Why are Pinoys so obsessed with K-dramas?

In a world fraught with uncertainty, one thing has become crystal clear: Pinoys’ love for K-dramas is unwavering, unapologetic, and perhaps a tad bit obsessive.

From our Titas to our teenagers, we’ve all fallen down the K-drama rabbit hole, and there’s no turning back. So, what is it about these Korean dramas that makes us forgo sleep, social life, and sometimes even basic hygiene just for another episode, and another episode, and another episode until it’s already the following morning? Let’s embark on a puyatan journey into the world of Pinoy K-drama addiction.

Have you ever watched a K-drama and thought, “Sana all (I wish I had that)?” Of course, you have! The romance in K-dramas is so intense and beautifully unrealistic that it makes our own love lives look like a documentary on dry paint. K-drama relationship goals are like an athlete on prohibited steroids. We’re convinced that if we find a love as intense as the ones we see on screen, we’ll finally achieve world peace.

One of the mysteries of K-dramas is the ability of our Filipino hearts to fall in love with fictional characters and make it an ‘Oppa’ obsession. Exhibit A: Every time an “Oppa” appears on screen, we collectively lose our minds. We don’t care if he’s a prince, a CEO, a goblin, or a barista—once he’s our “Oppa,” he’s bae; it’s like the universe itself is obligated to create the most epic romance ever. We’re talking about a love story so grand that not even Shakespeare could have penned it, and trust me, he’s rolling in his grave with jealousy right now!

Age? Pff, who cares if he’s technically old enough to be our great-great-grandfather or young enough to be our future child? Logic? Well, let’s just say logic is on a permanent vacation when it comes to our Oppa. He’s the CEO of our hearts, the prince of our dreams, the goblin who stole our sense of reality, and the barista who brews up a storm in our caffeine-fueled fantasies.

And the fact that he’s not even real? 

Well, who needs reality when you’ve got a full-blown mental projection of your future together? We’ve planned everything from our lavish imaginary wedding on a field of buckwheat flowers to our honeymoon wherever we like when we open a magic door that needs no visas and passports. Our Oppa may not exist in the physical world, but in our hearts and daydreams, he’s the one and only true Bae!

Filipinos are known for their resilience, but K-dramas put that to the test with their masterful use of cliffhangers. The pen-ultimate episode will leave us hanging off a figurative cliff, and we’ll be screaming at our screens, “Bakit ganyan?! (Why like that?)” Yet, like fools, we’ll stay up until the wee hours to find out what happens next, knowing full well that it might just be another tease.

Pinoys have a saying: “Alas-dos na, wala pa ring tulog!” It’s our battle cry during K-drama marathons. The pandemic has only exacerbated our addiction, with many of us abandoning the concept of bedtime altogether. Who needs sleep when you can binge-watch K-dramas until your eyeballs feel like they’re on fire? Our bosses might disagree, but our hearts are in it for the long haul.

Thanks to K-dramas, many Pinoys are now honorary Koreans. We’ve learned to say “Annyeong haseyo (Hello),” “Saranghae (I love you),” and “Jebal (Please)” with the fluency of a seasoned language expert. We’re convinced that if we ever find ourselves in Seoul, we can navigate the city just by quoting our favorite K-drama lines. Who needs Google Maps when you have Gong Yoo’s voice in your head?

Enter FOMO (fear of missing out). In the age of social media, missing out is a fate worse than death. When everyone on your timeline is talking about the latest K-drama sensation, you can’t afford to be left behind. You don’t want to be the only one at the virtual coffee break who can’t join the discussion about the heart-stopping plot twist. So, you do what any self-respecting Pinoy would do: you watch the entire series overnight and show up at the morning meeting, bleary-eyed but victorious.

Of course, no K-drama marathon is complete without a mountain of snacks. We’ve convinced ourselves that eating our weight in junk food is a form of self-care while we sob over fictional characters’ love stories. In our minds, we’re the “emergency food” that our K-drama Oppas have been searching for all their lives. Reality check: our emergency food status is mostly confined to binge-watching sessions.

Let’s not forget about the K-drama soundtracks that haunt our playlists. We sing along to every song with gusto, even if we have no idea what the lyrics mean. The emotional attachment we have to these OSTs is so strong that we’ve considered making them the background music for our daily lives. Imagine dramatically walking into the office with a K-drama soundtrack playing in the background—it’s the stuff dreams are made of!

In conclusion, the Pinoy fascination with K-dramas is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, laughter, tears, and sleepless nights. It’s an addiction we proudly wear on our sleeve, and we wouldn’t have it any other wa.y. So, the next time you see a fellow Pinoy bleary-eyed and clutching a bag of chips at 3 a.m, just know they’re on an epic K-drama journey, and they wouldn’t trade it for the world. After all, in the world of K-dramas, anything is possible—even love at first sight with a pixelated Oppa. — Jacqueline Lucero