The Proximity of Korean and Filipino Culture from Selected Korean Dramas (Ang Proksimidad ng Kulturang Koreano at Pilipino mula sa mga Piling Korean Drama) Lood, Hazel A. a , Abugan, Mary Grace B. b , Barrete, Jea Mae P. c , Romero, Rica Mae P. d Doria, Ethel S. e a lood.hazel@hnu.edu.ph b abugan.mary_grace@hnu.edu.ph c barrete.jea_mae@hnu.edu.ph d romero.rica_mae@hnu.edu.ph e edoria@hnu.edu.ph Holy Name University, Dampas District, Tagbilaran City 6300, Philippines Abstract In the Philippines, like any other country experiencing hallyu, the warm reception of Korean Drama or KDrama productions and their influence on people’s values is phenomenal. Though ideally, the preservation of indigenous traditions is aspired, the Filipino curriculum in Grade 9 emphasizes the study of some cultures in the neighboring East Asian countries. Because of this, it is necessary to match the needs with the realities facing the field of education. That is why the research aims to determine the proximity of Filipino culture to the cultures depicted in selected KDramas titled Mr. Queen, Itaewon Class, and 100 Days My Prince concerning values, culture, and visual with the help of textual analysis of the episodes selected and analyzed by experts. Straubhaar's Cultural Proximity Theory, Bronfenbrenner's Ecological System Theory, and Mondal's Sociology of Culture provided a good foundation for this research. This research has proven that the explored KDramas rich in Korean culture, are close to Filipino culture. Therefore, Grade 9 will have rich material that can be used to develop the competency stat ed in the Filipino language, “sa pag-aaral ng ilang kultura sa Silangang Asya ”, which in English means “to study some cultures in East Asia". Key words: Cultural proximity, Korean Drama, Learning Material, Popular Culture, Hallyu 1. Introduction It cannot be denied that Korean Drama or KDrama is one of the most popular and most-watched foreign productions today, and this hallyu is overwhelming [9]. And in these television series, Korean cultures inevitably surface. While some teachers believe in the importance of maintaining indigenous culture, opposing the influence of foreign culture is in fact, challenging. More so, the Department of Education emphasizes the study of some cultures in East Asia as stated in the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) especially in Grade 9 for the Filipino Subject. In this regard, it is good to correlate the needs and responses and do this through the right choice of learning materials. And here, one can see the need to determine the proximity or closeness of Korean and Filipino culture based on the watched KDrama to help identify suitable visual material in the form of video for the cultivation of competence emphasized in the 88 www.ijrp.org IJRP 2023, 122(1), 88-97; doi:.10.47119/IJRP1001221420234623