Can Chinese Entertainment Finally Overtake the Korean Wave?
SOUTHEAST ASIA — For years, the Korean Wave has dominated Southeast Asia.
K-pop stars fill arenas. Korean dramas dominate streaming conversations. Korean food, beauty products and fashion have become part of everyday pop culture from Manila and Bangkok to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
But a new challenger is gaining momentum.
Chinese entertainment is expanding rapidly across Southeast Asia, powered by blockbuster C-dramas, popular historical and fantasy series, online games, animation and the aggressive overseas expansion of Chinese streaming platforms.
The question is no longer whether Chinese entertainment can attract an audience.
It already has one.
The bigger question is whether that momentum can grow strong enough to challenge — or eventually surpass — the Korean Wave.
C-dramas are no longer just a niche alternative
Chinese dramas have become increasingly visible across Southeast Asia, particularly in markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines.
A 2025 analysis by Channel NewsAsia, citing Media Partners Asia data, reported that C-dramas accounted for as much as 20 percent of streaming viewership across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in 2023. Thai audiences alone represented half of that viewership, according to the report.
Chinese dramas have found particular success with historical epics, fantasy stories, romance and visually ambitious productions.
For some viewers, Chinese storytelling also carries a sense of cultural familiarity. Shared traditions, historical connections and Chinese diaspora communities across Southeast Asia can give Chinese content an advantage in certain markets.
Recent reports have pointed to growing enthusiasm for Chinese costume dramas in Thailand and elsewhere in the region, showing that Chinese pop culture is increasingly moving beyond a small overseas-Chinese audience.
China has a powerful weapon: its own streaming ecosystem
One of China’s biggest advantages is that it is not relying entirely on foreign platforms to export its entertainment.
Chinese companies have built their own international streaming networks.
iQIYI and WeTV have expanded aggressively across Asia, distributing Chinese dramas while also investing in localized productions and partnerships.
Academic research on the international distribution of Chinese and Korean television content found that Southeast Asia has become a major target for Chinese streaming companies. The study highlighted WeTV’s expansion into Thailand, iQIYI’s regional collaborations and efforts to combine content distribution with local productions.
That matters because entertainment dominance is not just about creating a hit.
It is also about owning the platform that delivers the hit.
If Chinese companies can continue building direct relationships with Southeast Asian audiences, they could reduce their dependence on Western streaming platforms and create a more self-sustaining entertainment ecosystem.
But the Korean Wave still has a massive lead
China’s rise should not be mistaken for Korea’s decline.
The latest available South Korean government-backed survey shows that the Korean Wave remains exceptionally strong, particularly in Southeast Asia.
The 2026 Overseas Hallyu Survey, based on data collected in 2025, found positive perceptions of Korean cultural content at 87 percent in the Philippines, 82.7 percent in Indonesia and 79.4 percent in Thailand. Overall global favorability stood at 69.7 percent.
K-pop also remains the Korean Wave’s strongest global media driver.
A 2026 government report found that K-pop accounted for the largest share of international media attention related to Hallyu across major world regions.
That reveals one of Korea’s biggest advantages over China.
The Korean Wave is not built around one entertainment category.
It combines:
- K-pop
- K-dramas
- Films
- Beauty
- Food
- Fashion
- Gaming
- Tourism
- Fan communities and live events
Korea has turned entertainment into a broader lifestyle ecosystem.
China is growing rapidly, but it still faces the challenge of creating the same level of internationally organized fandom and cross-industry cultural influence.
Is the Korean Wave starting to lose momentum?
There are signs that the competition could become more serious.
While Hallyu remains powerful, recent reporting on the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange’s findings suggests that the Korean Wave has shown signs of losing momentum in some major Southeast Asian markets, including Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the Korean Wave’s overall favorability has remained around the 70 percent level for several years, prompting discussion about whether Korea needs new cultural engines to maintain its long-term growth.
This does not mean K-pop and K-dramas are disappearing.
Far from it.
But it may mean Southeast Asian audiences are becoming more willing to explore alternatives.
And Chinese entertainment is increasingly ready to provide one.
China’s biggest opportunity may be cultural proximity
China’s strongest advantage in Southeast Asia may not be trying to copy Korea’s entertainment model.
It may be offering something Korea cannot.
Chinese historical dramas, martial arts stories, fantasy worlds and traditional aesthetics draw from thousands of years of history and an enormous library of existing intellectual property.
For audiences interested in stories about dynasties, mythology, fantasy cultivation and traditional Asian culture, Chinese productions can offer a scale and depth that is difficult to replicate.
The growing popularity of C-dramas such as Love Between Fairy and Devil and other major streaming hits demonstrates the international potential of these genres. Research has also identified Southeast Asia as one of the key regions targeted by Chinese streaming platforms because of cultural proximity and strong potential for localized partnerships.
The real weakness China still needs to overcome
However, popularity does not automatically equal cultural dominance.
Chinese entertainment still faces several challenges abroad.
Unlike K-pop, which has spent decades building global fan clubs, concerts, merchandise networks and highly organized online communities, Chinese entertainment’s international ecosystem remains less unified.
Chinese platforms also operate within a heavily regulated domestic media environment, which can affect production trends, celebrity culture and the international availability of content.
And while C-dramas are becoming more popular, Chinese music has yet to create a Southeast Asian equivalent of K-pop’s massive, coordinated international fandom.
That difference is crucial.
A drama can become popular. A fandom can become an industry.
Korea has spent years mastering the second part.
Southeast Asia may not choose only one winner
The future may not actually be a battle in which Chinese entertainment completely replaces Korean entertainment.
Southeast Asian audiences are increasingly consuming content from multiple countries.
A viewer in Manila might watch a Korean drama on one platform, binge a Chinese historical romance on another, follow a Thai actor on social media and listen to K-pop throughout the day.
That changing media environment could benefit China without requiring Korea to lose.
But the balance of power could shift.
If Chinese entertainment continues improving international marketing, localizing content, investing in Southeast Asian productions and developing stronger global fan communities, the gap could narrow significantly.
Can China surpass Korea?
Yes — but not yet.
China has the population, production capacity, investment power, streaming infrastructure and cultural resources to become an even bigger entertainment force in Southeast Asia.
C-dramas are already proving that audiences are willing to look beyond the Korean Wave.
But surpassing Hallyu across the entire region would require more than producing hit television series.
China would need to build the kind of international ecosystem Korea has developed around music, celebrities, fashion, tourism and fandom.
For now, the Korean Wave remains the stronger overall cultural force.
But Chinese entertainment is no longer standing outside the competition.
The C-drama boom is growing, Chinese platforms are expanding and Southeast Asian audiences are becoming more open to new cultural giants.
The Korean Wave still wears the crown.
But for the first time, the question is becoming harder to ignore: how long can it keep it?
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