying buckets), Cherish was convinced she had to do the musical herself.

Not for fame or fortune

Fame or fortune was the last thing on her mind when Cherish, who is in Manila for a short vacation, agreed to do  “Arirang Fantasy.”

“I want to do something for the Filipinas in Korea. I want to uplift their image because I am also a part of the Filipino wives in Korea (she married a Korean). There, our image is really not that good. There is a lot of negative media coverage and I felt like I want to help so I talked to the director and the staff. I told them I really wanted to do it. I gave them my reason for wanting to do it and I told them I am really passionate about it.”

The director didn’t even audition Cherish.  He offered her the role as an understudy for 10 of the 40 shows.  But that was only for starters. The talented Filipina ended up headlining the musical after the original lead actress was relieved for certain performance issues.

Adjusting to Korean work culture

Working with a predominantly Korean cast and crew has been a learning experience for Cherish. She shared that one of the reasons why “Arirang Fantasy” became so successful was her chemistry with the lead actor.

Since it was a traveling musical, the lead actor, a popular comedian, threw impromptu lines at her during performances. Cherish proudly said that “even if I am not Korean, I was able to catch up with him. I knew how to deal with his adlibs. That is why our play was fun.”

Working on the musical was not a bed of roses, though. 

Cherish notes: “What is most difficult for me is that it was so comfortable for them to work with me that they sometimes forget that I am not Korean. They think ‘why don’t you know how to relate to us?’ Sometimes they get angry.”

She recalled how she cried after she was scolded for sitting on her make-up chair ahead of the Korean seniors.

She shared that “I didn’t know that the seniors have to find their places first. If you sit down first, you’re thought of as rude.”

Cherish the true-blue Filipina was not accustomed to this Korean cultural nuance.

“There were a lot of instances, not just this one -- from  rehearsals to the performances --  where they thought I made a lot of mistakes but they were not really mistakes,” adds Cherish.

She shared that their director had to remind the actors about their cultural differences to promote understanding among cast members.

Breaking misconceptions about Filipinas

Her”Arirang Fantasy” experience has made Cherish “more concerned about our kababayans in Korea.

She explains, “Before the musical, I just felt that I wanted to help them. But now, I want to help them because I can see myself in them. I want them to experience what I am experiencing right now. I’m happy. I love my husband and I love his family and I’m really working hard to make the relationship work and to make the family relationship work. If they only knew how to deal with the mother-in-law and father-in-law, then it will be a lot easier. If we adapt to them [Korean] first, it will be a lot easier. I want to help them through that and maybe not just in this musical but even in another line of work.” 

To further dispel the Filipinos’ negative image and bridge cultural gaps, Cherish injects Filipino lines and even sang  Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak” in “Arirang Fantasy.”

Plans to go international

Cherish will return to Korea to continue work on “Arirang Fantasy.” The musical, originally sponsored by the Korean Racing Authority, will continue its run, this time on a larger scale.  The show will now be funded by the Korean government itself.

“They want us to go international too…if they will have their own national musical, they want to make it ‘Arirang’ because ‘Arirang’ is like their national song, so ‘Arirang Fantasy’. If London has ‘Miss Saigon,’ Korea has ‘Arirang’,” says Cherish.

Indeed, Cherish is proudly carrying the Filipino flag in Korea and she welcomes the task.  She is happy to be the first Filipina cast in the lead role of Korea’s first big-scale musical.

And she appreciates all the support her  kababayans are giving her. 

“I’m really really very thankful because they recognize me as someone who will uplift our image abroad which is really very important because there are many negative news and I want to be part of those who uplift Filipinos all over the world,” Cherish states.