RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY-BONI CAMPUS

MARKETING RESEARCH
CBET-19-204P

The Power of Korean Wave to

Influence the Youth Market in Rizal
Technological University-Boni
Campus

A Research Paper by:

Angenic Joy Abaigar
Jessa Balase
Chen-Chen Denila
Rea Gilongos
Mike Joshua Malanay
Jonathan Piedad
 Abstract

This study focused on the power of Korean wave in influencing the youth market in Rizal
Technological University-Boni Campus. The researchers found out that Korean wave has indeed an
influence to the buying decision of consumers as there are respondents who consume both Korean
products and local products as there are respondents who like to watch and listen to Korean series and
music respectively. However, still, most of the respondents consume local products. With that being said,
it is true that Korean wave is present in the Philippine industry of today. The paper provided a list of
recommendations to concerned parties (businessmen and future researchers) that will be helpful to them.

Statement of the Problem

The paper attempts to find the answer behind the influence of Korean wave presence in the
country to the Filipino youth market. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. Why is there a presence of Korean products in the country?

2. What are the qualities of Korean wave that made the youth captivated?
3. What are the Korean products that are booming in the Philippine market of today?
4. How does the Korean wave affect the buying decision of consumers?

Introduction

Korean Pop or K-Pop music is really “in” to taste of Filipino teen agers of today. With unique style,
choreography, and great music, hearts of Filipinos have been captivated. In addition, Korean TV series
known as Koreanovelas also entered the Philippine National Television Networks. Local TV networks are
showing Korean TV series because stories of Koreanovelas have different and amazing twists. According
to research study done by Abad, Abinguna, Camato, Ponce, Cajulao, Lledo, Pilante, Pagaduan, and
Villanueva (2017) entitled "The Relationship of South Korean Influence (K-pop and K-drama) to the
Nationalism of Grade 12 ABM and HUMSS Students in EAC-SHS," Florinda Mateo, a UP professor for
Communication Research, stated in a 2012 interview with Rappler about Hallyu in the Philippines that
Korean dramas are patronized by Filipinos because of its plot and quicker pace than those of typical
Filipino TV series that run for more than a year. As a result, Korean wave made an easy gateway to the
Philippines. Retrieved from an article in Rappler written by Santamaria (2012) entitled “Korean ‘Hallyu’
and the Pinoy Invasion,” Korean wave or South Korean entertainment and culture popularity is referred
to as “Hallyu” which started in the late 1990s and reached the Philippines in year 2003 because of first
Koreanovelas aired in national television.
 With Filipino people, particularly, Filipino youth, being exposed to Korean culture, their food,
cosmetics, and fashion also invaded the preferences of young Filipinos. In connection to this, Korean-
based businesses penetrated the Philippine market with their products used and consumed by their locals;
Samgyupsal, Kimchi, Mr. Kimbob, The Face Shop, Etude House, Nature Republic, Tony Moly, and The Body
Shop to name a few. Although these products and international businesses are new to the market, it is
true that these have captured the Filipino fans. Given this undeniable fact, a large market share is surreal
to these Korean-based businesses.

Having this known, the researchers of this study came up with identifying the strengths of Korean
wave in influencing the Filipino youth market, which in this study is comprised of the students in Rizal
Technological University-Boni Campus. The study also aims to understand the reason of Filipino youth
behind patronizing Hallyu in the country. After pointing out the power of Korean wave, this study seeks
to suggest ideas to help current businesses which are interested to catch consumers in the said market
share; this will also help people who are planning to establish a business to put Korean culture into
consideration.

Review of Related Literature

Retrieved from an article in Inquirer.net reported by DJ Yap (2011) entitled “Filipinos attracted to
Korean culture, K-pop, Koreanovelas,” the reporter cited a study of the market research firm, TNS Global,
titled “Filipino Perception of Korea and the Koreans,” it is said that along with United States and Japan,
Korean culture was one of the top three foreign cultures that Filipinos are attracted to. The study also
revealed that the most popular Korean cultural activities among Filipinos were pop concerts, food
festivals, and Koreanovelas. K-pop groups who made a remarkable impact to Filipinos according to study
were “Wonder Girls,” an all-female member group which popularized the song “Nobody,” pop star Rain
who played the lead role on Koreanovela titled “Full House,” girl band 2NE1, whose members include
Sandara Park who also has a career in the Philippines, and Super Junior which is an all-male member
boyband. Popular Korean dramas were also aired in local TV networks such as “Baker King,” “Jewel in the
Palace,” “Temptation of ‘wife,” and “Boys Over flowers.” “Filipinos also showed awareness of Korean food
and drinks such as kimchi, ginseng and soju, Korean brands such as Samsung, Kia and LG and most knew
of Taekwando’s Korean origins,” it added.

