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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND A REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

In the past few years, many trends came and went in the Philippines. Despite the

cultural barrier between South Korea and the Philippines, the cultural wave known as Hallyu

reached the shores of the Philippines. It started off from having Korean dramas being shown

in local television—dubbed from its original Korean language to the local Filipino language.

A part of Korean culture reaching out and making a connection with the people of the

Philippines.

It’s peculiar how its popularity grew despite the cultural barrier between the Filipinos

and the Korean culture. A barrier such as this isn’t something simple, since the Filipinos and

the Koreans have a uniquely different culture from each other. This diversity will not be

solved with dubs and subtitles. Since the difference not only exists in language, but there is a

vast difference in the way of life of the Koreans themselves. From the mannerisms, to their

values, and even to the food they eat. It’s certainly amazing how such diverse cultures were

able to meet at a certain point—the entertainment industry.

This cultural barrier already poses as a threat for South Korea to start investing their

Hallyu products into the Philippines. The potential market and audience could be lethal and

dangerous to explore and challenge the market for the sake of their Hallyu product. Such a

product with a completely different cultural background from that of the Philippines.
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Even if there are other Asian cultures that have infiltrated the Philippine culture, like

for example, the Anime culture from Japan. A phenomenon considered to have been treated

differently, given that Anime could be dubbed into the local language and watched with

subtitles for understanding of the story. The Philippine people have gained awareness

towards Anime, regardless of its different cultural background, for the reason that this

phenomenon is backed up with a plethora of translators—this is in light of the economic

background between the Philippines and Japan. Music, however, is a different story. Given

that Anime became somewhat popular in the Philippines, Japanese music did not gain much

attention as K-pop. But that topic is up for a different discussion. The focus of this study

would hence be on the phenomenon of K-pop and how it has gained a considerable amount

of audience and a penetrable market.

Although the people in the Philippines are sensitive regarding other foreign cultures,

they are nevertheless people who would follow trends. But trends have yet to be set by a

certain amount of people significant enough for other people to follow it—and such a trend

should be kept alive so that it will be kept as a trend.

K-pop as a part of the Korean wave, plays a major role in its expansion.A vital part of

the cultural wave that’s now sweeping across the globe. From its humble beginnings in its

mother country—K-pop, along with other parts of Hallyu, has reached the Americas, Europe

and the Middle East.The cultural barrier is more of a problem in these areas of the world,

given the difference between eastern and western cultures. These two are more distinct from

each other compared to the distinction between Philippine and Korean culture, and yet—K-

pop and Hallyu has managed to penetrate their market as well. Although the penetration is
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not clearly felt, there is nevertheless a significant amount for companies to invest in holding

events in those western countries.

It should be a given that Hallyu should first penetrate the Asian market before

progressing towards the western market. Since the cultures in Asia are relative to each other

in one way or another. Sure enough, Hallyu has already past the stage of gaining the Asian

market, and is now on its way in moving on to the western market.

Given this observation, K-pop should have penetrated the Philippines as well. This

would entail that the Philippines should have a considerable amount of audience—thus,

leading to investments in the Philippine market, in regard to events, merchandise, and etc.

It’s understandable that it would be a benefit for both countries if such a situation were true.

Thus entailing economic ties between the two countries. Promoting economic development

for both countries—but all this is in assumption that the popularity is well and alive. And

awareness is good enough for market penetration.

With the assumed penetration of market, it should mean that K-pop and Hallyu has

influence in the mediums of communication in the Philippines. An influence should be held

in areas where most of the attention of the potential market is glued to. These mediums of

communication should have vast coverage of the potential market. They should be efficient

and effective enough to boost awareness and hence, to penetrate the market.

