PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF KOREAN DRAMA IN THE CLTURE OF

STUDENT VIEWERS IN CENTRAL LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY

Aeriel Joy C. Posadas1 Danilo S. Vargas 2 Lynell Alejandro3

Central Luzon State University1
Central Luzon State University2
Central Luzon State University3

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

This study aimed to find out the perceived influence of Korean drama in the culture of
the students in Central Luzon State University by their extent of; watching and the medium usually using
to access Korean Dramas. This research is a qualitative paper. There were 49 students representing eight
colleges in the university specifically College of Engineering (1); College of Agriculture (4); College of
Arts and Sciences (2); College of Education (7); College of Business Administration and Accountancy
(15); College of Home Science and Industry (10); College of Veterinary Science and Medicine (7); and
College of Fisheries (1). The results were analyzed through descriptive analysis. This research used
Regression Analysis which analyzed and concludes between the socio-demographic characteristics and
the perceived culture of the respondents by watching Korean Drama. Results show that there is positive
relationship in terms of age, sex, length of years watching Korean Drama, frequency of watching in
terms of hours spent on a daily basis, and number of series watchedSince therespondents
by the advent of media,
and thethere has
influence
been an
of Korean culture as perceived by the respondents in the Korean influx of ways and opportunities for
Drama.
fans to express their admiration for a
popular narrative or text. Fans send fan
letters through snail mail, or visit their idols
INTRODUCTION on shoots and productions. And now
especially with the dawn of new media such
Fandom is a way of life. Much like as the Internet and cellphone, the audience
daily activities such as eating, walking, and the fans have a faster avenue to express
watching television, reading books and the their thoughts. After an episode of a drama
like, fandom is a habitual activity for a fan. series aired, fans would rally online to talk
Sandvoss (2012) described fandom as the about their thoughts on the recent episode
“regular, emotionally involved consumption minutes after the broadcast. Philippines is a
of a given popular narrative or text”. There country that has varied cultural influences.
are emotions invested in the part of the fan Most of these influences are results of
such as adoration, idolization and other previous colonization, deriving mainly from
extreme feelings of fondness. A simple the culture of United States and Korea.
appreciation of a media text may result to Nowadays, Korean drama is becoming more
repeated and regular consumption. This popular in the mainstream. The melting pot
active consumption is the main subject of theory which a metaphor for a heterogenous,
this research endeavor. the different elements “melting together”
with a common culture or vice versa that is
evident in this culture makes this country a
vibrant, exciting and diverse place to live
and visit.
 Since 2003, Korean dramas have considering that youths are the successors of
become a staple in Philippine television. the Filipino culture. Moreover, it aims to
Studies show that the Philippines was only identify the positive and negative habits
one of the many shores that the Korean perceived by the viewers which affects its
wave, also known as Hallyu, affected. existing culture and behavior by just merely
Hallyu is the rapid spread of the Korean watching Korean Drama.
entertainment industry in Asia. In addition, However, it is very interesting to
Korean Pop music (K-Pop) is also popular note that there have been no studies
in Japan, China and Taiwan. Most of these attempting to determine the influence of
influences are results of previous Korean Drama in the culture among the
colonization, deriving mainly from the students of Central Luzon State University
culture of United States and Korea. (CLSU). To identify the reasons behind their
Nowadays, Korean drama is becoming more consumption of Korean Drama. The drama
popular in the mainstream that is evident in media content which contributes to the
this culture makes this country a vibrant, CLSU students liking and appreciation and
exciting and diverse place to live and visit. the possibility that can influence them.

