EPTThe Asian drama craze started in the Philippines when ABS-CBN aired the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden(Taiwanese counterpart of Boys over Flowers) in 2003 which is a huge hit. Then it got followed by a few more Taiwanese dramas, some Japanese and then Korean dramas.
The first Koreanovelas(around 2004-2005) to enjoy huge success here are:
on ABS CBN:
1. Lovers in Paris(consitent 30+% in ratings)
on GMA:
1. Stairway to Heaven(maxed 50%)
2. Endless Love: Autumn in my heart
3. Full house
*Note that ABS CBN and GMA are giant networks in the Philippines and are huge rivals. They always compete for ratings, and go toe-to-toe showing programs of the same genre at the same timeslot(news,variety shows,dramas, etc.).
Most of the Koreanovelas became instant hits. It forced the the two TV networks to import more high-quality Korean dramas. I think it also saved them production money by shrinking the number of shitty, overextended local dramas.
By 2006, the Philippines became the fourth-largest buyer of Korean dramas next to Japan, China and Taiwan. Some Korean stars even visited the country to thank their Filipino supporters. The most recent is Kim Bum of Boys over Flowers, who did a commercial with local cutie actress Maja Salvador.
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So what made Korean dramas click locally? Quoting from another article:
"Filipinos love drama and stories that we can relate to. Most of the time, the Korean dramas are quite escapist and moving. Aside from the touching plotlines, the production is really a visual experience of places that most of us are not accustomed to seeing" -Joey Abacan, GMA Network vice president for Program Management.
"Koreanovelas give viewers a different style of storytelling from usual Filipino soap operas, or "teleseryes". Since Korean dramas are aired only two hours a week, compared to the Filipino daily 30-minute episodes, viewers can expect a faster pace. There is clear character definition and the stories are expansive both in the physical and emotional sense." -Leng Raymundo, ABS-CBN vice president for program acquisition
Koreanovelas also paved the way for Kpop to reach the hearts of Filipinos. Songs like "Nobody" by the Wondergirls, "I don't care" by 2NE1 and Super Junior's "Sorry" are consistently high on the charts of local radio stations and music video channels.
And now for the funny part, I mentioned that the local dramas are shitty right? Now there is new trend in the two competing networks- remaking Korean dramas. Here are a some of them(the others are yet to be released):
1. My Girl
Korean Version:
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![[image loading]](http://mysanctuary.files.wordpress.com/2006/07/my-girl.jpg)
Filipino Version
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![[image loading]](http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p1/nics097/photoshoots/my%20girl/mygirl-poster-baotagged.jpg)
2. My lovely Kim Sam Soon
Korean:
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![[image loading]](http://image.yesasia.com/assets/GalleryImage/r_g0000001099_0_01.jpg)
Filipino:
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![[image loading]](http://www.blogadeur.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/kim-samsoon.jpg)
2. Only You
Korean
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![[image loading]](http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/users8/hcpen1111/default/only-drama-starring-jo-hyun--large-msg-1118767971-2.jpg)
Filipino:
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![[image loading]](http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6521/onlyheader15.jpg)
3. Lovers in Paris
Korean:
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![[image loading]](http://psycho5728.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/lovers-in-paris-2.jpg)
Filipino:
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![[image loading]](http://www.gofigures.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/lovers-in-paris-philippines.jpg)
4.Stairway to heaven
Korean:
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![[image loading]](http://www.freewebs.com/stairstoheaven/Stairway%20to%20Heaven%20%2830%29.jpg)
Filipino:
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![[image loading]](http://www.gmapinoytv.com/uploaded_files/20090910b41c2_MAIN.jpg)
5. Full House
Korean:
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![[image loading]](http://www.asianpopcorn.com/Korea/Korean-drama-Full-House-poster-1.jpg)
Filipino(cast):
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![[image loading]](http://ugc.pep.ph/peparazzi/media/phoenomonica/peparazzi_4ac88844d1890.jpg)
6. Boys over Flowers (ABS-CBN confirmed a remake)
Korean:
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![[image loading]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hyk-K30074U/Scjo1N8Im1I/AAAAAAAABJc/8056pAunNQ8/S1600-R/Boys_over_Flowers_to_Air_in_Japan_from_April_12-20090210185309.jpg)
Filipino(I researched and cast is still not finalized):
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![[image loading]](http://www.seoulbeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/philf4_20090206_seoulbeats.jpg)
Korean Wave! 
