Asia's cultural industries aren't emerging anymore. They're dominant.

A Korean boy band moves stock markets. A 23-year-old Thai actress generates more media value for a Paris house than Kylie Jenner. A 22-year-old idol is worth more to Dior than a Hollywood A-lister.

Soft Power Asia decodes how it actually works: K-pop touring economics, the ROI of idol ambassadorships, the global rise of anime and manga, how Gentle Monster turned retail into performance art – and what happens when a country's beauty industry becomes an engine of economic statecraft.

Each episode: one story, 30–40 minutes. Business analysis for people who take culture seriously – and cultural context for people who take business seriously.

Siems Luckwaldt

I've spent 25 years covering luxury markets for publications like Capital, How To Spend It, Robb Report, L'Officiel Hommes and Lufthansa Magazine. As Lifestyle Director at Capital, I write about watches, fashion, beauty, design, and travel.

I've watched European heritage brands scramble to understand markets they long ignored – and Asian companies build global empires while Frankfurt and London weren't paying attention.

With Soft Power Asia, I apply the same rigour and curiosity to the phenomena reshaping global culture from Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Beijing – all the way to Berlin, London, or New York City.