Chinese Soft Power and Media Discussion and Updates
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AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
South Korea signed its soul away to the devil because it had to. South Korea and other Asian countries are nothing without the US. China will always be something without anyone. China's shadow eclipses them and they know it. K-pop culture only has value if you give it value. Like I've said many times in this thread, what does being liked (especially by the US) get you? Are they going to kill people for you? Are they willing to waste their lives for you in a war? Far from it so what does it get you? Maybe you can get rich. And China is the second most powerful country in the world and threating to take the No.1 position from the US despite all of them not liking China. And what does it say that the only way they can stand out is by others hating China more? So who's in a stronger position despite how all the things they want to make you believe supposedly makes them better, they still can't get away from living under China's shadow. That's why all these petty videos from other Asian countries are showing up on YouTube claiming how they're better than China... in Western eyes. If that was already the case, no need to feel insecure to have to point otherwise. The only reason they're doing that is they see things are not going their way.
This whole soft power bullshit is really only about China, I bet it was one of those things made up just because of China. So all others countries hiding behind soft power is really irrelevant. It's as irrelevant as when the West went through this whole thing about what makes a country a superpower. They were actually talking about China. Because up until then, China was the only country in the world that was challenging the West in all things that did not require force and violence to get it. "Challenging" meaning China was not doing it their way and succeeding at it. Like I've been saying in this forum, the only reason why the West wants the world to embrace their values is so they can have control. Doing everything their way gives them control. They become the ultimate judge in your life. And what is soft power? It's about getting people to think that being liked by the West is so important. That's not power to beg to be liked. That's the West gaining power. Who would've figured...?
The West is obsessed with China. China occupies space in their brains rent-free. The West has China derangement syndrome. And when China is suppose to be so worthless in their eyes...? They're obsessed with things they don't control because they have to be in control of it. And look at how countries like South Korea and Japan have everything that the West supposedly likes about them over China and yet still they're overshadowed by China. It reminds me of once when the West brought human rights in China so much that other countries like India were jealous of the attention China was getting. Think about it. The West putting so much emphasis on human rights violations in China while violations in other countries are being ignored... You have to think China is more important and others will get jealous. That's if you're naive enough to believe the West really cares and not just using it as an excuse to hate. And people do think that way because look at how India is angry where they think the West has invested so much money into China when India is a democracy and "shares" Western values. Why isn't the West investing more in India? And who are Indians blaming for it? Are they blaming Westerners who make those decision where they invest their money? No, they're blaming China.
The West is trying to confuse people that being liked and being controlled are the same things. Being liked is the bait to being controlled. Obama was one of the first to link innovation and political freedom as the same. Unless China has more freedom than the West lies about, that was wrong because Chinese innovation today is alarming the West. So do you think they were actually trying to give away the secrets to China on how to be innovative? It was trick to put China under their control no different from their version of what is soft power.
This whole soft power bullshit is really only about China, I bet it was one of those things made up just because of China. So all others countries hiding behind soft power is really irrelevant. It's as irrelevant as when the West went through this whole thing about what makes a country a superpower. They were actually talking about China. Because up until then, China was the only country in the world that was challenging the West in all things that did not require force and violence to get it. "Challenging" meaning China was not doing it their way and succeeding at it. Like I've been saying in this forum, the only reason why the West wants the world to embrace their values is so they can have control. Doing everything their way gives them control. They become the ultimate judge in your life. And what is soft power? It's about getting people to think that being liked by the West is so important. That's not power to beg to be liked. That's the West gaining power. Who would've figured...?
The West is obsessed with China. China occupies space in their brains rent-free. The West has China derangement syndrome. And when China is suppose to be so worthless in their eyes...? They're obsessed with things they don't control because they have to be in control of it. And look at how countries like South Korea and Japan have everything that the West supposedly likes about them over China and yet still they're overshadowed by China. It reminds me of once when the West brought human rights in China so much that other countries like India were jealous of the attention China was getting. Think about it. The West putting so much emphasis on human rights violations in China while violations in other countries are being ignored... You have to think China is more important and others will get jealous. That's if you're naive enough to believe the West really cares and not just using it as an excuse to hate. And people do think that way because look at how India is angry where they think the West has invested so much money into China when India is a democracy and "shares" Western values. Why isn't the West investing more in India? And who are Indians blaming for it? Are they blaming Westerners who make those decision where they invest their money? No, they're blaming China.
