I showed my Korean family this photo in our Kakaotalk chat group. I told them it is the Korean ambassador to the Philippines. I asked them if they see anything odd about it:
My brother-in-law asked “isn’t it hot in the Philippines?”. They didn’t really see anything wrong with it ~ and so I told them about the caption and how many of the comments are about how the South Korean ambassador was made to sit on a “monobloc” chair.
I’m not a fan of Duterte ~ HOWEVER, I believe in fairness. And like in the comment I made on one Facebook community ~ we should laud his accomplishments but call on his improprieties.
As for the photo above? The detractors of the President-elect Duterte is blaming this on him and that I think is unfair. Not a few mentioned how inappropriate it was of him (or his camp) to make the ambassador sit on a plastic chair. BUT apparently, it was the media that provided the table and chair for the Korean ambassador to sit on. After his meeting with Duterte, the media “ambushed” him for an interview and he seemed to agree on it.
President-elect Duterte had met with the Korean ambassador beforehand. As in this photo ~
Duterte received the Ambassador to what could be called the “Malacanang of the South” with courtesy. He may not be “appropriately” dressed (according to some he should be wearing barong or a suit) but judging from the photo, he received the ambassador and offered him his two hands.
The Korean Ambassador is a VIP but he is still a public servant of South Korea. If you ask a Korean, what will bother them more is when a public servant spends money playing golf, flying first class or wearing expensive brand name items. Not that a public servant is made to sit on a plastic chair!
I bet the South Korean ambassador has bigger things to think about than this non-issue. What bothers Korea about the Philippines is the increasing crimes involving Koreans in the Philippines. South Korea will be providing equipment to the Philippine National Police for its modernization.