The Effects of Korean culture in the

Philippines
 Introduction

Korea culture has become popular in the Philippines, their culture and products are loved by Filipinos

especially when you are into K-pop and K-dramas. Korea’s effect on Filipinos allows them to experience

watching Korean dramas, eating Korean food, listen to Korean music and indulge on Korean products.

Some of the examples of these are:

The first K-drama or Korean drama broadcast in the Philippines was back in 2003 and "Successful Story

of a Bright Girl" was the first ever Korean drama aired. Almost 2 decades later, K-drama has become a

favorite genre for teenagers and adults alike. The genre has influenced the Filipino society, specifically

and mostly young female teenagers to adapt into Korea's culture in terms of food, fashion, music, and

some are even inspired to learn their language, due to their exposure to Korean language, we can now

hear Filipinos saying the words, "Oppa", "Unnie”, “Anyeonghaseyo" and more. Scenic locations shown in

K-drama has brought some Filipinos into visiting the country itself.

One of the most popular South Korean dishes in the Philippines is kimchi. Kimchi is a traditional Korean

dish made of fermented vegetables, and it is often served as a side dish or as a topping for other dishes.

Kimchi is prized for its unique flavor and for its health benefits, and it has become a popular dish in the

Philippines. Another popular South Korean dish in the Philippines is bulgogi. Bulgogi is a grilled dish

made of marinated beef, and it is often served with rice and vegetables. Bulgogi is a popular dish among

Filipinos because of its flavorful and tender meat. South Korean cuisine has also influenced the way

Filipinos eat. For example, many Filipinos now eat Korean-style barbecue, which is typically made of
thinly sliced beef that is grilled over a charcoal fire. Korean-style barbecue is a popular meal among

Filipinos because it is tasty and easy to prepare.

In the Philippines, K-pop music is extremely well-liked. Even domestic radio stations have been swept up

in the K-pop craze, demonstrating how pervasive it is in the nation's mainstream media. Everywhere you

go, you may hear Korean music in every style, from mainstream and lively songs to ballads. So how did

K-pop become so well-liked in the Philippines? What aspects of K-pop appeal to Filipinos so much?

Based on the author's observations, personal experiences, and the opinions of K-pop fans in the

Philippines, this analysis of the state of K-pop in the country. K-pop has captured the Philippines, riding

the wave of Hallyu's international success, thanks to the charm and alluring images of K-pop musicians

with incredibly distinctive and unmistakable styles as well as the "swag" factor. K-pop is aesthetically

and acoustically captivating because to all of these characteristics as well as the precise singing and

dancing. The main reason I believe K-pop is influential and appealing to the younger generation. In

addition to its diversity, K-pop also makes it simple for Filipinos to relate to the emotions the music

frequently expresses, such as love, friendship, hope, and even pain.

A lot of Filipinos today have sworn by Korean beauty and skin care products, may it be for a glow looks,

pore less skin, dewy & glass skin, it is fascinating how such products dominated the beauty industry.

More so, it is no surprise since Korean dramas, movies and K-pop contributed to the popularity of

Korean beauty products we see today. Modern society has dictated the standard of beauty for both men

and women, not just in the Philippines but around the world. Through social media, people get to see as

well as actualize their ideal beauty standards may it be based on western and Asian influences. Others

may want to achieve the smooth and pore less skin of celebrities like the Jenner’s & Kardashians, or K-
artists like IU, Black Pink, Twice, Suzy Bae and the likes. While there are some who prefer using products

coming from the western side like the Americas and Europe, there’s actually a reason why more Filipinos

now prefer Korean beauty and skincare products than others. Aaccording to Dr. Malika Saltines, the

reason why these products are a hit by Filipinos is because their formulas are tailored to Asians, and

that’s why Korean regimens are followed by many. 60% of respondents in the Philippines stated that

they used Korean beauty products because they were more effective and produced better results over

other commercial beauty products in the market. Other reasons are Korean products have better

quality, more suitable to their skin and a wider variety of products for different skin care needs.

