In case of the Philippines, the culture is based on Christianity. Due to the spread of Korean Wave over Southeast Asia, it suggests that the dominant culture of Southeast Asian countries did not hinder the flow of new culture. The question why people in this region have favored the Korean popular culture over Western or Japanese cultures that had fascinated them for a long time should deserve to be answered. Before doing this, this section I would like to explore the Hallyu in Southeast Asian countries.
Korean dramas that are popular in Thailand started in the year 2000 when TV Channel 5 was broadcast " Star My Heart " during a prime time. The drama did not draw a large number of audiences. After that, "Goodbye My Love" was aired. In that period, those who usually watched Korean dramas were prone to favor them. Besides the TV Channel 5, other TV Channels, for example, TV Channel 7, TV Channel 3, and ITV. have selected Korean dramas to broadcast in order to meet TV fans demand. When Autumn in My Heart was broadcast on ITV in 2003, it can say that a large number of Thai audiences have been fascinated with the Korean dramas since then. But the peak period that the Korean Wave has swept over Thailand was when a Korean drama, Dae Jang Geum, was aired on TV Channel 3 during the year 2005 through 2006. Thai audiences, all walks of life, sit close to television to watch their most favorite Korean drama. Some of them temporarily stopped their work or went home early in order to avoid missing the program. According to my personal interview with Cambodians, Laotians, Burmeses, especially who live in areas that are able to watch Thai television programs, and visiting Thailand at that time, they said such phenomenon occurred there. For my personal visit Myanmar in 2008 people told me that they sometimes stopped to do their daily activities in order to concentrating on watching a Korean drama when it was broadcast on television.
Following the broadcast of Dae Jang Geum, it maybe concluded that Hallyu has become number one foreign culture that spreads over Thailand.