A South Korea Based OFW Named 2016 Bagong Bayani Awardee



On June 7. 2016, Bagong Bayani Foundation, Inc. has awarded Dr. Joeffrey M. Calimag, an OFW in South Korea, the 2016 Bagong Bayani Award(BBA) for Outstanding and Exemplary Overseas Filipino Worker. His name will be etched alongside the names of other past awardees at the BBA Wall of Fame or “Bantayog ng Mga Bagong Bayani” located in POEA at Mandaluyong City.




Who is Dr. Joeffrey M. Calimag and what are his accomplishments as OFW in South Korea?

Well for a start, Dr. Calimag is working at the University of Ulsan in South Korea as a professor of International Business, Trade and Global Management. I have much more to say about Dr. Calimag’s career such as a Subject Matter Expert and Adjunct Lecturer for the International Studies, Vice President for International Business Consulting LTD (a Hongkong based international consultancy firm), and more, but I guess we are more interested on his contribution to the OFW in South Korea. Sure, this man is a jack of all trades, but this is not the reason why he was named 2016 Bagong Bayani Awardee.

More than his educational attainment and his fruitful career as an OFW, Dr. Calimag is so active when it comes to migrants’ affairs in South Korea. In fact, he holds various positions in different Filipino communities in South Korea like Public Information Officer of the Association of Filipino Educations in Korea (AFEK), Editor-in-Chief of Sulyapinoy, a monthly newsletter of OFW in Korea, and he also supports different kinds of advocacy for the benefits of EPS workers in Korea especially in the field of Financial Planning. In fact, he speaks in several Financial Literacy seminars for the Filipino in Korea and he also helps some OFWs to become an advocate of Financial Education.



Not only that, Dr. Calimag was one of the people who instituted the helpline for Migrant Workers in South Korea. This is a big help especially for those workers who are facing challenges in their respective workplace. He also volunteered to be a counselor for EPS at the Korea Migrant Center and he also promotes gender equality at work.

I probably haven’t mentioned all his accomplishments here in Korea when it comes to helping his fellow OFWs but I guess his significant efforts to promote goodwill among migrant workers in Korea is already enough for him to be awarded as Outstanding and Exemplary Overseas Filipino Worker.

To Dr. Joeffrey M. Calimag, Congratulations sir. We, the OFWs in South Korea, are so proud of you. Thank you for representing us.

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