Needless to say, it is evident that the Korean beauty and skin care products captivated the Filipinos not

just because it was influenced by celebrities and in social media, but because of what these products

contain. Organic ingredients are the key components that promote healthy skin benefits that help in

having that glow, glass skin, as well as raise awareness in avoiding products that contain heavy

chemicals that may be harmful to one's health.

Fashion is a distinctive and often constant trend in the style in which a person dress. Media places a

significant role on introducing fashion trends. Through Korean dramas, Korean fashion has spread and

has gained popularity among the Filipino masses. Most Filipino teens mimic the fashion sense of

Koreans. Boutiques that sell trendy Korean clothing and accessories can be seen in most shopping malls

around the country.

With Korea's popularity among Filipinos, it has become a need for people to relate to their favorite

Korean stars. This includes using the products they use, eating the food they eat and watching or

listening in the entertainment forms they star in.

Why is this project worth writing? What good comes from answering the question?

This project is so controversial to the Filipino society and that's why we select this topic to be our

concept paper to determine the effects of the Korean culture to the Philippines and this is why it is

worth writing.

This Concept paper tells how Korean culture affect us in terms of food, fashion and music. Like for

example our original pork BBQ recipe gradually replaced by samgyupsal, our Barong Tagalog

gradually replaced by Korean techware and also our taste on music.

In this concept paper it also tells how K-drama affect the time management of Filipinos. Because,

most of the student spend more time in watching K-drama than prioritize their school activities. It

also tells how Korean culture greatly impacts the Filipino lifestyle, because of how they idolized

something in the Korean culture and they will gradually be influenced by it eventually. Most were

influenced by Korean idols to buy foods and products that they eat or their favorites. That is how

devoted or fanatic a Filipino can be to Korean idols, they can buy and eat everything because their

idols also consume it.

We eventually learn how Korean culture affect us after reading this concept paper so we can control

ourselves in some unprecedented events like gradually losing our own culture. As we tackle this
 topic of how the Korean culture affects the Philippines society, hopefully this can serve as an

awareness to the Filipino people about the several reasons of how the Korean culture affects us and

be knowledgeable in it not to avoid it completely but by controlling how Filipino people will get

influenced by the Korean culture.

What are the effects of Korean culture in the Philippines?

The Impact that most of the people that are likely teenagers in the Philippines enjoy K-pop and K-

drama as a result of Korean culture. The culinary, fashion, cosmetics, music, and entertainment

sectors, as well as people's perspectives and tastes, have all been significantly affected by Korean

dramas. Additionally, some people have made Korean Idols their entire life. Korea's rich cultural

heritage offers a delightful fusion of tradition and modernity in its music, art, literature, dance,

architecture, clothing, and cuisine. Currently, Korean arts and culture are attracting admirers from all

over the world. Because we try to look like the celebrities we see in the media, it has a big impact on

contemporary Filipino culture. Our clothes are becoming more Asian-inspired as opposed to more

Western-inspired.

The majority of Filipinos who became lovers of Korean dramas and music were influenced by

Korean stars to buy their favorite meals and products. The devotion and obsession of Filipino fans of

Korean idols may drive them to buy and consume anything that their idols do.
My alternative hypothesis for how Korea affects the Philippines is that local entertainment and the

Filipino identity in their own cultural goods are threatened by Korean items, which have a

detrimental impact on the country's entertainment sector.

As Asian and Western civilizations have an influence on both societies, there are similarities between

the cultures of the Philippines and Korea. During World War II, Japan attacked the majority of Asian

countries, including Korea and the Philippines.

Everything is a result of Filipinos' inferiority complex. Filipinos enjoy Korean pop culture in general

because it comes from a first-world nation. On the other hand, the Philippines is a third-world nation.

Therefore, Korean pop culture is highly regarded in the Philippines, even more so than their own.

The same holds true for western culture, particularly American culture. Another factor, in my

opinion, is that Asian Filipinos generally have an easy time accepting Korean culture.

How does Korean culture affect the Philippine society and its Filipino youths?

