안녕하세요! Mabuhay! I am Abi from the National Museum of the Philippines. I was part of the CPI Program in 2018 hosted by the National Folk Museum of Korea (NMFK).

I am the Senior Museum Researcher at the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) under the Geology and Paleontology Division. As a museum researcher at the NMP, I get to utilize both the scientific and creative parts of myself. As a scientist, I usually take the lead in most of the paleontology research of the NMP. I also act as the lead collections manager for the fossils collection of the NMP. As an occasional creative, I take part in all the aspects of an exhibition - from design to implementation up to aftercare monitoring. Also, I get to be part of the NMP’s frontline staff during the conduct of several educational programs.

This past year, I have been quite busy with preparations for the new component museum of the NMP. Our curatorial group - the natural history group, was responsible for an entire gallery that intends to highlight the geo-biodiversity of the southern Philippines. This involved lots of on-site and online discussion meetings and collaborative work with our various stakeholders. This new component museum is set to be launched towards the latter part of 2024.

Before my CPI training, my museology skills and experience were pretty basic, to say the least. My CPI application back then was anchored to my newbie experience as an exhibition planner when the NMP was launching its very first Natural History Museum. My hope during the CPI was to learn how our Korean colleagues approach a new exhibition project and what their post-launching activities plans were. I was particular about this because I wanted to know a much more efficient method of managing an exhibition project. I was also excited about visiting as many museums as I could during my CPI stay as a way of benchmarking for exhibition designs and themes.

I am proud and happy to say that these expectations were met with outstanding results. The NMFK made sure I learned and experienced things first-hand from their exhibition and education team. I even had the chance to join the ICOM-CECA Regional Meeting. This, for me, is a welcome surprise because it introduced me to the various ways that museums can reach out to the general public apart from its exhibitions and in-house educational programs.

Initially, sending my application for CPI was just something I was asked to do for work. My museum supervisors sent me the instructions and my first thoughts were along the lines of “How am I gonna do this?” and “Am I the right person for this?”

These early hesitations stemmed from the fact that it was going to be quite a long training period - the longest that I would experience away from home. As of writing, it still is my longest training experience ever. Another is that the program is mainly a cultural appreciation and exchange program. Although it may seem that as a museum professional, I am eligible for CPI, my actual work tasks were more on the natural history and earth science disciplines. Back then, I thought my earth science research was too far off for CPI.

Eventually, these hesitations were put to rest after much self-reflection and several conversations with colleagues. I come to understand that CPI offers the most comprehensive and generous opportunity to build and enhance my capabilities as a museum professional. Also, the CPI program brings together more than a dozen culture enthusiasts around Asia. This means that not only do I experience the K-life, but I get to share and learn it with my global CPI co-participants.

Because CPI is a 5-month course, there is a wealth of experience and learnings for me as a participant. First, is learning hangul. I thought my Korean language class would be the most stressful part of CPI. My very first day in class proved that wrong. I honestly enjoyed it. There is some learning curve, of course. But I am proud to say I still can read hangul to this day. I cannot understand it anymore though, but I’ve been meaning to go back to learning it again.

I also learned a lot about the rock artefacts and stoneware culture of Korea. This culture resonates so much with my background in earth sciences. In my fieldtrip to Jeju, I understood the influence of the island’s geology with the people’s way of life. My research on stone tomb statues enlightened me about Korea’s historical beliefs and faith. It also showed me differences in presenting the same artefact for outdoor or indoor setting.

Being able to experience Korean office culture is also a welcome surprise. I think I am one of only a few among the CPI participants who reports to the office regularly. This experience helped me adapt and be at ease during my entire stay in Korea.