Places such as, in schools, malls,

stores, even to recreational places such as Objectives of the Study
parks and other tourist places, you will
observe the trend of Korean culture among Specifically, the study aims to address the
Filipinos especially to the youths - Korean following:
sensation is almost everywhere. Perhaps,
this is because Korean dramas started airing 1. To determine the profile of the
among the considered largest media respondents.
networks in the Philippine Television like 2.1 To determine the communication
GMA and ABS-CBN, then followed by TV characteristics of the respondents in terms of
5 and even other networks as early as 2003. medium use;
The youths are the one who are 2.2 To determine the medium used in
most influenced by the Korean Wave which accessing Korean Drama;
usually includes Korean music, dramas,
films, and its cultural change especially in 3. To identify the respondent’s reason of
Asian nations today. The new generation watching Korean Drama;
today is different and are easily influenced
4. To determine the perceived influence of
by the things around them. Youths,
the Korean Culture that are particularly seen
specifically, are exposed to the different
on the Korean Drama to the student
kinds and genres of music, television dramas
respondents.
and fashion. Now and then, their choice in
terms of music, movies and fashion has been
changed, improved and made more exciting
in the eyes of the Filipino youth considering
that Philippine media has been marketing
Korean Dramas to complement the demand RELATED REVIEW OF
of its viewers. It is quiet noticeable that LITERATURE
majority of those who belong to the young
generation specifically students are observed Korean in the Philippines
to be attached to Korean Drama. Hence, this
study will be conducted to identify the             As the Korean Wave sweeps the
influence of Korean Drama to the student Philippines, the number of Korean nationals
viewers of Central Luzon Stat University in the country continues to get bigger and
bigger. Korean emigrants provide an However, having the difference in
important encouragement to the economy language is one barrier in understanding
of the Philippines. They are estimated to and developing an interest of Hallyu
spend between US$800 and $1000 per because of this it gives interest to the
month, making a total contribution of over people who likes Hallyu to do multilingual.
$1 billion per year in consumer spending If we can understand what this Hallyu really
(Korean in the Philippines, 2013). is about, it can help us to determine the
grater variations in the themes that is
The Philippines and Korea are presented to Korean culture (Gaya, 2013).
linked by flows and counter flows of
people,” said Dr. Virginia Miralao of the
Philippine Social Science Council in a study
on the Korean culture dispersion in the Korean Wave in the Philippines
Philippines. One reason of increasing
            As the number of Korean pop fans
number of Koreans in the country is the
increases, Manila is now seen to have that
geographic proximity of the two nations.
Seoul marks to cater K-pop fanatics. There
Another is because Koreans want to receive
are three Korean fixes that can be found in
the most famous Philippine hospitality
Manila. First is the K-pop fix. One can easily
(Meinardus, 2015).
find a “noraebang” or KTV’s like Platinum
According to Han (2015) the Korean KTV where K-pop fanatics can sing their
community in the Philippines had little favorite song hits. There are also numerous
influence on Philippine society until the late schools and universities which offer Korean
1980s, when the Korean wave started. They Language classes. Korean Language Culture
continue to be seen as a closed group by (KLC) Training Center in Guadalupe Nuevo,
Filipinos. In addition, Filipinos in general Makati and the Department of Linguistics,
perceive South Korean migration to the U.P. Diliman are some of those institutions
Philippines a strange thing, as it goes that teach Hangul (Mr. Go 2014).
against the pattern more familiar to their
Next is the Kikay fix. When it comes
own experience, that of people from
to Korean fashion, one can also find stores
developing countries migrating to more
like Forever21 that sell Korean outfits inside
developed ones.
Manila. Beauty shops and salons (Park Jun’s
            As of 2007, 15% of all foreign visitors Beauty Lab, Lee Chul Hair Kerker and Etude
to the Philippines are Koreans, the annual House to name a few) offering a K-pop look
number of South Korean visitors arriving in can also be found. 
the Philippines was just 26,000; however,
Last is the food fix. Korean meal
that expanded over seven times to about
shops are just around the corners. Filipino
180,000 by 1997, and then to 303,867 by
won’t have to go to Korea to taste kimchi,
2003. Tourism arrivals continued to grow
which is a staple food in Korean cuisine and
rapidly, to 570,000 in 2006. At this point,
a traditional side dish made from salted and
South Korean tourists formed a larger group
fermented vegetables, most commonly
than American tourists for the first time,
napa cabbage and Korean radishes, with
and then to 650,000 by 2008. As of 2007,
variety of seasoning including chili powder,
Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Philippine
scallions, garlic, ginger and jeotgal (salted
Airlines each offered one daily flight
seafood). Korean restaurants and groceries
between Manila and Seoul (Jung 2014).
are always there to cater those Filipino
Korean fanatics who idolize even their idols’ completely different cultural backgrounds.
