“Daisy” usually wakes up at 4 a.m. to prepare her child’s school meal while watching “Queen of Tears,” her latest favorite K-drama. Later in the day, she writes a review of the episode and shares it to her 200,000 followers on Facebook.

Daisy, who asked not to be named in this story, is the one-woman team behind Noona Chronicles, one of a number of Filipino-run fan pages that put out content related to South Korean dramas, movies and music.

“I just wanted to show my love for K-drama out there and share with fellow K-drama lovers,” said Daisy, who started blogging about Hallyu (South Korean pop culture) in 2019.

“I thought there are so many out there with the same passion for anything K-drama, it would be good to have some of those in one page and have us interact with each other.”  

Daily juggles content creation with her job as a training officer and duties as a mother of four. Her dedication to Noona Chronicles leaves her time for “no other hobbies anymore.”

“Nilamon na ko ng sistema (I’ve been consumed by the system),” she said.  

Like Daisy, the 21 writers and contributors of Hallyu fan page Annyeong Oppa (AO) have jobs outside content creation. One AO administrator is a team leader at a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, another works at a used car dealership in Japan while one works at a dermatology clinic.

Their youngest team member is 20 years old and the oldest is 41 years old.

For them, content creation is “an escape from reality”, said Lee, a writer and editor of the page who also requested anonymity.

“Alam naman natin kung gaano ka-stressful ang trabaho. So yung ginagawa namin for AO, pinaglalaanan talaga namin ng oras namin because it’s something that we love to do. We find time just to be able to provide those posts that we have. We do advance scheduling tulad ng weekends then others are real-time posting,” she said.

(We all know how stressful work is. So we devote time to AO because it’s something that we love to do.)

Annyeong Oppa was created by Angeline De Leon, more known as Anj Kalma. Its team started with sharing memes inspired by K-dramas “Goblin,” “Love in the Moonlight,” and “Descendants of the Sun.”

Today, the page has around 920,000 followers on Facebook, where it shares drama highlights, concert reviews, and celebrity gossip.

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The team members rely on online messaging to divide their tasks. Even if they rarely see each other in person, communication is “easy” because of their shared passion for Hallyu, Lee said.

“Regardless if nagkita kami, regardless if magkakilala kami or hindi… We all feel the same things. We find comfort in them. It’s like something na unconditional love na they serve as an inspiration, they serve as your comfort when you’re feeling down. Doon kami lahat naka-relate,” she added.

(Regardless if we have met or not, regardless if we personally know each other or not, we all feel the same things. We find comfort in them. It’s like unconditional love, they serve as an inspiration, they serve as your comfort when you’re feeling down. So that's where we can all relate.) 

MUST HAVES: STREAMING SUBSCRIPTION, TIME MANAGEMENT

Annyeong Oppa’s team has subscriptions to multiple streaming services to keep up with the latest K-content, Lee said.

“Lahat kami we subscribe, may sari-sarili kaming subscription. Kapag meron kaming certain actor for example nasa Netflix siya, then after that show lilipat na siya sa Disney Plus, so siyempre you need to support them, you need to pay just to support them,” she said.

“Tapos Korean show productions talaga, hindi naman yun easy lang eh. A special way to appreciate the production, the crew, the director for that effort into crafting those shows [is by rejecting pirated content].”

(We all have our own subscriptions. For example, a certain actor is on Netflix, then after the show he’ll transfer to Disney+, so you need to support them, you need to pay just to support them. Then, in Korean show productions, it’s not that easy. A special way to appreciate the production, the crew, and the director for that effort in crafting those shows is by rejecting piracy.)

With so many K-drama releases coming out, Daisy said time management skills are a must for Hallyu content creators.

“You have to make your content. You need to be updated on K-dramas and movies and K-celebrity happenings. But it makes me and my followers happy. So that's enough for me,” she said.

HOOKED BY HALLYU

Gezzerree Viado, one of the administrators of Annyeong Oppa, believes K-dramas lived up to their hype through the decades due to their fast-paced storylines and striking aesthetics.

“I think yung format ng mga K-drama, yung kung gaano kaikli. Kasi diba tayo sanay tayo na abutin ng ilang taon, ilang buwan. Sa kanila kasi maximum na yung two months sa K-drama… Hindi na pinapahaba yung story, straight to the point. Tingin ko in most Filipinos ganun tingin nila na parang iba yung [K-drama] format mas refreshing and maganda yung aesthetic,” Gezzerree Viado said, the third administrator of Annyeong Oppa.  

(I think the short format of K-dramas works. We are used to shows that go on for about a year, for months, but K-dramas only run for up to two months. So they don’t prolong the story, it’s straight to the point. I think most Filipinos find the K-drama format more refreshing and aesthetically pleasing.)

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Hazel Rafol, another administrator of Annyeong Oppa, noted that K-dramas highlight tourist destinations, which encourages fans to visit South Korea.

“Kasi diba Korea [does] not only promote the story, the drama itself, they’re [also] promoting their culture. Kaya ang daming fans ngayon na hayok na hayok na pumunta sa Korea like me,” Rafol said.

Noona Chonicles’ Daisy added, “There’s always twists and unexpected stories in there. Stories are not just about the leads but the side stories appeal to us as well. The mysteries and the ‘overthinking’ make us not stop watching and gets us glued to the drama.”

ELEVATING FANGIRLING

Annyeong Oppa plans to expand its content to Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and even Filipino pop culture.

“We are also promoting what is yung sa ‘tin as long as it’s aligned with, ‘Ano ba yung initial ni Annyeong Oppa?” Lee said.

“Hindi nauubos yung plans kasi as we said we go with the change as well.”

The team also wants to bring attention to underrated artists, Hazel said.

“For us it’s a good thing na hindi lang kami exclusive on a certain name or on a certain show itself, talagang we welcome every title and every name,” she said. 

But their “ultimate dream” is to someday hold face-to-face interviews with their idols.

“We can attend presscons online or live but it’s not as intimate as a face-to-face interview,” Lee said. “[Our] dream is to be able to talk to them, to be able to look them in the eye…[and] ask the questions that we wanted to ask for the longest of time.”

In the meantime, Annyeong Oppa’s team is happy to bring laughter and comfort to its followers.

“‘Pag nakita namin na na-comfort sila and then kasi may like nagre-reply nagsasabing ‘thank you’, ang sarap kasi sa feeling ng ganoon. We’re not just a page, we’re not just posting about the idols that we love, the actors that we love, the movies or the series that we love but we are reaching out in a different matter, in a different way,” Lee said.

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.