An ajumma in Korean simply refers to a married woman, or a “woman old enough to get married.” But Korean women, I’m told, seldom admit to being ajummas, even if they are married with children.
Once derided as “Kimchi-novelas,” after the pungent and spicy staple of the Korean diet, Korean TV dramas were the harbingers of the “Hallyu” or Korean wave, a term coined by the Chinese media in the late 1990s to describe the sudden influx not just of Korean TV serial dramas but also of other “cultural products” like pop music and movies. The “wave” lapped at the shores of China and seemingly everywhere else in Asia, the Philippines included. Today, we can find the presence of Korean culture in such diverse spots as the Middle East, Africa, the United States and Canada, and even in the birthplace of the telenovela: Mexico and Latin America.
Bacoor in Cavite is a first-class municipality, although Mayor Strike Revilla, who is on his second term, hopes it will soon be declared a city. He describes Bacoor as a “bedroom community,” with many residents commuting to and from Metro Manila for work, but calling his town home. As such, Bacoor is also heir to [...]
