Over the last few weeks, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the Philippines received praise and support from no less than His Excellency, Han Dong-Man, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines.

Ambassador Han was the guest of honor at Hyundai’s launch event at the 2019 Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) in April. HARI also hosted His Excellency at the Hyundai Dream Centre – Philippines (HDCP) in Laguna last May 6.

During MIAS, Ambassador Han praised HARI for its role in promoting cultural and economic ties between Koreans and Filipinos.

The Ambassador said, “This is the 70th year of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea. It is my great honor and privilege to be with you. HARI means king [in Filipino], so I believe that HARI will be the king of all the vehicle brands in the Philippines.”

He added, “Korea ranks as the 4 largest trading partner of the Philippines, following the U.S., China, and Japan. Last year, our trade volume reached USD 15.7 billion, increasing by 9.3 percent compared to 2017. Hyundai has contributed a lot to this, as Hyundai now accounts for more than 8 percent market share in the Philippines.”

Then, Ambassador Han Dong-Man also cited Hyundai Dream Centre-Philippines (HDCP) as an embodiment of the strong partnership between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea.

HDCP, a world-class training and education hub where underprivileged youth train with Hyundai to be expert automotive technicians, was established last year in partnership with Hyundai Motor Company and Plan International.

The Centre’s first batch of scholars graduated in November 2018 and have since gone on to begin careers with Hyundai’s nationwide network of dealerships.

According to HARI President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez Agudo, “Hyundai Dream Centre – Philippines represents our ‘human-ware’—the brilliant young men and women currently training to be world-class automotive professionals.”

Ms. Agudo furthered, “Our ‘human-ware’ plus ‘hardware’ has been HARI’s formula in our almost 20 years of making cutting-edge Korean technology accessible to more and more Filipinos.”

Ambassador Han furthered, “Hyundai and HARI will continue to support Korean culture in this wonderful country. Everyone here will be wonderful civil diplomats in bridging Korea and the Philippines. There are about 100,000 Koreans living in this wonderful country. With them, we will work hard to promote our friendship and partnership.”