The West is trying to confuse people that being liked and being controlled are the same things. Being liked is the bait to being controlled. Obama was one of the first to link innovation and political freedom as the same. Unless China has more freedom than the West lies about, that was wrong because Chinese innovation today is alarming the West. So do you think they were actually trying to give away the secrets to China on how to be innovative? It was trick to put China under their control no different from their version of what is soft power.
It is only a matter of time . . . a boom in dubbing services for Chinese made games in Japan.
Behind the scenes with voice actors in a Tohokushinsha Film studio. (Tohokushinsha Film)
TAKURO SUZUKI
June 29, 2025 11:55 JST
TOKYO -- Sound production studios in Japan are enjoying a surge in demand for Japanese voiceovers used in Chinese-made video games.
Chinese video game boom lifts Japanese dubbing studios
Game designers choose their 'childhood idols' for voiceovers
Behind the scenes with voice actors in a Tohokushinsha Film studio. (Tohokushinsha Film)
TAKURO SUZUKI
June 29, 2025 11:55 JST
TOKYO -- Sound production studios in Japan are enjoying a surge in demand for Japanese voiceovers used in Chinese-made video games.
As I said in my post, South Korea despite its media exports in 2024 still lagged behind Vietnam and Malaysia in terms of attracting inbound tourism, China in that same year attracted 26 million overseas arrivals. Nerdoms making pilgrimages is just one aspect of tourism, but South Korea focuses excessively on that rather making the country attractive to all. This extends as well to Korea's overall soft power, which is why I say its overrated. Their media has created a global geekdom but they fail to make their country's society and government model attractive to non-geeks the same way that Japan has.
China has a decent media export scene now even if its not on the same level as Japan and South Korea's just yet. More importantly, China has done a much better job than SK making the country itself attractive and a model for others with tourism videos promoting China's excellent infrastructure, natural wonders like Zhangjiajie, and also taking a stand as being the leader of the global south. China is still a middle income country, it still has a lot of room to grow and I would say the signs are clear the soft power momentum is on its side.
You should probably look up some videos of what Shanghai looks like nowadays.
Gigguk/Trash Taste/Garnt is one of the biggest anime reviewers on YouTube, he visited Shanghai at the invitation of Bilibili, and was astounded at Chinese ACG culture and mainstream presence.
Catering to Western preferences and giving up their original ideas is only an appendage of other people's culture For those small countries that are used to being dominated, there is no psychological burden to do this, because it is not an independent culture
As a big country with its own profound culture, it's meaningless to deliberately cater to other people's preferences and change yourself. It's the stupidest choice to give up its independent cultural status and become a vassal of other people's culture
That's how thought colonization was promoted
The first step is to let you give up your original culture
The second step is to let you transform yourself into a standard that meets western preferences
The third step is to encourage you to get a sense of satisfaction, and then you will attack any culture that does not comply with the set of standards, commonly known as convert fanaticism
So it's a good explanation for the dilemma of Chinese cultural promotion at present. There's no control over the mainstream media. It's a very long process to rely on the charm of culture to attract others, and there's no material reward for those who are attracted in this process
manqiangrexue
Brigadier
They are like America. When everything is smooth, they appear pretty cool, but when the going gets tough, they fall apart. Right now South Korea is not in an enviable place. It is laden with overwork culture, left vs right, male vs female hatred and the lowest fertility rate in the world. There is also no hope or direction for the country. What are they fighting for? Koreans are generally a hard-working, high achieving people, but there just too few of them with too few resources to achieve stand-alone greatness so they are standing "tall" on a house of economic and foundational science cards they earned by kneeling to America. It's where China would be under the KMT, but you will never become number 1 that way.
The answer you received is very correct (but it is only one part; I will touch on the other aspects below). As a rival to America and the West, China is often demonized so that Americans default to a negative stigma and do not truly explore the contents of Chinese media. They think it's nothing but communist brainwash. But this can only hold for so long as Western power eclipses Chinese power. When that is not true, as we see now, Chinese light starts to shine through the edges and cracks as Chinese pop culture gains popularity worldwide.
Look at North Korea and look at Detroit; which is the prison? LOL
Because Hong Kong, just like South Korea, bows to Western power rather than confronting it. You see a pattern here?
