We can not deny that K-Pop and K-Drama have become Pinoy favorites, never mind the language barrier. When Netflix showed its “Top Ten Most-Watched Shows” in the Philippines, half were Korean dramas much to no one’s surprise.
This brought about different opinions from different Filipino directors, like Erik Matti who recently received different backlash from netizens when he described Koreanovelas as “faux Cinderella stories”.
On his Twitter account, Director Erik Matti tweeted, “The daily top ten most viewed on #Netflix shows us how our movies and tv are doomed in the future. K-drama galore. Faux cinderella stories with belofied actors whiter than white. And it’s all about love in the midst of this pandemic. (emojis: Hot faceAngry faceTired faceFace with look of triumph)”
The daily top ten most viewed on #Netflix shows us how our movies and tv are doomed in the future. K-drama galore. Faux cinderella stories with belofied actors whiter than white. And it’s all about love in the midst of this pandemic. 🥵😠😫😤
— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) April 14, 2020
Netizens responded to his tweet by defending K-Drama., One netizen even said that no one complained about Erik Matti’s Gagamboy.
“May narinig ka ba samin when you brought us Gagamboy?”
https://twitter.com/fueledbyajitama/status/1250487937814237186?s=20
One day after Matti called K-dramas “faux cinderella stories with whiter than white belo-fied actors,” director Joey Reyes took to Twitter to express how he is impressed with K-Dramas and questioned why that isn’t possible here. He also made a lengthy blog post on the subject.
https://twitter.com/DirekJoey/status/1250424617270829060?s=20
In his blog, Reyes began by saying, “You know you are watching a KDrama because you can immediately identify the look.”
Director Joey Reyes said that production value in Koreanovelas is given the utmost premium as it has all to do with branding.
“Money is funneled into giving worth and value to every scene shot. Sure, you’ve got these terrific actors who are focused on delivering varied roles per project, exquisitely written plots that make familiar tropes look new.”
And because of the Koreanovelas importance on branding, this made it distinct from other Asian dramas.
“But all these are topped by a look … a brand … that makes the Koreanovelas distinct from their other Asian counterparts.”
Director Manny Castaneda also had a different opinion from Matti’s. On his Facebook account, he posted, “Hindi naman guguho ang TV and film industry ng Korea ng dahil lang sa opinyon nya, so why even bother.
“Besides, they have Parasite. We have… none. Kaya wag sana maging masyadong mayabang.”
