A Look at Korean Historical Drama: Cultural Negotiation of Cold War Influence on Notions of Development in the Philippines

The article considers how Korean historical drama can enrich the discourse of development and change. The study interrogates Cold War legacies in development thinking in the Philippines entrenched by US education and pop culture and contextualizes Korean drama, a representation of counter-dominant cultural flows, within cultural flows in Asia, the reception of the dramas in Asia, and patronage and influence in the Philippines. Focusing on the historical genre of Korean drama in particular, a cultural negotiation of Cold War influenced-development perspectives in the Philippines is problematized. Unpacking the complex content in Korean historical drama through intertextual analysis provokes a critical elucidation of notions of development and change and underscores interdiscursive utility for the development discourse in the Philippines.