The Latest Content Trends Across Asia
KPOP
The entire country turned purple for the 10th anniversary of BTS.
K-pop’s influence is still strong despite BTS’s enlistment.
Yes, several members of BTS have enlisted to begin their mandatory military service, but that doesn’t mean the power of BTS and K-pop has diminished.
Case in point, this month when BTS marked its 10th anniversary. Skyscrapers, bridges-everything was bathed in purple lights to celebrate the global force that is BTS with a special performance from the lead singer of BTS, RM.
If you still want more BTS don’t forget to check out Suga’s documentary Road to D-Day as he prepares for his Agust D world tour, and J-Hope’s documentaries on Disney + about making his album J-Hope in the Box and headlining at Lollapalooza.
Korean music and TV are inextricably linked much more so than in the US, with KPOP stars often appearing on unscripted series. (Remember Jungkook’s appearance on King of the Masked Singer, not to mention RM and V’s work on talk and variety shows.) Music variety continues to be a force on Korean TV with shows on Kpop, but also Trot and rap as well.
Pint-Sized Trend
Nippon TV’s long-running hit, Old Enough on Netflix has gotten everyone talking. Now there are local versions of this format that see youngsters sent on errands alone.
Continuing this trend with kids is TV Chosun’s new series The Cute Expedition. This series is taking famous Korean child actors and puts them with veteran celebrities and follows along as they learn from one another and enjoy one another’s company despite their generation gap. The first episode takes them to the countryside where they experience the simple, rural life (with an occasional singing performance for the locals.)
In Japan, TV Asahi’s format Go Baby Go was born from a long-running segment on a variety/comedy show.
Under the watchful eyes of adoring parents, babies wiggle their way through baby races. Yes, it’s fun to watch the babies in all their chubby cheekiness, but sometimes watching the mom’s reaction is even more fun than the little ones are.
Would these pint-sized shows work in the US market?