II.
K-Pop in Recent Filipino History
The first question is how did K-pop come to dominate the ‘Asian market’
so easily? While the present goal of K-pop, as a global phenomenon, is
to conquer the ‘US market,’ K-pop has been successful in dominating the
‘Asian market’ through a conventional strategy called “localization” (Kyung,
2020). Localization is K-pop’s strategy to push its talents (or idols) to flexibly
familiarize and meet the demands of a particular target market (Kim and Park,
2018). This is entirely evident in how Korean entertainment companies brand
and package their talents. The group TWICE, for example, it’s nine-member
K-pop girl group, with three members are Japanese and one is Taiwanese.
Apart from releasing songs in the Korean language, TWICE regularly
releases songs with Japanese language lyrics. And to penetrate the ‘US
market’ in 2020, TWICE released two English translations of their comeback
singles, thus allowing them to perform in a well-known American television
show (Tan, 2020). The same strategy is being adapted and done by popular
K-pop groups like BLACKPINK, IZ*ONE, NCT, WJSN, and many more.2
These groups either have Japanese or Chinese members apart from their
Korean member/s line-up. In addition to that, due to attempts to penetrate
the US market, these groups have designated English language speakers.
In the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, the approach is quite
different. Before K-pop, Korean television dramas (K-dramas) were first
introduced in the Philippines. Filipino local television channels would
acquire famous K-dramas and dubbed them in Tagalog, the official language
of the Philippines. These Tagalog-dubbed K-dramas were put in prime-time
slots in the afternoon. Familiarity with Korean culture through K-dramas
made Filipinos accustomed to K-pop (Igno and Cenidoza, 2016). This is
followed by K-pop songs being easily presented to Filipinos through music
and video streaming platforms like iTunes and YouTube. There is no data
to support whether K-pop was played on local radios in the Philippines,
but a local television music channel called MYX regularly showcased
K-pop music videos (Villano, 2009). Since the rise of internet culture, Filipinos
spend more time and consume media content on the internet than in
traditional media like television and radio (Chua, 2021). In addition to that,
various Korean acts, from K-pop groups to K-drama actors, were regularly
showcased in Manila through concerts and fan meetings (Capistrano, 2019).
The study of Capistrano (2019) even showed that Filipinos were spending a
good amount of money to keep up with their fandom. This money is spent
on music albums, supplementary merchandise, and concert tickets. The
Philippines has been a consistent destination for K-pop concerts. Despite
soft-power (Nye, 2004) strategies of K-drama and K-pop, why is Korean
culture more culturally acceptable than other pop culture available within
the peripheries? Through comparative analysis, Ha (2017) suggested that
South Korea may appear to be more recognizable to other Asian countries
like the Philippines because of its model of economic success and absence
of such “original sin” of hegemonic cultures and imperial militaristic
tendencies, something which China and Japan have exhibited in the past.3
In terms of competition with the local industry in the Philippines, recent
data shows that K-pop is in close competition with OPM (Original Pilipino
Music). Filipinos prefer K-pop when listening to upbeat music, while OPM
for slow songs such as acoustic ones (Sinay, 2019). This only shows that local
pop music in the Philippines is relatively weak to contest with Filipinos’
preference for a large variety of K-pop music offerings. Some factors worth
considering are that K-pop groups are more dynamic and the amount of
media content (music shows, album promotions, participation in variety shows) they
produce for public consumption are diverse. Compared to Filipino popsingers who are limited to
releasing songs online and performing only in
local television noontime shows (Kim, 2016; Capistrano, 2019). Despite language
barriers, K-pop is a total package in terms of artistic content. From music
production to performances, K-pop is good at communicating to its consumers what it entails to offer
(Ryu et al., 2018). Not to mention the hardship
stories faced by rookie K-pop talents in their journey from debut to early
stages of success. In other words, K-pop is not only about the music but
the underlying elements surrounding it. However, it must be noted that
the only difference between K-pop and OPM is the amount of content
dedicated for fan consumption. Another factor is the support that K-pop
has been receiving from the Korean government and other encompassing
industries in order to help K-pop achieve its local and global goals.
Nevertheless, OPM is still striving to keep up in the Philippines’ local music
industry through digital platforms. Unlike K-pop, however, OPM is far from
traversing the national borders (Beltran, 2018; Rappler, 2020).