In this study, the reasons behind such an expansion and how it’s made possible will

be answered throughout the course of this discussion. But there is definitely no one clear

answer as to what is the reason behind the spawning of popularity and awareness of K-pop in
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the Philippines.This study would then be a benefit for those who are in the marketing

business or those who have a business—or even just those who are working towards the

awareness gain for their cause/product. Providing a better understanding behind the workings

of how such a diverse relationship of two cultures became friendly enough for investment

and penetration of market. How the companies behind K-pop and Hallyu had managed to do

it. Hence, a plausible and significant amount of awareness and popularity of such a

phenomenon.
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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Hallyu and its Origins

The term ‘Hallyu’ is a word that is Korean in origin. It is derived from two words

‘Han’ (Kor. Meaning “Korean”) and ‘Ryu’ (Kor. Meaning “Wave”). A present-day name,

literally meaning, Korean Wave (Deen, 2012). It generally describes both the flow and the

popularity of Korean popular cultural products, especially media contents, in other Asian

countries and beyond, as well as exported Korean popular cultural products themselves

(Yang, 2012). Originally, it was used to describe the popularity of Korean dramas in China

(Deen, 2012). Historically, K-pop had originated from a hybrid of American rock and

Korean traditional beat beginning from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. Talented Korean

musicians like Shin Joong Hyun created such hybrid music for Korean audience after he

worked as an entertainer for the American soldiers stationed in South Korea. In the 1960s

and 1970s, his ‘new music’ was popularized among the Korean audience. In the late 1990s,

So Taeji and H.O.T, those offspring of Shin JoongHyung, entered China where the market

economy achieved growth and prosperity. For the Chinese audience, the early K-pop hybrid

music of So Taeji, H.O.T and later TVXQ—was more palatable than the original American

rap music (Kim, 2012). Now it is the cultural tsunami sweeping across the globe.

Hallyu in the Philippines: Then & Now

Recently, an influx of young Koreans to the Philippines to learn English—ensuring

that many malls now have instructions translated in Hangul to go with Chinese. There is a

rising popularity of Korean Culture throughout the world (Mogtortor, 2013). Though that
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does not mean everything will begin and end with Hallyu, in truth, it inspires great devotion

(Perez, 2014). The fans themselves see to it that with every bit of their power they are able to

support the idols they love and adore. All of this is as a result to Hallyu’s influence in the

Philippines, economic growth can be seen in the near future.

A powerful facilitator of the Hallyu in Particular—is K-pop (or Korean-Popular)

music and dance (Kim, 2012). The growth of K-pop in the Phiippines can be described as

unique (Hicap, 2009), since back in 2008, there has been no K-pop group/idol to ever come

to the Philippines—whether it is to have promotions, endorse or to conduct shows/concerts.

Since then, new idol groups were created by the K-pop productions, such as SM

Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. The American pop music, however, was introduced

much earlier in the Philippines. The Filipino musicians, who entertained American forces in

Subic or Clark bases, were much more adept in American jazz, rock and rap music (Kim,

2012). Perhaps it is due to the fact that the Filipinos were exposed to American music early

on that they somehow started to accept the so-called ‘new music’-hybrid that the Koreans

have made—and not only that, but due to it being a cultural mix,is also perhaps another

factor that adds up to what makes it so enticing.

Even though there is a difference in regional backgrounds between the Philippines

and the origin country of K-pop (Yia, 2012), there is still a surprising growth in its subculture

in the country (Deen, 2012)—a factor which makes the product so impressive. The fans of

the Hallyu wave in the country would naturally seek company from those who have the same

passion as theirs.
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K-pop events being launched in the Philippines is usually more or less a grand

success. Like the 2nd Philippine K-pop convention, which gathered five-hundred-thousand

pesos (PHP 500,000) for the GawadKalinga’sBayani Challenge; successful fan gatherings

and fan-meetings; concerts; and recently the successful press conference held by 2NE1 in

EDSA Shangri-la Plaza—attracting thousands of fans to greet them before their concert the

next day (Pao, 2014).

Behind the Scenes of the K-pop Stage

K-pop creates direct economic value and branding effects for Korea. K-pop’s songs,

singers and fans provide opportunities for companies to develop new products and marketing

strategies, as well as new ways to broaden their markets (Seo, 2012). Of course, its success

did not come overnight. All of it is a result of methodical planning and execution—which

can become a model for companies that are setting their eyes upon the global market.

All this planning and such must come from even the basic stage of starting off a new

star. Ensuring that everything is well moderated. In the preparation stage, K-pop’s major

production companies lay the groundwork for moving product overseas. The process is

systematically designed, starting with selecting prospective stars, putting them through a

rigorous training regime, producing shows and promoting globally. Training in particular is

highly engineered, with aspirants undergoing five to seven years of instruction in singing and

dancing. Even after this process, there is no guarantee of actually appearing on stage. Thus,

only the best of the best ever reach the eyes and ears of the public (Seo, 2012). This ensures a

certain competitiveness of K-pop, making sure their product is good enough to catch an
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audience—a market. Perhaps it is because of this competitiveness that gives the K-pop

industry an advantage, with all of the pre-debut preparation they put their artists through, to

the effort that’s exerted for every song and performance. Everything has to be perfect enough

for audience viewing.

