SUVANNABHUMI (수완나부미)

Korea Institute for ASEAN Studies (부산외대 아세안연구원)
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The "Korean Turn" in Philippine Popular Culture: The Story So Far

  • Louie Jon A. Sanchez (Broadcast Communication, University of the Philippines)
  • Received : 2023.06.05
  • Accepted : 2024.01.10
  • Published : 2024.01.31
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Abstract

In this paper, I will pursue initial ideas I formulated in 2012 about the permeation of Korean influences in Philippine popular culture, particularly in the production of serialized TV drama/soap operas or the "teleserye" [tele for television + "serye" or series; thus, TV drama series]. I called the phenomenon the "Korean Turn" as I observed the emulation of Korean televisual drama (nowadays called K-Drama) modes and practices by local production through various means of cultural appropriation. This time, I will expand my exploration to other aspects of Philippine entertainment and other cultural practices. I will also update my observations on the continuing "Korean turn" in the teleserye. I will argue, on the one hand, about the success and soft power of hallyu or the "Korean wave" in the Philippines; and on the other, about Philippine culture's enduring ingenuity in its reception and repurposing of hallyu. Ideas to be yielded here will form part of a potential framework in understanding the dynamics of the interface between Korean and Philippine cultures, in the context of globalization. I assert that popular culture remains to be an undervalued field of inquiry, as far as these contexts are concerned.

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