Retrieved from an article in P&A GrantThorton published in Mindanao Times (15 May, 2018)
entitled “How have Korean dramas influenced Philippine industry?” stated that “Filipinos has always been
welcoming of foreign trends and culture. As such, Korean culture and trends as seen in Korean dramas
have invaded and been deeply rooted in Philippine society today. Korean dramas have greatly influenced
the food, fashion, cosmetics, music, and entertainment industries, as well as people’s views and
preferences.” In a wider sense, Korean dramas have always had their culture and tradition and their story.

 Food; Korean dramas are including Korean cuisine in the series. This gave rise to people being
aware of original Korean food such as kimchi, ramyeon, bibimbap, samgyeopsal, kimbap, bulgogi,
and bingsu. The popularity of these Korean food pushed businessmen/businesswomen to earn
profit from it. Some local businesses in its industry included the aforementioned food in their
menu and some sold Samyang, a super spicy instant Korean ramen which became viral online with
Filipino netizens challenged themselves as they video record while eating the said ramen.
 Fashion and Beauty; Korean dramas undeniably showcase their sense of fashion and cosmetics.
Filipino fans tend to wear Korean-style clothes and consume Korean beauty products. The Face
Shop, Etude House, Nature Republic, Tony Moly, and The Body Shop are some of Korean-based
cosmetic businesses who were able to penetrate the Philippine market. These cosmetic products
are influenced by Korean actors and actresses with their radiant and flawless skin.
 Language; The use of “oppa” is a Korean term for older brother used by younger girl is popular in
the Philippines. Some Filipinos use this word as a term for a Filipino who looks like a Korean which
technically, is different from its real meaning—but is now accepted depending on its usage.
Korean expressions are also used by Filipino fans like “daebak” means “awesome,” and
“gwaenchanah” means “I’m okay” (may change depending on the usage).
 Travel; Due to Korean dramas, some places in South Korea became more popular to Filipinos like
Jeju Island, Gyeongbokgung Palace (the major legal residence of the royal family during the Joseon
Dynasty), Namsan Tower, and many more. Given this knowledge, Filipino fans want to travel to
South Korea to go to these places to enjoy it as what they have watched in Koreanovelas.
 Entertainment; The demand of Korean dramas airing in local TV networks rises and so a lot of
Koreanovelas have been aired such as The Coffee Prince, The Moon Embracing the Sun, My
Girlfriend is a Gumiho, I am not a Robot, Legend of the Blue Sea, Goblin, Hwayugi: A Korean
Odyssey, and many more. With this, Filipinos being exposed to Korean culture continues to rise
up until now.
 Methodology

The study is an applied research because it aims to find out a specific answer of the problem
regarding the power of Korean wave in influencing the youth market which in this study is comprised of
the students in Rizal Technological University-Boni Campus. The researchers prepared an online survey-
questionnaire for the 30 respondents of the study. Online survey-questionnaire is a type of data
gathering method in order for the researchers collect, analyze, and interpret the different views of a
group of people from a chosen population to be done over the internet. In line with this, researchers
used google web form to gather information needed in the study.