The Internet: A Powerful Facilitator

K-pop has a committed approach to raising customer accessibility over attaining short

term profits (Seo, 2012). This is where the internet would come in, playing a big role—the

fans would use this tool to look for [1] information regarding their favorite idols, [2] to

socialize by joining communities and social networking sites (SNS) and [3] to purchase

Hallyu products in online stores (Deen, 2012). These are opportunities and abilities that they

would not be able to attain if not for the internet. The Internet, being a part of mass media, is

a vital factor in the spread of Hallyu, its attributes contributing to the proliferation of the

Hallyu. It can be understood that it is mostly the youth who use the internet—therefore they

would be the ones who are assumed to be affected by the influence of Hallyu (Magtortor,

2012). Not only does the internet serve as a communication tool, it now serves as the bridge

between the idols and their international fans—making the internet play a important role in

the K-pop world.Though it is not a direct cause for the wave, no one can deny that it has a

role in its expansion.

Mass Media and Big Business

Spreading mainly through mass media, Korean popular culture is now enjoying high

popularity outside Korea, given the cultural and regional difference with other countries,
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especially those outside Asia. K-pop, now being a vital part of the economic boom in Asia,

with nearly 50 million people exporting more than consumer electronics and cars. It’s native

popular music, K-pop, found a growing international audience in places such as the United

States, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. With a leading market in Asia

(Matsumoto, 2012). Certainly, K-pop has already become big business. Its stature now

transcends economic terms; it has become a strategic asset with halo effects on Korea’s

brand and its products. The economic effects of the second Korean Wave are estimated at

about five (5) trillion as of 2010 (Seo, 2012).

Other than the internet, another medium to communicate the Hallyu wave to the

consumers would be television. Beginning in 2003 when GMA first started airing Korean

dramas, shortly after—one after another would be aired on local television. In terms of

production value, there is no doubt that Korea has ‘first world’ standards and the local

audiences appreciate this (Bartolome, 2012). This speaks well for the K-pop industry as well,

since their productions have made it into mainstream media already—turning K-pop as

another option for someone’s music preference, not only in Asia, but across the globe. This

would entail that there would definitely be people who are not fluent with Korean, yet still

choose K-pop as their music preference. Whenever there are K-pop stars coming into the

Philippines, their concert or their arrival—which is greeted warmly by their fans, it is usually

broadcasted on news media. Though the television is another medium for communication

with regards to the K-pop fandom, it cannot compare to the influence that the internet has

brought into the Philippines. With K-pop stars coming into the Philippines this would add up

to the promotion of tourism in the Philippines, because the amount of presence of K-pop
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stars in the Philippines attracts tourists. An example of this is Ailee, a K-pop star who

promoted various tourist sites in the metropolis through interactive videos on the internet,

attracting not Koreans to the Philippines but also other foreigners as well who are fans of

such K-pop star. Koreans are the No. 1 tourists in the Philippines. According to the

Department of Tourism (DOT), 1.65 million tourists visited the Philippines from January to

April 2013, up by 10.12 percent compared to the same period back in 2012. The most

number of tourists came from South Korea with 406,595, or 24.65 percent of the total, and a

growth of 23.08 percent. Visitors from the US came next with 246,011 followed by Japan

with 148,950, China with 132,307 and Australia with 72,015. Other countries in the Top 10

are Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong and United Kingdom (Manila Bulletin, 2013).

Piracy, Accessibility and Availability

Given the internet, there is a major concern that may cause K-pop’s downfall—piracy.

Since the products are readily available on the Internet(Deen, 2012). However, the

availability of the products on the Internet can be viewed as a positive factor—since it would

help further develop the popularity of K-pop, in terms of marketing but not so much in profit.

It gives the audience an opportunity to try the songs they have in the album, without having

to make a purchase. Fan-made items that are in the shadow of the original items the idols

promote will also become common. However, because of this—the price/value of the

original item is said to boost. This is in addition to highly well-received international tours,

K-pop has experienced explosive online popularity.

