ESCAPING THE KOREAN ASIAN TRAP: Can LA PROMESA do a JANJIKU in Peru?

So how is Pangako Sa 'Yo/ La Promesa faring in Peru?

Just recently, we were witness to a relatively lackluster start which ended in a skyrocketing finish of Pinoy teleserye Pangako Sa 'Yo/ Janjiku in Indonesia. In Peru, the teleserye has also started slow, will it finally pick up as it hurtles on to the finish line? In both cases, they were shown in relatively "un-stellar" channels. In Indonesia, the ascent of Pangako Sa 'Yo/ Janjiku created a wave that lifted the local channel shows to the top. Will the same thing be duplicated in Peru?

La Promesa is being shown in a station that is called by Peruvians as "cold antenna" (antenna fria)", just like TV5 in the Philippines. Panamericana TV generally fares low in the ratings. Just like MNCTV before in Indonesia in the beginning when  Janjiku was shown. But we saw later that as Janjiku rose up the Indonesian  charts in the homestretch, it took along with it to the top of the ratings the sinetron shown before it and the one shown after it (the former Ayu Ayu Anak Depok City & Untuk Selamanya for the latter). See first table where Ayu Anak Depok City was #7 while Untuk Selamanya reached # 14. It is not a surprise that both Ayu Anak Depok City & Untuk Selamanya dropped out of the Top 20 when Janjiku ended its run.

This phenomenon was also seen in Peru when the first Pinoy teleserye , Bridges of Love/Puentes de Amor, was shown. For almost a decade, South Korean dramas were shown in Peru but they were always at the bottom of the Peruvian rating charts, generally  earning 1-2 points as a matter of course  (hilariously, this perennial unpopularity was constant  but  their many Spanish propaganda websites were also constant in proclaiming they were popular). But when Puentes de Amor  unexpectedly became the top telenovela for the Panamericana station, earning double those normally earned by the kdramas, the kdrama shown before it was suddenly lifted too (earning up to then unheard-of 3 points). Moreover, the slot of Puentes de Amor , which was later given to another kdrama, inherited the ratings of Puentes de Amor for a while.  That should have made them happy,  but when another teleserye was bought (Pangako Sa 'Yo/ La Promesa), the now familiar strategy of scenes of "avid" Korean fanatics suddenly protesting exploded (they were perennially at the bottom of the ratings-  it's too much a stretch to believe they always manage to convert miniscule fans into combative fanatics, be it in the Philippines or Peru, but it seems this strategy was effective enough to "massage" executives, be it in the Philippines or Peru). It was surprising because both the South Korean & Pinoy teleseryes were shown in the same channel & at different times, so it makes you wonder why they trashed the Pinoys.  But it's easy to understand what was happening if you look back over the pattern of past events described in this blog- the constant sabotage of Pinoy artists in the international arena as described in our previous posts (See Tales of SABOTAGE in the sidebar). Especially that we first detected the sabotage done in a Spanish-language  pirate website when the  Pinoy film  Diary ng Panget became a hit among the Spanish-speaking Asian film fanatics. It was obvious that they didn't want to be upstaged by another Asian, especially Pinoys sharing the history and physical features of the disputed market. Now they were actually humiliated by Pinoy teleseryes in a Spanish-speaking public space.

The showing of La Promesa was delayed due to dubbing issues. Meanwhile, at this point, there were hossanas in their propaganda press that the persistence of the South Koreans after a decade of low ratings were paying off (understandably, nobody mentioned of the effect of Puentes de amor). It was written that "it was good they persisted" (understandably also, nothing was mentioned  what were the quid pro quo in exchange for the miracle of being shown for a decade despite their permanence in the bottom of the ratings).


Their gloating was short-lived, however. The kdramas soon returned to their familiar places in the bottom of the Peruvian ratings when La Promesa was finally shown. Below is the typical ratings of the shows of Panamericana TV. The 3 kdramas (Cuando un hombre ama (1 point), Los dos madres (0.8) , Melodia del Destino (1.4)) are permanent fixtures in the bottom of the ratings.

If you look at all the shows being shown in Peru- as always, they were at the bottom in the lowest-rating station..

As has been confirmed by this blog, the Pinoy teleseryes have always trounced the South Korean kdramas where they faced off everywhere in the world. In Peru, like everywhere in South America,  the South Koreans never managed to elevate the status of Asians, it just made them permanent in the bottom of the ratings. The arrival of a Pinoy teleserye therefore assured the teleserye of a dragging baggage. Could the teleserye trascend the heavy prejudice to Asians wrought by the unpopular South Korean dramas in the preceding decade? Fortunately, Puentes de Amor managed to soar a bit to heights not reached by the other Asian, but it's clear that the marketing of Pinoy teleseryes should be so  designed so as not to be trapped into being merely Asian, contaminated as it is by the long-standing South Korean permanence at the bottom of the ratings. The relative popularity of Pinoy teleseryes in Peru derives from their Asian Latin appeal, and we just hope the Latin appeal will engender enough connection to finally get off the Asian trap cultivated by the Koreans in the bottom of the ratings. La Promesa hasn't exactly reached yet the heights of Puentes de amor- but it is picking up.  Will it shoot in the homestretch too like in Indonesia?

Related Posts Widget