SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - If there’s someone people consider the toughest and the most influential Filipino in South Korea, it's definitely Fr. Glenn Giovanni Jaron, MSP. He served the Filipino community in South Korea for ten years, enlightening the spiritual life of migrants on his "hottest" telephone 24/7.

Several times, he has witnessed migrants in tears as they asked for his help over their grievances and troubles. Fr. Glenn has cried with them since he started working with the largest Filipino group in South Korea, the Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic Community.

Offering life for the Community

During his early years as the chaplain, Fr. Glenn has rescued people from different forms of abuse. Once an employer locked him up in one of the rooms in a factory somewhere in Uijungbu when he tried to help Filipino workers escape. The day after the rescue, he could not help crying as he delivered a homily.

Another incident happened in Songsu where he accompanied some Pinoy workers. Along the way, they were arrested for no valid reason. Brought to the police station, they were interrogated in Korean as part of an aggressive investigation. Unfortunately, Fr. Glenn’s Korean was insufficient at the time and he could not answer accurately. As a result, he was brutally insulted. Getting back to the community center, he prayed and fell into tears.

The Filipino Catholic Community has witnessed the challenges this servant leader has confronted in his compassionate crusade against human trafficking of entertainment workers, inter-racial marriages, for homeless, unemployed workers subjected to physical abuse and culture shock from Korean employers and co-workers.

Fr. Glenn has sacrificed much for the community’s survival and development despite insufficient funds and numerous victims seeking immediate rescue from confinement. In quiet tears, he reported the various needs and problems of our fellow migrants in the community center to the Archdiocese of Seoul.

Sharing Joy and Forgiveness

When the bishop saw the needs of people billeted in a packed room that had to be extended to the hallway, the Archdiocese of Seoul bought the new four-story building of the Salesian Congregation for 450 million won. The tears did not stop for Fr. Glenn. This time, they were tears of joy at the inauguration and blessing; he could not believe it would come this far. Even in his dreams, he did not imagine that the community would have such ideal building to accommodate many distressed migrants and continue providing services and comfort to those in need of a home.

In 2004, Banaag (Ray of Sun), a presidential award for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas was awarded to Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic Community in recognition of its role in providing invaluable assistance to distressed Filipinos in South Korea and creating a sense of solidarity and belongingness within the Filipino community in Seoul.

Our hero priest shares the value of self-sacrifice: "Always remember that if you don't sacrifice, you will not get anything." Thus, the Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic Community Center has provided highly commendable services, which include medical in partnership with the local hospitals and medical clinic. The community has selected St. Rafael Clinic, which offers free medical and dental services for all migrants in Seoul. The medical clinic has received the same recognition the community has received from Malacañang.

Though Fr. Glenn has been awarded honorary citizenship by the government of South Korea, he needed to comply with his calling for another mission in Sacramento, California last December. Again he was sobbing as he delivered his farewell message to the Filipino community, “Maraming salamat sa lahat ng aking natulungan at para sa hindi ko nabigyan ng pagkalinga. Isasama ko po kayo sa aking panalangin. (Thank you to all whom I have helped and those I failed to care for. You will be in my prayers.)”

Emulating the compassion

This November, the Filipino EPS Workers Association (FEWA), the largest EPS workers organization initiated by Fr. Glenn and SULYAPINOY Publication have awarded the Gawad named Fr. Glenn Giovanni Jaron to the following Most Outstanding Filipinos: Sister Miguela Santiago, FMA, godmother of OFWs since 1957; Judith Hernandez, first foreign-born politician; Pastor Jones Galang, a human rights advocate; Franklin Caturla, model volunteer EPS worker and Emely Dicolen-Abagat, Ph.D.

The Gawad Fr. Glenn Giovanni Jaron was also awarded to the Ansan Filipino Community, Kasan Migrant Workers Community, the Human Rights Welfare Organization for Filipino Community, the Changhyun Filipino Catholic Community and the Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic community, all with the blessings of our hero priest now based in Sacramento. With the consistent support of the current HFCC Chaplain, Fr. Alvin Parantar, MSP, this award has paved the way to recognizing the valuable services and contributions of Filipino individuals and communities to all OFWs and their promotion of Philippine culture and the arts in South Korea.

Philippine Ambassador Luis Cruz led the awarding ceremony at the Columban Missionary House in Seoul, saying that recognition will greatly inspire future migrants to help fellow OFWs, a Filipino virtue that endures even in the vicious cycle of migration.

Various Filipino communities continuously bring hope, joy and home to Filipino migrants all over the Korean peninsula. And Fr. Glenn is an epitome of God's sacrifice for our salvation, shedding tears of unconditional love with us for ten glorious years – in the Love shared in every migrant's heart.