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K-pop has entrenched itself as a bona fide phenomenon in Asia, being greatly defined

by the good looks of its stars, the catchiness of their music, their hard-to-memorize killer

dance moves, their group presentation and style — and their avid fan base (Macapendeng,

2012). And is rapidly extending its reach to new markets. Companies in other industries can

benefit from its success by deploying K-pop based products and tourism packages, using K-

pop stars as spokesmen, and piggybacking on K-pop’s transnational appeal. Other than that,

companies can also learn from K-pop’s system of rigorous training and long-term planning

(Seo, 2012). Now, K-pop is the basis for successful business planning and marketing, as well

as a route for products to ride on—for a good market reach, given its popularity. Given that

companies are getting K-pop idols as models for various clothing brands, restaurants and etc.
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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Why is there a rising popularity of K-pop in the Philippines?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The participants in this survey would be online friends of the researcher, who were

picked randomly regardless of their background, those who have an educational background

from high school to college.

All fifty-five students who participated in this study as respondents are only from

National Capital Region, and who would most likely have access to the internet.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Those who would benefit from this research would be the businesspeople, marketers

and those who wish to promote awareness of their cause/product, they would have an

advantage in finding out what medium of communication is most efficient and effective to

achieve their desired target market.

In this context, it would also help those who are aspiring to become such

businesspeople, marketers, advertisers, and people who would promote their own cause,

ideals, and/or product. This is in terms of also finding out what medium to use and how to

use it efficiently and effectively and consequently, find out the how this would help them in

improving the results of their future projects and businesses.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

This section is provided for better understanding of the following terms which will be

used cohesively in this study:

Hallyu.Is taken from two Korean root words. “Han” (Korean) and “Ryu” (Wave)—

combined literally, “Korean wave” and refers to the cultural wave that’s sweeping across the

globe (Deen, 2012).

Internet. [1] Is a vital factor in the spread of Hallyu, its attributes contributing to the

proliferation of the Hallyu (Magtortor, 2013). It is [2] a means of connecting a computer to

any other computer anywhere in the world via dedicated routers and servers

(BusinessDictionary.com, n.d.).

K-pop. [1] Originated from a hybrid of American rock and Korean traditional beat beginning

from the late 1950s to the early 1960s (Kim, 2012). [2] K-pop is part of a broader trend

known as the Korean Wave and called “hallyu” in Korean (Choe & Russell, 2012).

Mass Media.[1] One of the venues for consuming K-pop music and videos (Alanzalon,

2011). [2] Can indeed breed new music genres (Oh & Lee, 2013).

Peers.A person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d.).

Social Media.It is mainly the reason behind the spread of K-pop in Asia and expansion

towards Europe, the Middle East and the Americas (Choe & Russell, 2012).
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Chapter 2

METHOD

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research method to be used in this study would be the descriptive method. In this

research, surveys will be done to gather data. This type of method is ideal for the researcher

to find out the reasons and venues of where people would usually find out about K-pop.

Their answers in the survey would then help the researcher gather statistics of what venues

and mediums the respondents may have found out about K-pop. In addition to this, the

method would also help the researcher in finding out the awareness rate of the respondents

regarding K-pop and how it has penetrated their lives—this pertains to how deep they are

involved in the topic.

Weighted average would be used in this research to deduce the total percentage of

respondents who have chosen a particular answer with regard to the research problem. The

answers would be interpreted into charts and figures for better understanding. This would

then help in tracing where the respondents gain their awareness from and for those who have

an interest in K-pop, gained their interest for it. In addition to this, an observation regarding

the survey answers of the respondents will be done in order to detect and deduce patterns.

RESPONDENTS

The survey was conducted online, where the respondents were high school to college

students, varying from ages twelve to twenty-one (12-21). The respondents that have
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answered the survey are only from the National Capital Region area. These respondents most

likely have a relatively easy access to the internet. These respondents amount to a total of

fifty-five (55) people, who were given the survey at random.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS

The research instrument used in this study was a survey, entitled “Popularity Ratio of

K-pop in the Philippines”. This survey would help the researcher in deducing how and where

the respondents gained their awareness. And also, whether or not the respondents would have

their interests piqued by the K-pop phenomenon and why.

