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Open research questions in Asian Culture and Media Studies

137 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 2,388 Asian Culture and Media Studies papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • There is a lack of understanding of how social meaning is formed through interactions between fans on social media. The study seeks to address this gap by analyzing the forms of interaction and communication strategies developed by the Instagram fanbase account @haechanoonaa.

    Interaction and Support from Haechan NCT Fans Through the Fanbase Instagram Account @Haechanoonaa · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the impact of AI on the film industry in other national contexts. Further studies could investigate the role of cultural specificity in the adoption of AI in the film industry.

    “Cultural Specificity In The Age Of AI-Driven Cinema Industries: A Comparison Between Korean And French Landscapes” · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of how national context shapes the adoption of AI in the film industry. The study highlights the need for a comparative analysis of the reception and integration of AI in different film industries.

    “Cultural Specificity In The Age Of AI-Driven Cinema Industries: A Comparison Between Korean And French Landscapes” · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could examine the long-term effects of the government's policy on the industry's innovation. Future research could analyze the impact of similar policies in other countries. Future research could explore the industry's continued development and growth.

    Innovation by Constraint: The Unintended Effects of Korean Videogame Governance · 2026 · DOI

  • The unintended effects of the Korean government's game policy on the industry's innovation have not been fully explored. The dualistic nature of the government's policy and its impact on the industry's development have not been fully analyzed.

    Innovation by Constraint: The Unintended Effects of Korean Videogame Governance · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research can be done to examine the impact of the Korean Wave on Latin American culture. Further research can be done to analyze the factors that contribute to the popularity of the Korean Wave in Latin America.

    Tendencias y características de la ola coreana en América Latina a través del desarrollo de un índice de la ola Coreana · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on the Korean Wave in Latin America. The paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing the trends and characteristics of the phenomenon.

    Tendencias y características de la ola coreana en América Latina a través del desarrollo de un índice de la ola Coreana · 2026 · DOI

  • The study has a notable limitation, as the present findings should be interpreted as primarily applicable to healthy young adult males. The sample size was limited to 20 male participants.

    A study on brain waves with electroencephalogram through the appreciation of virtual reality K-pop: a revised analysis with multiple comparison corrections · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of studies on the effects of VR K-pop music videos on brain waves. The success of K-pop in the international music market has a short history, and there are not many singers and groups that have achieved such success.

    A study on brain waves with electroencephalogram through the appreciation of virtual reality K-pop: a revised analysis with multiple comparison corrections · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding the dynamics of consumer behavior among K-pop fans in Indonesia. The study aims to address the question of what motivates consumers to purchase physical albums despite digital streaming platforms.

    Determinants of Purchase Decisions for Physical K-pop Albums: Evidence from Starship Entertainment Consumers in Indonesia · 2026 · DOI

  • The mechanisms by which digital activism spreads across cultural boundaries remain unclear. Prior research has not adequately addressed the role of belief alignment in digital activism.

    Belief Alignment vs Opinion Leadership: Understanding Cross-linguistic Digital Activism in K-pop and BLM Communities · 2026 · DOI

  • The discourses surrounding childbirth and parenthood on social media are not well understood - Few analyses of popular online discourse surrounding childbirth and parenthood exist

    Unpacking Discourses on Childbirth and Parenthood in Popular Social Media Platforms Across China, Japan, and South Korea · 2026 · DOI

  • This study has several limitations, mainly related to the use of social media data. The data is drawn from users who ac- tively post comments, which may not accurately represent the broader user base or the general population (Inara Rodis 2021). Those who express their views online may tend to have more liberal, individualistic attitudes, potentially skew- ing our conclusions toward a more pessimistic view of repro- duction. Therefore, the findings reflect only the content pub- licly discussed on these platforms and should not be gener- alized to the overall population in these countries. However, we still consider this analysis important as the information left by potentially highly selective user groups remains to be consumed by all users on social media platforms and can have a great impact on the general public who spend increas- ingly more time online. Additionally, we lack information about the commenters’ personal details, such as their gen- der and age, apart from their provincial-level geolocation in China. This limits our ability to analyze how gender and age dynamics influence the discourse. However, according to the TikTok business report, we know that the majority of users are young and of prime childbearing age. The second limi- tation is that the IP geolocation data on Douyin is limited to the provincial level within China. Considering the huge pop- ulation size of each province, subtle regional differences that play a role in shaping public discourse might be overlooked. Finally, while the use of LLMs offers more nuanced labels with the complex sentiments embedded in these discussions, LLMs are known to produce different results each time they perform the task, which can hinder replication. Notably, the same issue exists for human annotators, and the performance stability of the LLM, in terms of accuracy level, is good in our case. Nevertheless, although LLM accuracy is high and comparable across the three languages, residual language- specific bias cannot be entirely excluded. CONCLUSIONS Online discussions about childbirth and parenthood focus on childrearing costs, the utility of children, and tensions between individualistic values and traditional family and gender norms. Notable country differences emerge, with comments from China reflecting the highest levels of anti- natalism and significant concerns about income and child- rearing costs. Views in Japan and South Korea are more bal- anced. Additionally, sentiment in comments is influenced by various short video characteristics, with its stance pos- ing the strongest impact. Comments from areas with higher economic development and gender equality also show more neutral or pro-natalist sentiments. These insights offer an important contribution to the field of social media analysis, particularly in understanding the formulation and spread- ing of views towards childbirth and parenthood on an algorithmic-led video sharing platform. ETHICAL STATEMENT Data is from publicly avail- able platforms. We removed user names and stored the link to short videos separately. Regarding the provincial-level geo-location information for Chinese comments, given that even the smallest province has at least one million peo- ple, it is unlikely that the universal disclosure of users’ IP geo-location will enable the identification users. All data re- mained anonymous with a 10% random sample published in our repository with three variables–comments, topic label, and sentiment label. This project is approved by our Institu- tional Review Board (IRB XXXX).

