The coolness factor of the Chinese culture from the perspective of the west totally depends on the geopolitical trends. It wasn't too long ago when Chinese mainland movies were being pumped into the west, especially the Zhang Yimous projects, and even Taiwanese Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon which made a star out of Zhang Ziyi in Hollywood. Folks like Michelle Yeoh, Chow-Yun fat, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, even Sammo Hung (had an American major series on CBS) followed with Donnie Yen, and Daniel Wu with his American series called the badlands.
I have yet to see any Korean actors doing their own thing, meaning carrying a movie where they're the main attraction and not just an extra in an American movie.
So this notion that Chinese culture or Chinese actors aren't "cool" is pure nonsense.
In the eyes of a rabid west, you are only cool if you serve the said rabid west.
Since China isn't a dog geopolitically to anybody, unlike Wa, they can't be "cool" in AssmeriKKKa's eyes