MANILA, Philippines - Even
before the phenomenal dance craze Gangnam Style became viral, hit the world, and crack the blast-hardened firewall of the music billboard. Philippines was already swept
up by Korean wave. How? Let me count the
ways…
RESTAURANTS
Korean restaurants grow like mushrooms in
every city and in almost every malls. From fancy restaurants to food stall
there’s surely some spice and sauce of Kimchi.
CAFÉ
Fabulous,
cozy, and warm café that we often seen on Korean dramas are now in every nook
and cranny of Manila. Especially near universities where students
love to hang out, chat, or meet new people. Also in high end spots where elites
drink a good cup while listening to soft music, a place to read, or spent an
idle time away from busy city.
BAKESHOP
Korean
bakeshop is starting to be well known too, aside from its pastries, their cakes
are getting attention from Filipinos. Korean cake is one of the most artistic,
mouth watering, over-the-top elaborate cakes that in town. It's so
beautiful that you don’t want to eat it.
GROCERY STORE
Today
it’s not hard to find Korean snacks, ice cream, noodles, fermented vegetables
like kimchi or any Korean food in my country. In fact you don’t need to find
Korean grocery stores to find these products because in every supermarket or malls has a line of Korean goods.
TELEVISION
Korean
dramas captivate and capture the hearts of Filipinos because of its charming
actors and actresses, interesting plots and exciting twists and turns of events.
What else but Korean dramas influenced Filipinos the most, and its not only by
entertaining Filipinos in a fresh and new level of entertainment fare, but by promoting Korean
products that became a household word. Sample of some foods that we seen only
in these dramas that Filipino became familiar with are Kimchi, bulgogi,
japchae, bibimbap, kimbap, and soju. Products like cell phones, appliances,
cars, skin care and cosmetics, and even fashion were so subtly introduce to
Filipino through these dramas.
MUSIC
KPOP is defined as fusion
of synthesized music, sharp dance routines and fashionable, colorful outfits
combining bubblegum pop idols. Every
KPOP fanatic Filipinos followed and memorized not only the song and dance moves
of their idols but every hairstyles, fashions, and gadgets of their idols
too. Some teenagers even studied the Korean language just to be able to sing and understand the songs and to try it on noraebang.
BEAUTY
Shops
Filipino
took their plunge in Korean cosmetics because of its pretty packaging,
very effective, inspired by nature, and mostly endorsed by their loved
celebrities. Whether to be look alike of their idols or to
support the product endorsed by idols, Filipinos are really hooked in Korean cosmetics..
FASHION
Korean
fashion is a big hit to Filipinos, especially to the youth, they tried to copy Korean star by wearing hip and
chic Korean fashion trend. Although some
clothes are not suitable to our country’s warm climate they still wear it and matched it up with different accessories from head to toe. From large colorful
sunglasses to huge edgy shoes. K-pop popularized high-heel shoes, sleeveless tops
and fashionable accessories, short shorts, and boots. Few years ago Filipinos bought their Korean outfits and accessories online but today some department
store, boutique, fancy store, and clothing shops have Korean inspired clothing designs ranging
from basic casual items to stylish items for trend-conscious consumers.
SALON
Korean
salons are popping up all over the city. Filipino love the oh-so-gorgeous 'dos
they get as a result from the new techniques and cool gadgets that these salons
brought to the local hair arena.
GADGETS
Korea
leads the innovation in technology through cell phones, smartphones, tablets,
TV, and computer. These high-quality and reliable devices captured the heart
of many techie Filipinos.
CARS
CULTURE and ARTS
Since
Korean Cultural Center of the Philippines open its door two years ago in
public, it never failed to attract number of students, young or adult. Many
Filipinos are getting interested in their offered classes like language class,
culture immersion, arts and culture, traditional dance and instruments year
after year. It's truly a gateway to
Korea.
TOURISM
The
impressive boost of Filipino tourist statistics in Korea made them to put up
the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Manila Office last year. It spearheaded
the marketing activities, tour packages, introduced medical tourism, and
launched advertising campaigns to give a better picture of what Korea is and
what visitors can expect to see when they go to the land of Morning Calm.
LIBRARY
– Window to Korea
Its
been a year since the library called “Window to Korea” opened at the Rizal Library of the Ateneo de Manila
University . This library consists of books, periodicals, CDs/DVDs, and other
Korea-related materials in the first year, and an additional 200 volumes per
year for the next five years. The main purpose of this library is to promote and understand Korea beyond Korean Wave.
Images from Korean Embassy of the Phillipines |
Did I miss anything? Did you
find some great influences of Korea that I missed? What are those exciting
points?Please do let me know in the comments.
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