The Impact of Kpop Music to the Academic Life of Filipino Students

CHAPTER I Introduction The researcher has been a fan of kpop music since 6th grade. Until now, the researcher is still a fan. The researcher listens to kpop songs whenever the researcher is on a bad mood, bored or just wants to relax and escapes the reality somehow. People around the researcher think that kpop would just bring distractions especially on the researcher’s study. But the researcher ignored what other people say that she even joined a fandom. Fandom is a way of life. It is like our daily activities such as eating, walking, watching, sleeping, reading books and the like; fandom is a habitual activity for a fan. There are emotions given by the listeners of Kpop music such as adoration, love, idolization and extreme feeling of fondness. This makes them so attached to the Kpop stars they admire. The researcher conducted this study to find out whether kpop music can affect Filipino students positively or negatively. A. Background of the Study Since the initiation of media, there has been an influx of ways and opportunities for fans to express their admiration for a popular narrative or text. Fans send fan letters through e-mail, or visit their idols on shoots and productions. And now especially with the dawn of new media such as the internet and cell phone, the audience and the fans have a faster possibility to express their thoughts. Through different media, celebrities and broadcast programs are now more accessible for the fans. It is the same way that even fans from one country can access media content from another country. The world has become borderless, and media and fan activities are just two aspects of globalization that brought about the openness of the world. But Filipino fans of Kpop are not able to visit their favourite Korean stars so they satisfy themselves with the linked picture, videos, and activities of their idols. In the Philippines, Filipinos were only drawn to Korean dramas. However they saw the debut of Korean music videos (MVs) in the Filipino screen. Since then, Kpop as a media content, has become a staple in the programming of different channels, and created a fandom especially among the Filipino teenage fans. Music companies distributed Korean albums in the country, and most of these albums were best sellers in music stores. From observation, it is clear that Filipino fans join social groups to mingle with people with the same interest. It is interesting to

understand the Kpop wave among Filipino students. What is the basis for their active consumption of Kpop music? What aspects of Kpop music content contribute to the Filipino teens’ liking and appreciation? Does Kpop music gratify the various needs of the Filipino fans which contribute to their usual consumption? Does Kpop affect the studies of these Filipino fans positively or negatively?

B. Scope and Limit of the Study This study focuses on the impact of Kpop music to the academic life of Filipino students, regardless of gender and socio-economic status. Using the methods of survey and focus interviews, the study described the processes of the fans’ consumption of Kpop music. In addition, the researcher focuses on understanding the consumption of the fans by describing the cultural contributions of Kpop in the survey questionnaires, as well as the different ways of how Kpop gratified the needs of the fans. It did not attempt to look into other reasons such as economical, psychological and sociological reasons, but only focused on the four different cultural offerings (language, visuals, cultural capitals, story) and the fulfilment of the four types of needs (information, personal identity, social interaction, entertainment).

C. Methodology The researcher used descriptive research for this study. The research designs and methods, along with data gathering are discussed.

Research Design and Methods In understanding the phenomenon of Kpop consumption among Filipino students, the researcher chose both quantitative and qualitative paradigms. Two types of surveys (traditional and online) were employed in order to get a quantitative overview of the frequency, ways and reasons of the fans’ consumption. The researcher also utilized focus interviews on Filipino students who are Kpop fans in order to isolate the phenomenon and the units of analysis. Since the researcher studied cases bounded by time and activity, it was more apt to use cross-sectional approach of data construction, analysis, and interpretation.

Survey The researcher will conduct a survey among the Filipino students who are Kpop fans in order to collect quantified data regarding their patterns of consuming Korean music. The survey sampling was purposive in order to specifically target the population of Kpop fans.

Focus Interview The researcher will choose Kpop fans with varying degrees of fandom as units of analysis. The researcher chose focus interviews because this method made possible richer, more in-depth discussion between the researcher and the Kpop fans.

Data Gathering There will be an online questionnaire which will be sent to Filipino students who are Kpop fans. There will be a closing day for the online survey. Meanwhile, the researcher will also conduct the traditional survey among Filipino students at the researcher’s school. The researcher will record the focus interviews using a video camera. These recordings helped in the transcription of data which was used as the main source of the discussion and analysis of findings.

D. Significance of the Study The main reason for the researcher’s interest in undertaking a study about Kpop was the researcher’s own fascination for it. Although guided by the researcher’s own reasons for consuming Kpop, the researcher wanted to objectively look at the trend. The researcher strongly believes that through this study, the Filipino student kpop fans may add understanding of their fandom, and how their utilization of Kpop music content affects their decisions and participation in many activities in their lives. The study could persuade fans to be critical of the music’s direct effects on their daily decisions. The findings of this study could fortify and contribute to the studies on the pleasure of Filipinos of foreign media content. This study also encourages the audience to become decisive and approachable to the music content presented to them. This way, they can contribute to the betterment of the local music through their vigorous involvement in the feedback process, thus creating a healthy affiliation between the media and the society.