Korean and Chinese dramas continue to lead the charge with high-concept thrillers and heartwarming romances. Undercover Miss Hong

But Min-ji wasn't alone in her love of Asian entertainment. Across the globe, fans like her were devouring content from Asia, from K-dramas to J-pop, and from Chinese sci-fi movies to Indian Bollywood musicals.

Of course, not all was smooth. Japan complained that K-dramas were overshadowing J-dramas on Netflix. Chinese streamers like iQiyi launched their own global apps but faced Western suspicion over data privacy. And in Korea, writers protested over poor residuals from streaming giants.

Back to Maya in Nebraska. After Squid Game , she didn’t stop. She found a K-drama called Crash Landing on You , then a Japanese reality show ( Terrace House ), then a Chinese cooking documentary ( Once Upon a Bite ). She joined a Discord server to learn Thai because of a BL series.

In the summer of 2021, a college student in rural Nebraska named Maya reluctantly clicked a thumbnail of a show called Squid Game . She had three minutes before her Zoom class started; she just wanted to see what the internet was yelling about.

: Chinese "Wuxia" (martial arts) and "Xianxia" (fantasy) dramas are gaining significant traction on international streaming services, offering high-production-value spectacles rooted in deep historical mythology. Thai "BL" and Genre Mastery

Start with Squid Game (Korea) → Alice in Borderland (Japan) → Reset (China)