Japan's Tokyo Shimbun Names 'Global Rise of Hallyu Content' Among Top 10 News Stories This Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Tokyo Shimbun of Japan selected the global advancement of Hallyu content as one of the top 10 overseas news stories of the year.

According to the Tokyo Shimbun on the 30th, the "Advancement of Korean Entertainment" was chosen as the 9th top overseas news story of the year. It reported that Hallyu content captivated people who spent a lot of time at home this year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

As examples, it cited director Bong Joon-ho's film Parasite winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in the U.S. in February this year, and the drama Crash Landing on You gaining huge popularity on Netflix.

The Tokyo Shimbun also mentioned BTS topping the U.S. Billboard singles chart with "Dynamite," conquering the world.

It is considered unusual that the Tokyo Shimbun included entertainment-related items in the top 10 overseas news stories, which are mainly focused on political or social issues.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Other top 10 overseas news stories of the year selected by the newspaper include ▲the COVID-19 pandemic ▲Joe Biden elected as U.S. president ▲China's intensified crackdown on Hong Kong ▲Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the U.S. ▲Entry into force of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) ▲U.S.-China confrontation known as the new Cold War ▲Brexit (the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union) ▲Normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and four Arab countries ▲Australian bushfires and the plight of koalas.

Earlier, on the 28th, the Tokyo Shimbun attracted attention by publishing an editorial titled "The 4th Hallyu Boom, Wanting to Focus on Global Strategy," mentioning successful Hallyu content such as Parasite, Crash Landing on You, and K-POP, analyzing that the success background includes "a marketing strategy conscious of the world," and arguing that Japan needs to benchmark Korea.

On the same day, the Sankei Shimbun, a Japanese right-wing media outlet, mentioned Parasite winning four Academy Awards as one of the five major news stories missing from this year's top 10 overseas news.

Sankei reported, "At the Academy Awards announced in February this year, the Korean film Parasite, depicting wealth disparity, won four categories including Best Picture, International Feature Film, Screenplay, and Directing, the most awards. It is the first time in nearly 100 years of Academy Awards history that a non-English language film has won Best Picture."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.