Lampara Books Launches at Heritage Month in the National Library of the Philippines

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Bangtan Herman Notes: Arirang Bulacan and Pabalat Art

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Bangtan Herman Notes: Celebrating FESTA 2026 in Our Own Terms

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Ahjumma Reviews: Kdrama Inventory 2025 to May 2026

I have been putting off Ahjumma Reviews posts since... OK. It's been a while. But, here goes my list and short reviews or annotations of the Kdramas I have finished watching since middle of 2025 up to the present time. I can't remember the specific month I finished watching them, but I did enjoy each drama in their own way.

So, here we go!

1. Tastefully Yours - Kang Ha Neul and Go Min Si together has chemistry, but it dissipates for me. Yoo Yeon Seok's character as third wheel made the pairing interesting. I wrote a short review on my Insta here.

2. The Murky Stream - Forget the pristine and decadence of palace life in Joseon era Korea. This drama took me to a place of structural corruption and class hierarchies that remain in the here and now. It is a brave drama for doing so and Rowoon took his role to heart.

3. Would You Marry Me - The slow paced romance and fake marriage trope, plus the wholesome pairing of Choi Woo-sik and Jung So-min are recipes I love cooking !

4. Study Group - Misfits, nerds and geeks unite! The action scenes and martial arts choreography are superb! Season 2 please, Kdrama gods!

5. Family By Choice - Now here is a Kdrama where the  mothers are problematic and the fathers go over and above their parenting roles. I love the food aesthetic and how it symbolizes care.

6. Lovely Runner - Here is a Kdrama where time travel is plausible and logically presented. I have since bought a yellow umbrella.

7. Buried Hearts - Park Hyung-sik essaying the role of the anti-hero is so sexy. There. That's the review.

8. Trauma Code -Season 2! Season 2! Season 2!

9. The Lighthouse Keeper - This drama got me really, really scared. But also, it got me thinking about love and how it transcends time. In between life and the afterlife is a Keeper of Lights who stays and watches. This ambiguity is what makes the drama unforgettable.

10. Bon Appetit, Your Majesty - Korean cuisine is the star of this drama. That's why, on our trip to South Korea, I'll be checking out the spices and that black version of samgyeotang. 

Right now, I'm on episode 2 of Phantom Lawyer and episode 4 of Pro Bono. And somewhere in between, I wished it was just one drama put together. 

Bangtan Hermana Notes: BTS: The Art of Connection and Culture Bearing

 

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What to Read this Summer: Filipiniana YA Novels

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What to Read this Summer: YA Novels Centering on POC Characters

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What to Read this Summer: Nonfiction to Aid You in Learning How to Write Better Essays

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SLIA Travel Log: Balanga, Bataan

Crown Point Hotel in Balanga City is located on Capitol St., where Starbucks is only a three-minute walk from the hotel, and Dunkin’ Donuts is just across the street. The road is lined with decades-old narra trees. And because it was the last week of April when we were there, we saw them shed their blossoms onto the heated pavement of summer. Behind the hotel are shops, stores, and restaurants that serve and sell local food. Nearby is the public market. It is the cleanest public market I have seen in a while. So, on our last day there, we did what any well-meaning tourist would do—mamalengke!

Jars of uraro, taro chips, tinapa, and a tub of Geno’s ice cream filled my pasalubong bag. I was away for almost a week, and the loaded pasalubong bag showed how much I missed home, family, and my school community. I enjoyed the company of friends in PASLI, and I learned something new from the conference, but wherever I go, thoughts of loved ones and friends in Biñan remain close to me.

As for Bataan, it was my first time in Balanga. Needless to say, it made an impression, not only because of the food, but also because of the city’s tourism program for visitors and guests. It seems to offer more than the facts we read in history books; there are stories, folktales, and urban lore waiting to be unearthed and explored.

#PASLICon2026 #BalangaCityBataan

Bangtan Herman Notes: Growing Up with Bangtan Sonyeondan

 

Sneak Peek: Character Studies for New Children's Book

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Cdrama Review: Menstruation and Feminine Coded Origin in Pursuit of Jade

One of the more memorable lines in Pursuit of Jade is spoken publicly by Xie Zheng during the confrontation between Changyu and Song Yan’s mother.

“Menstruation is the foundation of humanity and motherhood. Why can’t it be spoken of?”

I actually paused after reading the subtitle/hearing it. I pressed the replay button and crashed out.

Xie Zheng’s words emerges in the middle of public humiliation, gossip and moral judgment. Song Yan’s mother attempts to shame Changyu before the entire neighborhood, weaponizing influence, gendered expectations and social hierarchy against her. And yet Xie Zheng interrupts that humiliation not only by exposing the debt owed to the Fan family, but by reframing feminine embodiment itself.

Menstruation is often treated with shame or silence instead of honoring it as a source of life. Most importantly, in the drama, this is spoken in a public setting where neighbors bear witness.

That setting matters deeply to me.

The scene is not private comfort whispered behind closed doors. It unfolds before neighbors, gossipers, sympathizers and onlookers. Lin’an witnesses the exchange collectively meaning dignity, morality and legitimacy are being negotiated communally.

As a folklorist, I find this fascinating because village communities often function as moral audiences. People gather not only to observe conflict, but to interpret it, redistribute shame and affirm communal values. In this moment, Xie Zheng shifts the communal narrative itself. He refuses to allow womanhood to be framed through impurity or embarrassment. Instead, he roots it in origin, continuity and human existence.

He was not only defending Changyu or asserting justice. He was honoring the feminine coded origin of our collective narrative.

What this scene shows is compassion and moral clarity interrupting public cruelty in broad daylight. I bring this back in real life as a reminder to constantly discern and to appropriately speak against injustices in big and small ways.

#PursuitofJade #cdrama #ZhangLinghe #TianXiWei

Book Review: Alandal

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Bangtan Hermana Notes: ARMY Keeps the BTS Ecosystem Human

 

Cdrama Review: Intimacy as Care and Sanctuary in Pursuit of Jade

Mother's Day 2026

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Book Review: No Man Manila

 

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Step by Step with Teacher Zee: Close Reading: A Way of Thinking While Reading

Today, I taught my student (she is in 7th grade) the Close Reading Strategy. I am sharing my method because, sharing is caring.

1. Explicitly taught the strategy first
   I framed Close Reading as a tool for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition, which gives my student a clear purpose for learning it. This matters because students engage better when they understand why a strategy is useful.
2. Used oral recall immediately after instruction
   Asking her to repeat what she heard strengthened processing and retention. This checks listening comprehension and helps transfer information from passive hearing to active understanding.
3. Moved into written articulation
   Having her write her own understanding was a good practice because it:
   • reveals misconceptions,
   • shows depth of understanding,
   • strengthens metacognition,
   • and reinforces academic language.
4. Provided corrective feedback without replacing her thinking
   Pointing out what she got right first and then strengthening incomplete ideas is how scaffolding works. Instruction is direct and I see where my student apply revision as another learning strategy.
5. Used the visual after conceptual understanding began forming
   I showed my student the Close Reading visual (AI assisted). The graphic came after discussion and processing, so it functioned as reinforcement and organization, not passive decoration. The visual consolidated the learning.

My student and I were able to work together following this process:

Explain --> Recall --> Rephrase --> Clarify --> Visual Reinforcement

I was also able to incorporate, although indirectly, the following skills:

• retrieval practice,
• formative assessment,
• metacognitive reflection,
• vocabulary development,
• and multimodal learning.

For a Grade 7 student moving into Grade 8, this is the kind of literacy foundation that supports:

• science readings,
• social studies texts,
• IB/MYP criterion work,
• evidence-based responses,
• and later research tasks.

For me, teaching the Close Reading strategy is not answering questions but, it is a way of thinking while reading.

The Lighthouse Diary #86: Learning the Types of Sources with Our Grade 8s

 

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