Manila 2006: The Korean Invasion!!!
The increasing number of Koreans in the Philippines is something that I can’t help but notice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it’s a cultural phenomenon, even.
For starters, the Korean wave which hit Asia and the US has really hit Manila, big time. They practically took over TV soaps which were showed during prime time. Not that I blame the people for preferring Korean soaps to the local soaps. Korean soaps are more viewer-oriented, in the sense that, no matter how good the ratings are, the writers and the producers of the soap will not prolong the storyline just to have viewer monopoly. If a good Korean drama has ended, the producers will just have to try to produce another drama that is just as good , if not better than the current drama. Philippine TV networks are the opposite, if a drama has a good rating, the writers will prolong the story until the people get tired of it and everything doesn’t make sense anymore. This mentality is probably one of the major reasons why Philippine drama script writing didn’t mature and produce award winning soaps.
Koreans are also everywhere. From being a minority, they became the majority in a lot of places that I frequent, in just a span of a few months. Their presence is so eminent that the number of Japanese tourists coming to the Philippines has really dwindled in the past 2 years. Apparently, Japanese tourists really despise Koreans. The local tourism industry will really suffer because of that.
Local tour operators/tour guides prefer the Japanese to Koreans for a number of reasons. First, the Japanese are more generous than the Koreans. A lot of Koreans coming to Manila are even more stingy than the locals. You have to fight them tooth and nail just so that you could earn a little money. Second, Japanese are really nice and friendly while Koreans don’t care. Apart from being stingy, they treat people who are different as inferior. A lot of scuba diving operators in the provinces now stop accepting Koreans in their sites. Koreans, they say, destroy the coral reefs, are very rude and really hard to get along with. This is quite surprising since Filipinos are known for their hospitality, and I’m not saying this just because I’m a Filipino.
Most of these Koreans come to the Philippines to study English. It’s also not surprising that a few Koreans come to the Philippines to escape from the law. Hey, this is the Philippines and anything goes here. Some Koreans come here to do business. Same as me, they probably believe that there are more business opportunities in poor countries.
In a few more years, I’m predicting that the presence of Koreans in the Philippines will be much more felt and I won’t be shocked if they will soon make up at least 5% of the ethnic minorities in the Philippines. The Philippines is truly a melting pot of cultures.
For starters, the Korean wave which hit Asia and the US has really hit Manila, big time. They practically took over TV soaps which were showed during prime time. Not that I blame the people for preferring Korean soaps to the local soaps. Korean soaps are more viewer-oriented, in the sense that, no matter how good the ratings are, the writers and the producers of the soap will not prolong the storyline just to have viewer monopoly. If a good Korean drama has ended, the producers will just have to try to produce another drama that is just as good , if not better than the current drama. Philippine TV networks are the opposite, if a drama has a good rating, the writers will prolong the story until the people get tired of it and everything doesn’t make sense anymore. This mentality is probably one of the major reasons why Philippine drama script writing didn’t mature and produce award winning soaps.
Koreans are also everywhere. From being a minority, they became the majority in a lot of places that I frequent, in just a span of a few months. Their presence is so eminent that the number of Japanese tourists coming to the Philippines has really dwindled in the past 2 years. Apparently, Japanese tourists really despise Koreans. The local tourism industry will really suffer because of that.
Local tour operators/tour guides prefer the Japanese to Koreans for a number of reasons. First, the Japanese are more generous than the Koreans. A lot of Koreans coming to Manila are even more stingy than the locals. You have to fight them tooth and nail just so that you could earn a little money. Second, Japanese are really nice and friendly while Koreans don’t care. Apart from being stingy, they treat people who are different as inferior. A lot of scuba diving operators in the provinces now stop accepting Koreans in their sites. Koreans, they say, destroy the coral reefs, are very rude and really hard to get along with. This is quite surprising since Filipinos are known for their hospitality, and I’m not saying this just because I’m a Filipino.
Most of these Koreans come to the Philippines to study English. It’s also not surprising that a few Koreans come to the Philippines to escape from the law. Hey, this is the Philippines and anything goes here. Some Koreans come here to do business. Same as me, they probably believe that there are more business opportunities in poor countries.
In a few more years, I’m predicting that the presence of Koreans in the Philippines will be much more felt and I won’t be shocked if they will soon make up at least 5% of the ethnic minorities in the Philippines. The Philippines is truly a melting pot of cultures.
posted by charlotte marie at 8:39 PM
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