favorite foods (Bautista, 2013). The most important factor for determining
program preference is language. Other
Korean dramas in the perspective of important factors include the appearance,
media gestures, story pacing, religion and musical
traditions in the program. Such cultural
The economic impact Korean references play an important role in the
dramas have on Asian countries makes it acceptance of international media products
worth delving into their influence from the by local consumers.
perspective of media content, culture
shock, marketing, and film and television Their cultural nearness is seen
production. In the past, many media through the signs of cultural similarity.
scholars who are interested in cultural These connections extend to seeing
influences explored the cultural changes themselves in similar cultural values, such
that the international television industry those deriving from Confucianism, which
produced through foreign programming has a base in both Taiwan and Korea.
(Tian 2014). Confucian values are exemplified by filial
piety and obedience, rigid gender roles and
On the local level, media scholars respect for ancestors. Cultural values form a
such as Tian Yi Lee (2014) believe the global way of understanding a culture, and a basis
spread of international media content may for social behaviors (Kuo, 2013). In addition,
eventually lead to the loss of autonomous values are concerned with how a person
culture. The Taiwanese media scholar will behave in certain situations whereas
Hsuan Hao Chang particularly worries that ethics is concerned with how a moral
the rise of Korean drama is culturally person should behave (Mintz, 2015).
invasive.
According to Yosefina Tobing (2013)
However, since both Korean and Korean dramas have an interesting story
Taiwanese cultures have heavy Confucian and fun to watch. Korean drama are also
roots, many of the deeper cultural beliefs preferred by teenagers and youths. The
are already similar. The invasion of teenagers love Korean Drama because they
contemporary commercialism does not can watch their favorite actors or actresses.
impact the philosophies of the people in Korean drama is the best popular drama in
depth. Other scholars observe that Korean Asia, more than Indonesian drama. Korean
drama is a harmless cultural innovation that drama or K-Drama refers to television
also exposes the problem of domestic drama in the Korean language. The Korean
television programs not being able to meet drama is made in South Korea, and mostly
the contemporary needs of the audiences in a miniseries format with distinctive
(Pan&Hsieh, 2013). features that set it apart from regular
Western television series or soap operas.
Straubhaar (2012) suggests in 1992
Korean drama can set in contemporary
in his study about cultural proximity that
times or in historical settings, and we can
people prefer to watch foreign television
say it with sageuk. Different genres apply to
programs from countries with cultures
these two types, from romantic comedies
similar to theirs. His study finds found out
and action series to fusion science fiction
that this occur particularly often when
dramas (Yosefina Tobing 2013).
domestic television programs do not fulfill
their expectations and desires. In other
words, they dislike television programs with
CONCLUSION AND the Filipino viewers. The same theory could
RECOMMENDATION explain the effects of uncontrollable viewing
of K-drama content on the student actions,
The results of the study generated the personalities, lifestyle, and values that may
following conclusions: affect their culture. Moreover, broader study
such as analysis content to further
Central Luzon State University understand what makes foreign media
students are very active viewers of Korean attractive for Filipinos.
Drama and are highly exposed to its
influence based on the result. Notably, The researcher highly recommends
female viewers of Korean Drama are for the future researchers to study on how
dominant compared to male viewers. siblings not only the parents affects their
sibling’s behavior and how significant their
On the other hand, the respondents role are in influencing their younger
prefer watching Korean Dramas using their sibling’s choices.
personal laptops and via offline streaming
through complete download of series since In addition, parents should be wise
Korean Dramas that are aired in Philippine in terms of choosing TV shows to be
television is bounded by time schedule and watched by children. They should also
usually is Tagalized. consider that it should be that parents watch
what their child watches not the other way
Korean Dramas were able to sustain around. In addition, parents should try to do
the interest of the respondents because of its things that their children are doing for them
entertaining storyline, and inspiring theme to understand their child. Because
and characters that is relatable to youths sometimes there are things that parents can’t
considering that most genre of Korean understand and it often ends up to having
Drama is romantic comedy which is fit to misunderstandings, maybe because of the
the culture of the young generation. digital gap.
Korean drama is considered an Furthermore, TV stations should
audio-visual craft, hence, brings influence to add programs that can be appealing for all
the respondents via visuals and auditory. ages, for television can be an activity for
Respondents are highly influenced by bonding the whole family.
attributes that is visually oriented like body
language and fashion statement. Korean
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