The data gathered in the survey would be analyzed to provide a better understanding I

order to deduce a theory as to why there is a rising popularity or awareness of K-pop in the

Philippines.

DATA-GATHERING PROCEDURE

In this discussion, the surveys were done and conducted online—given out to a

random sample of students from various high schools and colleges throughout the National

Capital Region. The Google Docs link of the survey was posted on various groups and

privately messaged to users who were online. Attached to the post/message was a short

greeting as to how the survey would help the researcher in fulfilling the requirements to

complete this research paper. The researcher messaged the link to as much people online as

possible so as to gather enough data for the research.

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POPULATION AND SAMPLING

There are millions of online users on Facebook, and in this research, the researcher

had only fifty-five respondents randomly selected from the online friends of the researcher

on Facebook. All fifty-five respondents are given the same time of survey conducted online

through the use of Google Docs.

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

The answers of the respondents would usually vary depending on their exposure of K-

pop and Hallyu. In regard to their exposure, it varies from their experiences and the amount

of influence they gain from their exposure. The exposure is directly proportional to the

amount of influence K-pop would have on them. There were respondents who would exclaim

their addiction towards K-pop and Hallyu, and there are those who are barely giving K-pop

any attention. This is due to the differences in their exposure, which as stated previously, is

directly proportional to the influence the phenomenon would have on them.

According to some responses, regardless of cultural background—the overall package

of K-pop has piqued their interest and their constant exposure to it came from social media.

Social media, as well as mass media, has surrounded the population in a sense that it’s

already hard to avoid. The respondents are mostly relatively young people, who mostly

spend their time on social media and the like—which would explain how they got exposed to

it. Given that social media is the new mode of communication for most of today’s generation.
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Chapter 3

PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

Research Problem: Why is there a rising popularity of K-pop in the Philippines?

There are various factors affecting the popularity of K-pop in the Philippines, which

includes: (1) the internet, (2) mass media, and (3) peers.
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The Internet

The internet is understood as one of the most major factors that affected the

proliferation of K-pop in the Philippines. This tool is mostly used by the younger generation,

and in the survey conducted by the researcher, the average age of the respondents is 16.82

(17). Ages varying from 12-21 years old(see Figure 1). The younger generation would find

out about the phenomenon in the internet—mainly spread through social media (e.g twitter,

facebook, tumblr, etc.). They are mostly the ones who would find out about such a

phenomenon because they are the ones who are mostly exposed to it. Being the ones who are

mostly exposed to the phenomenon, they would then be more sensitive to the things they find

on the internet. This includes K-pop, which branched out its popularity from the utilization of

the internet.

17; 21%

21

16; 7% 20
19
18; 36%
18
15; 4%
17
14; 2% 16
15
12; 2%
14
21; 4%
12

20; 9%
19; 15%

Figure 1.The ages of the respondents of the survey that was conducted for this research. This
figure illustrates the percentage and ratio of the ages of the respondents.
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The Mass Media

A total of 60% of the respondents answered that they heard about K-pop from the

social media platforms (such as twitter, facebook, tumblr, etc.). Where social media can be

considered as part of mass media and at the same time considered as point or minimal media

because it focuses on the person using it. Social media can be considered effective in

promoting awareness than choosing to do so with the use of television. 12 out of 55

answered that they found out about K-pop through the news, comprising a total of 21.82% of

the total respondents. This is given that K-pop stars are already coming into the Philippines.

It could be possible that K-pop already has existing popularity in the Philippines or that their

popularity around the globe could be strong enough to reach into the news media. 5 out of 55

answered that they found out about K-pop trough the television, which comprises about 9.1%

of the total respondents. News media could be included in this category, however, it’s not

news, but promotions and tv shows are included as well. K-pop could be featured in the

commercials, for example in promoting concerts. Or they could be guests in some tv shows

and variety shows in the Philippines. There were 2 out of 55 who answered other—which

comprises 3.6% of the total respondents, the answers consist of (1) them finding out about it

by themselves without the influence of peers, and (2) advertisements on print ads and the like.

The respondents who answered finding out about K-pop from the Philippines could be

pertaining to the fact that these respondents could have the advantage of having access to the

Philippines. Those who see it from print ads, means that K-pop already has an existing

popularity in the Philippines for the companies to invest in having print ads and the like. (See

Figure 2)
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Considering that over half of the respondents answered that they found out about K-

pop through social media, it adds that mass media plays a vital role in the proliferation of K-

pop as well. Given that social media is considered as part of mass media, and at the same

time, minimal or direct to person media.