The Korean craze in the Philippines had a strong impact on the Filipino youth. Based on the data

gathered by Inquirer Research, Korean is the largest group of foreign that visited Philippines. According

to a study by the market research firm, TNS Global, titled “Filipino Perception of Korea and the Koreans”

they found out that Filipino culture were attracted in Korean culture out of three including United states

and Japan. Korean Fashion has a big impact to Filipinos because according to the results Filipino always

tend to find something new like the styles of Korean clothes, people aim to achieve Korean looks.
What draws us Filipinos to Korean cuisine? Anthropologist and historian, Arnel Joven explains this

attraction to Korean cuisine as a product of people’s fondness for K-dramas and K-pop.

Korean cuisine is attractive to many Filipinos in terms of its phenomenology in popular and social media,

salient promotion of Korean cuisine is embedded in many Korean dramas, regardless of genre. At the

same time, K-pop fandom also magnifies this phenomenology of Hansik (Korean cuisine) popularity

within the past two decades in the Philippines,

Filipino youth had been affected in their food, most of the Filipino youth are eating Korean food because

of what they see in k-drama that they watched. It has a good and bad effect on them, the good thing is

that they're are curious about the other food their knowledge is expanding in terms of knowing other

culture, some are trying to copy the food and sell it to fellow Filipinos and some are adding new

ingredients to it and make a new product. But on the other side, while they are being curious about

Korean food, they're getting choosy and picky because they see their idols eating the food that makes

them want to taste/eat it. If you watch K-dramas, you will observe that Korean food is prominently

showcased as it takes center stage along with the excitement factor, enticing viewers to try the dishes

for themselves after each series’ concluding episode.

In terms of fashion, Korean dramas influence Filipinos in Korean fashion style. It also shows a survey that

despite if this positive influence some Filipino students said that they will conserve their culture, and

they also thought that Korean style doesn’t suit them that much and to their culture. Filipinos used to a

change in fashion style like in clothes or even hairstyle just to look like the Koreans and need not resort

to wasting a lot of money just to attain the Korean look.

money they spend just to have Korean style or clothes. According to one Capelin not only fans of

Koreans are being addicted to Korean fashion but also it extends to the Filipino people who are not fan.

In music, before the K-pop become popular on Philippines, Filipinos love any genre of music, they can

easily adopt the song and memorize it. And then the K-pop music rise up and the Filipino society likes it

not only the music, also every group of the K-pop they love to watch it, most of the student love to hear

the Korean music and dance it as they idols danced it.

Korean culture has had a significant impact on Philippine society and youth. Whether it is positive or

negative, Filipinos are Filipinos, and they enjoy adopting other cultures. The Philippines is a very

welcoming country that enjoys learning about other cultures.

while, the positive effect of Korean culture to the Filipino are some the people who watched K-drama

get some inspirations in life, it also boosts their self-esteem since most of the K-drama movies taught us

to inspire and don’t give up easily in life. Due to these factors, Filipino TV show production behavior has

evolved to be more inventive and appealing to the audience than traditional shows with incredibly

predictable endings. Just a few Filipino productions that incorporated Korean storytelling are Kimmy

Dora, Budoy, My Binondo Girl, I Heart You Pare, and Together Forever. they also made them culturally

aware and appreciate other cultures including China, Japan, Thailand, and etc. and it helps them to

become more socially and emotionally aware just by watching their favorite K-dramas and K-pop

personalities. About the food, at least trying their authentic food will boosts us to have a dream to visit

Korean countries, so people’s trying to find a better job and work hard on their dreams.
Among all of these negative and positive effects this Concept paper want to tell us that no matter how

we Idolize other culture, let us don’t forget the Filipino culture that we love over among the centuries

from our ancestors.

We have 10 members in our group, first we divide the group by pair. After that, the leader gives the task

to each pair.

1st week – The designated groups researching for the resources for this concept paper.

2nd week – The leader and members set a meeting for the final concept paper.

After finishing the concept paper, all members need to approve it.
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Korean television dramas in the Philippines.
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