Cultural Soft Power Shift: Japan and South Korea Surpass US in Global Pop Culture Influence (faz.net)

• US cultural dominance of the 1990s (MTV, 'Friends') has been supplanted by Japanese and South Korean pop culture globally.
• Japanese literature and K-pop/BTS/Popular Netflix shows drive a new cultural wave in Europe and beyond.
• Russian classics remain widely read, but are viewed as a soft power tool for imperial ambitions, per historian Karl Schlögel.

"The article by literary agent Katharina Volckmer describes the decline of US cultural soft power and the rise of Japan and South Korea as global pop culture leaders. While the 1990s were dominated by US icons like MTV, 'Friends,' and Britney Spears, today's youth prefer Japanese anime, manga, 'healing fiction,' and South Korean K-pop, Netflix hits like 'Squid Game,' and cuisine. Russian literary classics (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky) retain influence despite the war in Ukraine, with historian Karl Schlögel warning they are weaponized as part of the 'Russkij Mir' ideology. Volckmer calls for a diverse cultural discourse in Europe to avoid single-nation dominance."