    Unpacking Discourses on Childbirth and Parenthood in Popular Social Media Platforms Across China, Japan, and South Korea · 2026 · DOI

  • Further analysis of the effectiveness of a Settlement City Bureau in retaining global nomads and departed young. Examination of other cities' approaches to addressing similar issues.

    Who Can Busan Keep? · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a reliable and trustworthy environment for nomads in Busan. The insufficient response of the city's reliance on temples and a public enterprise.

    Who Can Busan Keep? · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in scholarly research on the holistic examination of the impact of lifestyle, Korean Wave exposure, and brand image on merchandise purchase decisions at Korean-themed cafes. The study notes that prior research has not fully explored the combined effects of these variables on merchandise buying behavior.

    The Influence of Lifestyle, Korean Wave, and Brand Image on Merchandise Purchase Decisions at Kwangya Café (Case Study: Lotte Shopping Avenue, South Jakarta)” · 2026 · DOI

  • Additionally, facilitating strategic partnerships between Korean brands and local businesses through business incentive policies would broaden Indonesia's popular culture- based creative industry ecosystem and create opportunities for domestic products to compete in the fast-growing merchandise market Research Limitations In order to inform future research, it is important to recognize the limitations of this study.

    The Influence of Lifestyle, Korean Wave, and Brand Image on Merchandise Purchase Decisions at Kwangya Café (Case Study: Lotte Shopping Avenue, South Jakarta)” · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of how emotional meaning is constructed through the interaction between hip-hop music and youth listening experiences. Prior studies have focused on the effects of music listening on emotional regulation, but have not examined the meaning-construction process.

    The Role of Hip-Hop Music in the Formation of Emotional Experiences among Chinese Korean Youth in South Korea — Based on Music Texts and Listening Experiences · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the application of musicolinguistics to other media contexts, such as film or video games. Future research could also examine the role of music and language in shaping the audience's perception of other social identities, such as race or class.

    “We’re not a team. This is a competition.”: the musicolinguistic construction of Korean American femininity in a Korean reality television show · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the literature on music and language, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive understanding of their interaction in media contexts. The paper notes that prior work on music and language has focused primarily on their separate roles in media, rather than their interaction.

    “We’re not a team. This is a competition.”: the musicolinguistic construction of Korean American femininity in a Korean reality television show · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in understanding the relationship between fans and disability theory - The study highlights the need to explore fans' personal readings of a source text

    ChronicallyIll!Shen Yuan, fanon, and disability · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need to understand algorithmic measures and dynamics in ethical storytelling. The study notes the importance of cooperation between creators and journalists in tourism-related communication. The study identifies challenges such as content homogenisation, financial sustainability, and measurement of impact.

    Emotional storytelling and destination branding through short video journalism: a qualitative study of Gansu, China · 2026 · DOI

  • The study suggests that future research should investigate the impact of short video journalism on destination branding. The study recommends that future research should explore the role of emotions in destination branding. The study highlights the need for further research on the challenges and limitations of using short video journalism in tourism management.

    Emotional storytelling and destination branding through short video journalism: a qualitative study of Gansu, China · 2026 · DOI

  • The BJQFF faces challenges related to repression and regulatory uncertainty. The festival must navigate a context of ambiguity and uncertainty. The BJQFF must balance the need for visibility with the need for safety and security.

    Queer Festival Troubles: What the Beijing Queer Film Festival Reveals about Queer Subjectivity in Contemporary China · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on the use of guerilla tactics and adaptive organising strategies by queer film festivals. There is a need for more analysis of the implications of these approaches for queer subjectivity.

    Queer Festival Troubles: What the Beijing Queer Film Festival Reveals about Queer Subjectivity in Contemporary China · 2026 · DOI

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137 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 2,388 Asian Culture and Media Studies papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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