Findings

1. What do you most likely to consume/patronize, Korean products or Local products?

2. Are you interested in K-Pop, K-Drama, or both? (Check that applies)

3. What do you like about Korean wave?

4. Do you like Korean products?

5. Does the genre influence your buying behavior?

6. What Korean product/s do you usually consume? (Check all that applies)

7. Why do you consume/patronize Korean products?

 Conclusion

From the above mentioned statement, it concluded that Korean wave is present in the Philippines. It
can be seen from entertainment up to consumption of products In connection to this, the influence of
Korean products in terms of buying decision of Filipino youth is not that really alarming. Although locals
are exposed to Korean entertainment and culture popularity because of global flow, at some point,
technology helps to expand the knowledge of everyone about Korean cultures. After gathering of
information and conducting an in-depth study, the researchers concluded that local products are still on
top being patronized by the youth market. However, according to the result there are still youth who are
influenced by the Korean Wave. The researchers found out that it is undeniable that this Korean popularity
influences a part of Filipino youth market. To explain further, the researchers gathered information from
the respondents who watch Koreanovelas and listen to Korean music and they got both high percentage
in consumption or patronization of local products than Korean products. Researchers also concluded that
among Korean products being sold in the country, cosmetic products is one of the big hit that Filipino
youth mostly consume. It is the quality among all of the reasons why Filipino youth patronize Korean
products. In addition, the researchers concluded that the degree of influence of Korean Wave to Filipino
youth market is still circulating up to top and depends upon on the pervasiveness of media. Lastly, the
researchers concluded that despite of the Korean wave in the Philippines to the youth market, it proves
in the result that there are still people who are not yet penetrated by Korean products and still loyal to
the local ones.

To sum up, Filipino youth market includes consumers who are into both local and Korean products.
This proves that Korean wave did influence the consumer buying decision which depends on the context.
Korean cosmetics, food, and fashion are one of the international products that are bombarding the
Philippine market of today. This means that businesses that offer these things capture a partial local
market share.

Recommendation

The researchers provided a list of recommendations to concerned parties (businessmen and

future researchers) that will be helpful to them. These recommendations are stated below:

To business owners: As Korean products are present in the Filipino youth market, the researchers
recommend to business owners to establish an actual or Korean-touched business because it will get hit
as soon as it get the attention of potential market due to very welcoming traits of Filipinos to Korean
wave.

 For food businesses: The researchers suggest to put varieties of Korean food in the menu.
For instance, Samgyupsal and Bibimbap are popular food amongst Filipino youth market.
This might get the attention of consumers in the said market share especially if it will be
marketed together with a great marketing strategy.
 For clothes shops: The researchers suggest to sell Korean fashionable clothes especially
those clothes that are being shown in Korean music videos and Korean TV series.
 For cosmetic shops: The researchers suggest to sell Korean cosmetics especially those
cosmetics that are endorsed by Korean idols.
 For people who plan to establish a business: The researchers suggest to put Korean-
touched products depending on the concept of the business. Korean wave undeniably has
captivated consumers and so as Korean products are very welcome to the market.

To future researchers: The researchers recommend to the future researchers to conduct another
study about the perception of Filipino youth about Korean products. In line with this, it will expand the
nature of understanding between two cultures. With the help of this research paper, it will give future
researchers some reference in conducting their own study. In addition, a larger number of respondents
will also be effective to gather a more accurate answer to the problem.
Sample Online Survey-Questionnaire
 Access the online survey-questionnaire through this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfadBmpaCIbToMNAqHW2nn_ElRncQfTLqUyySpdZWPRKD
_kXw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1is7OTZUlz6Z6iYQkVjBR0D7zMd2nca1AYM7itPHfo9dU32yaaMAHWAyE

References

Abad, Abinguna, Camato, Ponce, Cajulao, Lledo, Pilante, Pagaduan, and Villanueva. (2017).

The Relationship of South Korean Influence (K-pop and K-drama) to the Nationalism of Grade 12 ABM
and HUMSS Students in EAC-SHS. Retrieved from
http://www.academia.edu/35222315/The_Relationship_of_South_Korean_Influence_K-pop_and_K-
drama_to_the_Nationalism_of_Grade_12_ABM_and_HUMSS_Students_in_EAC-
SHS_A_Research_Proposal

DJ Yap. (2011). Filipinos attracted to Korean culture, K-pop, Koreanovelas.

Retrieved from an article in Inquirer.net https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/109439/filipinos-attracted-to-

korean-culture-k-pop-koreanovelas

Published in Mindanao Times. (15 May, 2018).

Retrieved from an article in P&A GrantThorton https://www.grantthornton.com.ph/insights/articles-

and-updates1/line-of-sight/how-have-korean-dramas-influenced-philippine-industry/

Santamaria. (2012). Korean ‘Hallyu’ and the Pinoy Invasion.

Retrieved from an article in Rappler https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/12681-hallyu-growing-

in-ph