It is starting to do so but will explode once the US is displaced and no longer able to control media to suppress the growth of Chinese culture worldwide.
Nahhh, I'm sorry but it's your inability to think that we don't like about you.
We did. Sign a deal with the devil and the immediate rewards will come but your future is gone. Not that South Korea had any ability to compete with the US; this is China's deal that we turned down. South Korea's deal is to be a helpless lapdog to the US in order to be viewed as harmless, and that drops people's guard, allowing them to be liked. It's just like Japan. Do you think Japanese culture was popular and seem positively in the US during WWII or before? No; it all blew up once Japan bent both knees and it was no longer a threat, allowing it to be harmless and thus likeable.
So I will touch upon the other aspects that have kept Chinese media culture consumption much mlower than Korean media culture consumption worldwide.
Another factor is relatibility. Korea's struggles are fairly normal for what developed countries face, but China's struggles are not relatable to these countries. China's struggles are about how to develop from a poor backwards country into a challenger to the world throne on your own talent under suppression from the lone superpower. Westerners and other countries on their knees don't relate to this; they are told that it is a struggle of evil to break international law and order. When they see the enemy in Chinese films defeated, they watch with the bitterness that that enemy is them! So how can they enjoy Chinese media?
Finally, I can also say that China is an extremely STEM-focused society because the mantra of the nation is the become strong with technology so as to never suffer unfairness again. So Chinese culture has it that the best talents are all invested in STEM; it's a sign of stupidity in China, particularly in the older days, to not study STEM. Only those who are not so smart take up artistic majors. South Korea, on the other hand, has a much more artistic culture, delegating a huge portion of its talent to performance arts. Culturally, being an actor/actress is seen as the holy grail in Korea similar to how Chinese people see a top engineer/scientist. As China becomes more modern and the threat of technological backwardness is defeated, China is becoming more artistic, and thus we see a corresponding rise in Chinese dramas/games/shows worldwide, but it is in its infancy compared to South Korea.
That's in technology, not so much culture.
Your question is not whether all countries are the same; your question is why Chinese media is not as popular as Korean so the answer is given to you. The world is filled with talentless schmucks not worth the hairs off a rat's ass but China and Korea are not among those countries.
Not on their own. They obediently stood on the fundamentals given to them, and given they are very smart people compared to the world average, but not to China, it's a recipe for being a well-fed fat and happy lapdog. But the ceiling to their development is their master. America's not just not stopping them; America rewards them for their obedience and those are big rewards considering how small South Korea is.
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Речь идет не о том, чтобы кому-то угодить, а о том, чтобы сделать свою культуру привлекательной, тем самым повысив свой престиж и увеличив туризм в вашей стране. Если бы Китаю не нужна была вся эта мягкая сила, он бы не вкладывал столько денег в продвижение своей культуры за пределами Китая. Но Китаю нужна, поэтому ему это нужно. Но Китай в этом отношении все еще слаб; ему не хватает опыта и квалифицированных кадров, а цензура все убивает. И репутация Китая не самая лучшая не только из-за вмешательства США, но и из-за действий самих китайцев. Это создает соответствующее отношение к Китаю, и мягкая сила перестает работать. Как человек, путешествующий по Юго-Восточной Азии, я лично ощутил различия между Китаем, Кореей и Японией, и в культурном отношении поездка была не в пользу Китая.
How much money has China spent on promoting its culture to foreigners? I’m not very knowledgeable, I remember they have been granting some visa free travel recently.
China spends very little on promotion. Indians and Westerners like to pretend that China spends lots and lots on "propaganda" and prestige projects like "ghost cities" and "roads to nowhere."
If that were true then China would not end up with more industrial capacity than the G7 combined. China spends its resources on hard power to the point of "overcapacity."
That said, the "soft power" of China is progressing pretty for what it's worth. Chinese apps like Tik Tok and XHS blow anything Korean out of the water. The same with games and animation. CDramas are edging close to Korean dramas in Asia.
KPOP, which is effeminate and gives no cultural flavor to anything Eastern -- unlike Chinese pop -- is the one clear advantage of Korea. I appreciate its hold on Western teenage girls but it also has a reputation as "gay" and "degenerate" with guys in makeup so I don't how much of helpful influence it really has: