A news article on the frontpage of the online edition of Korea Times talks about how Filipino teens are hooked on K-pop (Korean pop music) nowadays. When I met with my friends to celebrate Wendy’s birthday more than two weekends ago, we talked about how rich these kids may be that they could afford to buy original DVDs, CDs and photobooks of their favorite K-pop groups.
Hallyu, popularly known as the Korean wave, continues to cast its spell in the Philippines. Not only are Korean dramas being embraced by Filipinos but more teens and young adults are becoming ardent fans of K-pop artists as well.
Thanks to the Internet, non-Korean fans in Southeast Asia including the Philippines and as far as North America and Europe can get a daily dose of Korean music, dramas and anything in between.
Source: Filipinos Get Hooked on K-pop Craze by Jonathan Hicap
Jonathan Hicap also wrote an article on the popularity of Korean dramas in the Philippines. Seeing these kids’ pictures made me suddenly feel old. It has been almost 10 years ago when I began to get hooked on K-drama and later K-pop. I still remember how my friends would mock me and asked if I could even understand the songs (H.O.T. and g.o.d.) I listened to that time. Now that I got over the “addiction”, it’s now my turn to laugh and mock them. At least I can now understand Korean language, not fluently though.
As for Korean dramas, I don’t watch them as often as before. It happened when I saw “Sandglass“. I felt like I’ve seen the best and I didn’t want to waste time and be disappointed watching the same love stories all over again. Know what I’m talking about? Cinderella stories with someone dying of a certain illness. I would watch anything that has Kim Myung Min in it though. And Seo Ji Sub, Lee Byung Hun, Won Bin and not to forget… Jang Dong Gun 😀
It’s fun to join groups to share your interests with. I’ve been there before and I’ve done crazy things (like sneaking at Ginebra’s dug-out at the Cuneta Astrodome with my friend Jane in 1997) I never thought I’d do. I had fun, but now my priorities are different. Thankfully, these things go away but it’s nice to experience some craziness at any age…
Hi Betch! I really don’t know if this article would make me feel proud of being a Filipino. Honestly, I feel so sad ‘coz until now we still patronize others rather than our own… I may sound patriotic… but I really am. It’s just that… It make me feel so sad. Sorry Betch na-carried away ako ha..
Habang buhay na lang po ba tayong magiging anino ng ibang lahi?
I hope someday not very far from now, we can recognize our own strength as Filipinos…
Not just the young Pinoys are into K-dramas. My mom who’s turning 60 next year, really liked “Boys over Flowers” and was rooting for Jun Pyo and Jan Di all the way! I think part of the charm of the K-dramas is that the stories are fast-paced and they really go all out and spend more on production, location, etc. (compared to local Pinoy dramas). All for the sake of art and entertainment…Ann P.
wow hehe kasama po ako dyan sa nasa article ^^
maka-h.o.t. at g.o.d. rin kami hehehe
18 years old lang po ako, pero nabuhay na ako sa panahon ng g.o.d. at nagustuhan sila ^^
At nandun nga po kami ni Ate Tintin sa article. Haha. Nakakatawa mang isipin na nahihilig kami sa mga kantang di namin naiintindihan :))
i also feel sad that filipino’s taste for music has drastically declined. it’s good to appreciate other music, in fact, i do listen to spanish, italian, french songs, etc.. but filipino songs are far better than korean songs. voicewise, koreans don’t really have it. honestly, they don’t possess great voice. i hope that this liking for koreans is just a fad will and not last for long. i’m sure if more and more koreans will become aware how filipinos are getting more stupid about them and their culture discrimination against us will go to worse. let’s not be blind, only few koreans don’t discriminate us. most of them are mocking us because in their eyes we’re just a dust. they think they are better than us in every way (which is funny because pinoys think of them in that way too)sige na nga, ok lang to like their music as long as pinoy will treat k-pop music as no different from butchikik, otso-otso, spaghetti, and other novelty songs. hi-tech lang naman music video nila, nothing more special.
Korea has voice, not just saying because I’m korean but you’re judging by the artists that are just popular in Philippines (Idol groups) who are mroe visual, performance, appearance type with catchy songs following the trend, you haven’t listened to other Korean artists, It’s not surprising to say they could sing just as good as Pop artists in America
no offense but if you have’nt listen to any kpop songs or you say you have listen about 2 or 3 you dont have the right to say they dont possess great voice.. do you think all filipino possess great voice? No, Right? Just a few great singers and probably you havent listen the great singers of Korea. We all have different likes, we just have to respect each other and it is also important to know things like this before stating your opinion
yup, i’ve read that article too.. i guess it should be a challenge on the country’s tv stations (abs & gma) to provide us with good telenovelas because frankly kakainis ang mga telenovela dito kasi alam mo na ang susunod na mangyayari sa story at para din sa mga ibang artista natin jan na kahit walang talent sa pagkanta ang bilis-bilis makapaglabas ng album porket sikat lang… 😀
K-pop is cool. I like 2NE1 the most 🙂
.-= Mike´s last blog ..How To Love Mondays =-.
