No Beta 01: “Beta Vibes”?

Week of 8th January

Hi there. Welcome to the first issue of No Beta, a bi-weekly digest of what’s trending in Chinese entertainment. As a paid subscriber, you will be able to skim through this quick breakdown of Weibo’s Entertainment hot searches to see, very simply, what are Chinese fans talking about as of this moment.

Let’s get started, shall we?

#8 金在中喊话Super Junior上节目

Jin Zaizhong telling Super Junior to go on a reality show

An example of the increasing (re)apperancse of South Korean idols (like Jin Zaizhong or Kim Jae Joong) and groups (like Super Junior) in Chinese entertainment coverage. Like I mentioned before, the aftermath of THAAD and the anti-SK sentiments seems to have waned and K-Pop is regaining traction. The main account that engineered this hot search, Sohu Korea Entertainment (搜狐韩娱) has not crossed my radar for quite a long time, I believe. 

#13 吴京式男人

The Wu Jing type of guys

Lead actor of the Wolf Warrior series, Wu Jing is trending today for his toxic masculinity (again). His emotional instability and potential manipulation/abuse of his wife, Xie Nan, has been an ongoing issue of debate for the past few years, the latter repeatedly defending his behaviour despite popular opinions.