The rise of the Internet in Asia is changing what the world searches for. While you can find more information about our annual Zeitgeist for the world on our main site, we thought we’d provide an overview of some of the regional trends that emerged from Asia’s trending searches, as well as English-friendly summaries of some of the less-known terms that trended this year.
1: Asia searches for Asia’s technology
Back in 2010, Japan’s searches related to a lot of Japanese-only websites, such as social network mixi, which you could only use if you read Japanese and had a Japanese phone. That preference for Internet tools from one’s own country was typical across the region. But then consumers demanded something new. In 2011 and 2012, we saw smart mobile devices like the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S4 make the top 10 trending searches of nearly every Asian country. Apple’s announcement of its new phones and mobile OS saw search spikes that dwarfed the ones driven by previous announcements.
The rise of Asian chat apps
Now in 2013, we can see the consequences of Asia moving onto a unified mobile Internet. Asian technology is being exported across Asia: made-in-Japan Line appears on most-searched lists in Taiwan and Indonesia; made-in-China WeChat appeared in Malaysia. The Japanese games Puzzle & Dragons and Chain Chronicle spiked in popularity in Hong Kong. 360 camera, a Chinese made app, spiked in the Philippines. The Korean-made Modoo Marble was a hit in Indonesia. Asia is using the Internet to import and export Asian technology like never before.
2: From disasters to data
From earthquakes to typhoons, Asia has more people affected by natural disasters than any other region. This was a particularly hard year in terms of natural disasters, but the data reveals that for more people than ever before, the first resource they reach for is the Internet. Typhoon Haiyan generated five times the search traffic in the Philippines than Bopha did just a year before. Hong Kong braced for Usagi. Bird flu flare-ups led to spikes for H7N9 searches in Hong Kong. Singaporeans searched for air quality data as a haze from burning forests smothered the island.
Searches for typhoon in 2013
3: Serious politics
North Korea was the only Asian country to make it to the global trending list, but politics within Asia has become an Internet phenomenon as much as chat apps. The elections in Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines all demonstrate that. While Internet penetration hasn’t changed much in Japan, Shinzo Abe generated about 30% more searches in this year’s election than he did when he first became prime minister in 2006. Of course, this was the first year that Japan loosened restrictions on how politicians could use social media to campaign. Malaysia also saw its first electoral debate broadcast online for the first time—Singaporeans were also very interested in the neighbor’s election results. Meanwhile, connected Filipino voters took to the Internet to check for candidate and polling station information.
4. Pop culture: Gwiyomi and Attack on Titan
Following Gangnam Style’s global success last year, the genre of K-Pop as a whole continued its momentum across the region. Gwiyomi, the Korean song featuring cutesy hand-gestures, became a viral video meme as everyone from Thai actresses to Chinese pop stars uploaded their own versions online. The phenomenon spiked in Singapore and Malaysia. Meanwhile, Japanese anime series “Attack on Titan” was such a hit on TV across Asia that globally it trends higher than “Mad Men” or “Homeland” combined. Also from Japan, hit TV show “Hanzawa Naoki”, the tale of a charismatic banker exacting revenge on his duplicitous superiors, captivated audiences in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
"Attack on Titan" compared to searches for U.S. series around the world
KOREA
The year after Gangnam-style, PSY made a second entrance into Korea's most-searched terms with "Gentleman." Korea's big TV dramas also vied with a political sex scandal that could itself have been a plot for a K-Drama.
Korea was one of four Asian countries to make the anime TV series “Attack on Titan” a trending search term.
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“Gentleman,” PSY’s follow up to “Gangnam Style,” got over 600 million views around the world
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Koreans tracked Hyun-jin Ryu’s sparkling opening season in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers
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The TV drama “Master’s Sun” tracked the complications that arise as a woman who can see ghosts discovers her visions depart whenever she touches the head of Korean chaebol. Koreans searched for the multiple complications that ensued.
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Actor Park Shi-Woo was accused of rape. In May, all charges against him were dropped.
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Yoon Chang-jung resigned as spokesperson for the Blue House after a sex scandal.
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Korean film makers adapted a French graphic novel to create the sci-fi hit “Snow Piercer.”
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It was big in 2012. “Gangnam Style” was also big in 2013.
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Actress Clara’s first pitch at a baseball game went viral.
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Crayon Pop followed PSY in showing that kooky can be as popular as sultry when it comes to K-pop.
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JAPAN
More Japanese smartphone owners use their device while watching TV than any other country; which perhaps explains why so many TV shows trended online this year.
台風
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The strongest typhoon in a decade hit Tokyo, followed by other severe storms.
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パズドラ
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The game Puzzles and Dragons transformed GungHo into a billion-dollar company in 2013
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あまちゃん
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“Amachan,” a TV show
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半沢 直樹
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The Japanese TV series “Hanzawa Naoki” chronicled the charismatic lead’s rise through the upper ranks of a bank.
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iphone 5s
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iPhone 5s
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進撃の巨人
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The anime blockbuster Attack on Titan brought a highly successful Manga to the small screen of TV
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wbc
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Japan was beaten by Puerto Rico in the third quadrennial World Baseball Classic but the tournament remains a major sporting moment in the Japanese sports fan’s calendar, much more so than in any other baseball-playing country.
