Microcosm of society

Quest.” Other Koreans who became part of Philippine entertainment include Ryan Bang on It’s Showtime, DJ Grace Lee and host Sam Oh.

All major stations now are dotted with Koreanovelas, with GMA even importing Thai dramas. Philippine shows, however, have also captured the hearts of televiewers in Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian countries as far as the African continent. Filipinos’ love for teleseryes made Ateneo de Manila University offer a course dedicated solely to the study of Pinoy soap operas for the simple reason that teleseryes are a microcosm of the Filipino society. Ateneo pop culture professor Louie Sanchez said that Filipinos are drawn to teleseryes mainly because they can relate to the personal, social and political issues repeated so often in the genre. Sociologist Ricky Abad likewise gave a reason why Filipinos love teleseryes: The Philippines is a country that simply loves good storytelling.

There is of course reality TV, which some quarters say it’s not really real because everything is scripted — from selection of participants — like in “Star Circle Quest,”

Fantasy reigned supreme on television for years with ‘Mulawin’ as the most watched and anticipated series. Richard Gutierrez played the role of Aguiluz, the messenger of the half-bird half-human beings, helped by the goddesses of ‘Encantadia’ which became another series by itself.

“StarStruck,” “Pinoy Big Brotther” and “Survivor” — to the proclamation of winners.

Besides television, video-sharing platform YouTube has also been a powerful medium, making a post go viral overnight and creating stars out of the ordinary people who catch the imagination of the digital universe. Networks also post on YouTube episodes and editions of their shows and people catch up without tuning in to TV any longer.