Pinoy turn to kpop and kdrama because opm or pinoy music is dead it gasped for breath in the 80’s and died in the 90’s no producer in his right mind will shell out a hundred thousand dollars to make a single song and lose it on mp3, as to film industry its dying simply because Filipinos have yet to learn to read. The nexus to films is that more readers more books comics or short stories will be written/published giving the movie producers more stories to choose and select the best to turn to film or tvdrama.
shinee’s coming dito sa pinas together with mighty mouth for korean cultural festival…^^
We know there are downsides in the rising popularity of Korean entertainment market here in the Philippines. If you have to be critical about this, this is one of the product of globaiization.
We could go all day just talking about glabalization but in the end of the day the one solution I could see is to adapt…
In our post-modern world what is left are gray spaces. There is no point into fighting in the cultural aspects. We can’t go around talking that we are loosing our Filipinoness because there is none in the first place. We can’t go on initiating children to dance into tinikling than dancing into the rising nobody by the wondergirls. What is Filipino anyway? Even our entertainment industry is bombarded by western influences.
But commenting on the positive side, the rise of the Korean market is a good change for the Asians. Why? For once the westerns are as vulnerable as other countries. Movies like the The Grudge and My Sassy Girl is penetrating them. It only shows that we can influence them…. Even Bollywood beats Hollywood in film productions.
Let us see the future of the world…. i can’t wait for it… and that is what I am more excited about.
I’m 16 years old and I’m 5 years addict to Koreans and Japanese pop…
as a fourth year student.. i decided to have my own research about these kind of addiction…even thought this is a part of my English project,personally,i want to know how to stop these addiction which spins my mind.
if someone got some suggestions regarding this matter…please reply me on this website or email me @ ndao_jks6@yahoo.com
lets help our industry
thank you
im 16 years old an i’m 3 years addict to korean an taiwanese songs..:))
tulad ni ‘ndao_jsk6’ we have our english project too..:)) and my topic is all about
“the effects of asian music to filipino teenagers/ the influence of Asian Music to Filipino Teenagers.”
if someone can help me in this matter.. please email me at: mimi_live09@yahoo.com
Hey..! erm i dont really know how to start…
Im an 18 yr old born in Philippines but has living in the UK for 8 yrs… and i guess i fall into the category of the teens that is obsessed with KPOP JPOP TPOP CPOP oh my nearly everything…
I dont really know the most popular reason why teens love and are hooked on kpop and kdrama… but for me, the reason i was attracted to koreans or japanese artists is because they are not like Filipinos. i just realised this when i was randomly researching stuff. i guess teens wants to have THEM as friends, girl/boyfriends, idols, etc NOT Filipinos.
it is true from 1 of the comments ive read that… “Voicewise” Filipinos have it… the only problem is… we love to IMITATE! so even if we have the voice, we will always be compared to some other singer/artist.. i know this because im criticised this way…
What im really wondering is that… kpop jpop tpop etc sing in their OWN LANGUAGE (with maybe a mix of english).. but if you listen to songs sung by Filipinos, they’re mostly english… and the ones in tagalog are all… hmm whats the word…? i dont know… but the tagalog songs i listen to are mostly love songs and most of them are too corny…
Im sorry if im kinda ranting now… and the comment is way too long… but im ashamed to be in the kpop loving category… and im actually longing for something from my country for me to love rather than be ashamed of…
i actually have a lot more things to say so if anyone’s interested… i shall gladly talk… again sorry for the long comment
hi Eunice! thank you for your comment… when i was your age, i was also into pop music… i hate to admit it but i was once a fan of NKOTB!
anyway, i agree with your observation… the east asian groups usually sing in their own language… in korea though, their songs are in korean infused with a little bit of english like “oh”, “baby”… LOL
we could always be proud of our folk culture… koreans are proud of theirs… i guess we haven’t been in that level…
I know that Korean pop is very nice culture and It is really well drama as well fantastic music as wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Annyeong! LOL
I’m 16 and first year college.
I have this informative speech on “Korean dramas and why we love it”.
I’m just a week away from the deadline, so please can you help me.
Tell me… why do Filipinos love Koreanovelas?
please do email me: msjlpalo@gmail.com
I would really appreciate it if you do.
🙂
You can access your US Netflix account, or if you’re signing up, you
can get your 1 month free trial. We were also captivated by another epic story called “Jewel in the Palace”, also known as,”Dae Jang Geum”, is based on
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In the mary stayed out all night recent years, many of them have been written making them more accessible to curious and skeptic minds alike.