This ready reference is a comprehensive guide to pop culture in Asia and Oceania, including topics such as top Korean singers, Thailand’s sports heroes, and Japanese fashion.

This entertaining introduction to Asian pop culture covers the global superstars, music idols, blockbuster films, and current trends-from the eclectic to the underground-of East Asia and South Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan, as well as Oceania. The rich content features an exploration of the politics and personalities of Bollywood, a look at how baseball became a huge phenomenon in Taiwan and Japan, the ways in which censorship affects social media use in these regions, and the influence of the United States on the movies, music, and Internet in Asia.

Topics include contemporary literature, movies, television and radio, the Internet, sports, video games, and fashion. Brief overviews of each topic precede entries featuring key musicians, songs, published works, actors and actresses, popular websites, top athletes, video games, and clothing fads and designers. The book also contains top-ten lists, a chronology of pop culture events, and a bibliography. Sidebars throughout the text provide additional anecdotal information.

Supports the National Geography Standards by examining cultural mosaics and the globalization of cultural change

Connects popular culture to many disciplines, including anthropology, history, literature, film studies, political science, and sociology

Allows for cross-cultural comparisons between pop culture in the United States and Asia

Focuses on East Asia and South Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan, among other countries

Features a detailed introduction with important contextual information about pop culture in Asia and an extensive chronology