[Nikkei] Thailand Flexes Korean Wave-like Power with Boys’ Love Dramas

… Looking at the IMDb rankings of Thai works released in 2024 and through late January, more than 60% of the top 50 films had LGBT themes (IMDb evaluates films from around the world). As a genre, BL in Thailand is beginning to surpass the showbiz mainstays of horror and comedy.

“The Thai creative industry is using South Korea as a model, intent on sending its content out to the world,” said Jessada Salathong, assistant professor at the Faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University. “The roots of Thai culture are a hybrid of Buddhism and various traditions, and it is richly diverse, even within Asia. In particular, there is a high degree of freedom regarding gender.” …

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