Television Other
6% 2%
Social Media
Family (Facebook, Twitter,
10% Youtube, Tumblr, etc.)
35%

Friends
33%
News
14%

Figure 2. Venues where the respondents found out about K-pop. This figure illustrates the
percentage of where the respondents usually heard or found out about K-pop first. Other,
refers to the advertisements and the like.

Peers

29 out of 55 answered that they found out about K-pop though the influence of their

friends, comprising a total of 52.72% of the respondents.9 out of 55 answered that they found

out about K-pop through their own family, comprising a total of 16.26% of the total
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respondents. 55 out of 55 respondents, know someone who listens to K-pop--having a total

of 100% reach ratio.

This means that most of the respondents are influence by their friends and family.

And all of the respondents, regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly involved by

K-pop, they know someone who listen to K-pop. The awareness ratio of the respondents,

hence, was influenced by the people or those who surround them in their life. One way or

another, the respondents would still find out about K-pop.

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Chapter 4

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

To summarize all the points given in the study, K-pop and Hallyu has a cultural

background vastly different from each other. Regardless of the cultural background, K-pop

has nevertheless penetrated the Philippine market and has gained a significant amount of

popularity in the country. This could be due to the heavy planning and prepping of the

companies behind K-pop and Hallyu. From the heavy prepping and planning, they would

then strategically plan on how they would attack the market. In this study, it was deduced

that the cultural wave emerged from the depths of social media—giving the internet a vital

role in the expansion of K-pop.

CONCLUSIONS

The popularity of K-pop in the Philippines is considerable, with regard to the

awareness rate, it is high. Because of this reason, K-pop has started to infiltrate the local

media, starting from social media it has reached up to the level where it would be able to

spread awareness through mass media. But in this context, it would mean that social media is

nevertheless more effective and more efficient in terms of targeting possible market

consumers and to promote awareness. Because it targets one person at a time, hence, more

effective. Since mass media, which is done in a way where it would target a large amount of

people at the same time, which would tend to miss the target market that they wish to have.
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This would mean that the workings behind K-pop would include the heavy

preparation and planning of the companies behind them, plus strategic planning—through the

use of social media and the internet. Through these tools, the companies were able to target

their desired market more efficiently and effectively, rather when they would have resorted

to mass media. This is all in terms of promoting awareness. With their success in promoting

awareness, the companies were then able to penetrate the Philippine market. This penetration

would not only benefit South Korea, but it would also benefit the Philippines in terms of

Tourism. Thus, the whole trend is may have an economic background, where both concerned

countries would gain benefits.

Since most of the respondents were those who were relatively young and had the

ability to use the internet with most capacity—it could mean that it is the younger generation

who set the trends and are mainly the ones who are targeted by the companies. Because for

one, the overall package of the K-pop stars themselves only mostly appeal to the younger

generation—not really those who are adults, as they differ in taste and preferences in types of

music.

This is a somewhat convenient situation, however, since it’s a given that the music

being produced in this generation, is the type of music that this generation would find

appealing. Hence, a trend is set by the generation that is currently what can be considered as

the “young and able”. Because they would be the ones who would most likely give longer

patronage of the companies’ products. And also the emotional and appetitive state of these

people has not been well balanced yet.

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That is why it would then be easy to attack these parts of the human psyche, and prey

upon this to make the music become appealing and the overall image “perfect” enough for

the people in this generation.

With heavy planning, prepping, and strategizing—the companies behind Hallyu was

able to expand its horizons from Asia, including the Philippines, and is now in the process of

spreading its wings in the western region. This is because they were able to use to their

advantage the current trend of social media becoming more efficient in terms of targeting

their desired market.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For further research and development:

Firstly, the researcher recommends that other mediums of communication be explored

and their efficiency as compared to social media.

Second, is to explore other economic benefits that would be made possible through

the Hallyu and K-pop phenomenon.

Third, to explore the success of K-pop and Hallyu further to provide a framework to

benefit the businessmen, marketers and advertisers in the country.

Fourth, for future researchers to gather more data in regard to the total market of K-

pop in the Philippines, proportionate to the global market of K-pop as a whole.