{"id":545308,"date":"2026-07-17T01:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T01:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/545308\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T01:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T01:25:16","slug":"interview-meet-koreas-1st-official-ma-in-k-culture-and-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/545308\/","title":{"rendered":"[INTERVIEW] Meet Korea’s 1st official MA in K-culture and entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Abigail<\/p>\n

Abigail Jazmine Llamo attends NCT DREAM TOUR “THE DREAM SHOW.” Courtesy of Abigail Jazmine Llamo<\/p>\n

For Abigail Jazmine Llamo, who will turn 29 this year, K-pop was never just entertainment.<\/p>\n

\"Abigail<\/p>\n

\u201cK-pop may seem light and entertaining on the surface, but for me, it provided joy, comfort and hope,\u201d she said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. \u201cIt became a kind of escape, but also a source of energy that helped me dream of a different future. Because of that, I wanted to be part of the kind of work that could inspire or comfort others.\u201d<\/p>\n

That personal connection ultimately brought Llamo, a Filipino national, to Korea, where she recently completed a master\u2019s degree in K-Culture and Entertainment at Sungshin Women\u2019s University \u2014 becoming the first graduate of the program.<\/p>\n

Her journey reflects the deeply personal ways in which the Korean cultural wave continues to resonate across borders, including in the Philippines, where Korean media content has long enjoyed widespread popularity.<\/p>\n

Llamo\u2019s exposure to Korean culture began early, through a family visit to Korea in 2004 and television broadcasts of dramas such as \u201cJewel in the Palace.\u201d Her interest deepened in the following years as she enjoyed hit series like \u201cBoys Over Flowers\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re Beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

What began as casual consumption evolved into a deeper, more sustained engagement and interest. While studying entrepreneurship at De La Salle University, she began learning the Korean language and taking courses on Korean culture, laying the groundwork for her eventual move to Korea.<\/p>\n

\"Bound<\/p>\n

Bound copies of Abigail Jazmine Llamo\u2019s 2026 master\u2019s thesis at Sungshin Women\u2019s University \/ Courtesy of Abigail Jazmine Llamo <\/p>\n

Beyond fandom, she said her academic pursuits were driven by a desire to understand and contribute to the industry behind the global phenomenon.<\/p>\n

As K-pop continues to expand internationally, Llamo said she sees both opportunity and risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do agree that K-pop has definitely become more global, and I think globalization isn\u2019t necessarily bad, as it allows K-pop to reach more audiences and communicate with fans from different cultures,\u201d Llamo noted. \u201cHowever, if K-pop becomes too detached from the cultural and industrial context that shaped it, it may lose part of its identity or what makes it distinctive. So for me, the important thing is balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

To keep that balance, she believes the most important thing is to preserve key Korean elements, one of which is the language.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that many artists and companies use more English lyrics to appeal to non-Korean markets, which can make songs more accessible \u2026 but many international fans have already connected with K-pop through Korean lyrics, even when they did not understand every word at first,\u201d Llamo said. \u201cTo me, K-pop doesn\u2019t need to lose its Korean identity to become global. Its ability to reach global audiences while remaining recognizably Korean is part of what makes it powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what makes K-pop appealing to audiences in the Philippines, Llamo pointed to its multidimensional nature and strong fan culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt offers a complete cultural experience: music, performance, visuals, storytelling, variety content, fan communication, merchandise, online content, live concerts and other offline activities,\u201d she said. \u201cFilipinos are very active, expressive and enjoy community, so K-pop\u2019s participatory fandom culture fits well with the way many Filipino fans enjoy entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Llamo hopes to turn that passion into concrete work within Korea\u2019s live music scene as a concert planner and operator.<\/p>\n

Initially more drawn to the stage herself, she later found through years of stage management and other backstage roles that she enjoys working off stage just as much as performing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to bridge Korean and Filipino audiences by contributing to projects that help both sides understand each other better and work together more closely,\u201d she said. \u201cUltimately, I would like to help create spaces where Korean and Filipino audiences don\u2019t just consume content separately, but connect through shared cultural experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abigail Jazmine Llamo attends NCT DREAM TOUR “THE DREAM SHOW.” Courtesy of Abigail Jazmine Llamo For Abigail Jazmine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-545308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}