Cross-cultural Communication of East Asian Pop Culture in the Context of Algorithmic Media

Abstract

 With the development of digital platforms in recent years, the general form of cross-border cultural exchange has changed. Systematically explore the complex cross-cultural communication of East Asian popular culture in the current era of algorithmic media. In the era of traditional broadcasting, content distribution was controlled by a few central human gatekeepers; now, under the system of cultural globalisation, data-driven, opaque algorithms are responsible for this distribution. Based on the above large-scale data analysis, the algorithms are now developing highly personalised but globally consistent cultural consumption models. This paper will examine how East Asian cultural products, such as Korean popular music, digital webtoons and cross-border dramas from Asia, are using algorithm-based recommendation systems to bypass historical geopolitical barriers and enter Western-dominated media markets vigorously. In addition, the study explores in detail the profound dual nature of algorithmic culture: while it greatly enhances the scope of cross-border dissemination and cultural hybridization, it has also introduced rigid structural restrictions and frequently favours highly sensationalised or heavily commercialised aesthetic models. Ultimately, this study believes that to comprehensively explore the future development, vast soft power potential, and inherent structural deficiencies of East Asian pop culture in an intensely digitalised world, we must first understand the absolute structural dominance of the algorithm.