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艦これ
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The Kantai Collection, abbreviated as KanColle, is a social game played via virtual playing cards. Ships from World War II are represented by women in naval uniform who battle each other.
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ラストシンデレラ
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Last Cinderella
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風立ちぬ
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Miyazaki’s latest movie “The Wind Rises” had a strong pacifist theme
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HONG KONG
Those who say Japan’s cultural influence in Asia has waned need to reckon with the four terms in Hong Kong’s list that come from Japan.
Puzzle & Dragons
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The Japanese app hit big in Hong Kong as well
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iPhone 5s
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The top of three smartphone-related search terms in the list
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陳僖儀
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Cantopop singer Sita Chan died in a car accident
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Chain Chronicle
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A SEGA game got a successful rebirth on Hong Kong’s smartphones
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進擊的巨人 (Attack on Titan)
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Attack on Titan
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半澤直樹
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Is it any surprise that the finance-centric Hong Kong loved “Hanzawa Naoki”’s tale of a rising banker?
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孤星淚
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Les Misérables movie
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藍可兒
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The mysterious death of Canadian tourist Elisa Lam in an LA hotel’s water tank drove Hong Kongers’ curiosity
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Galaxy S4
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Samsung’s big launch of the year drove a lot of searches in Hong Kong…
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iOS 7
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...as did Apple’s new mobile OS.
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TAIWAN
The big TV sporting and drama events dominated the list, although a military scandal and the weather also vied for people’s attention.
2013棒球經典賽
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Taiwan hosted some of the games of the 2013 World Baseball Classic tournament
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蘭陵王
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A big-budget TV drama set in ancient China
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幻想神域Online
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Taiwanese online role-playing game “Fantasy Frontier” was a huge hit and is being released in English as Aura Kingdom
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進擊的巨人
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As in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, “Attack on Titan” hit big in Taiwan
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威力彩
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Taiwan’s lottery
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洪仲丘
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The death of Hong Chong-chyou raised questions as to the acceptable level of abuse in the army
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Line
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The Line chat app was massively popular this year.
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天氣
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Searches for weather were high in a year marked by strong typhoons
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拓也哥
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A Japanese presenter known for being extremely flamboyant, dispensed some sensational sex advice on Taiwan’s most popular talk show.
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黃色小鴨
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The yellow duck, having left Hong Kong, found a home in Taiwan
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INDIA
Cricket and Bollywood are the dependable mainstays of India’s Internet. But the appearance of GATE 2013 reflects the near-constant burst of search terms related to examinations and their results at all academic levels as the Indian year goes by.
Chennai Express
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The top-searched Bollywood movie of the year
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ipl 2013
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This year, searches cricket’s Indian Premier League have almost risen to the levels of searches for the Superbowl
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Aashiqui 2
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Romance comedy
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Uidai
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India’s new ID system led to a flurry of searches as people figured out how to manage the new system
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gate 2014
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People research times and venues for the make-or-break General Aptitude Test of Engineering next year.
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Krrish 3
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Sci Fi movie
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Bigg Boss 7
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The Indian version of Big Brother remains popular in its seventh showing
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Jiah Khan
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The death of the Bollywood actress stayed in the headlines as her family called for it investigated as murder
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Grand Masti
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The sex comedy sequel’s audience was far greater than its reviews.
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SINGAPORE
The haze that blew over from Indonesia showed up twice in Singapore’s list, as did online viral dance routines in the form of the Harlem Shake and Gwiyomi.
PSI Singapore
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The haze had people searching for the official measure of pollution.
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Harlem shake
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The viral dance craze had a burst of popularity in Singapore
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Boston
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The Boston bombing was searched for in Singapore
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Little India riot
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Singapore experienced its first large riot since the 1960s
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Anonymous
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The hacker collective declared its opposition to Singapore’s Internet laws by defacing government Web sites.
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N95 mask
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The haze led to a shortage of the masks capable of filtering out the haze particles
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Malaysia election
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Singaporeans took a keen interest in the elections north of their border
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Deepavali 2013
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The Indian diaspora searched for this national holiday.
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Gwiyomi
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Move over kawaii, a Korean video showing cute hand gestures to a song led to a slew of parodies
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Tampines accident
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A cement mixer ran over two young boys in the Singapore neighborhood
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PHILIPPINES
Beyond Typhoon Yolanda, a mix of celebrity scandal, games and smartphones defined the year.
Paul Walker
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The death of the "Fast and the Furious" star
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Samsung Galaxy S4
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Samsung’s new phone
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Onehitcf
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A gaming site
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Camera 360
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The China-made app that launched in 2010 became a big hit in the Philippines in 2013
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Pal Express - PH airline
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A Philippine airline takes off
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Neri Naig
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A starlet with a scandalous tape
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Miss Universe 2013
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Miss Philippines came third in an event that’s always closely watched in the Philippines
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EB Babe Yosh
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The other big sex-tape scandal
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IPhone 5s
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CHINA
An eclectic range of apps, fast food, TV and movies mixed with the tragedy of the Ya’an earthquake.
小 爸 爸
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Little Daddy, a popular TV Show
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雅安 地震
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The Ya’an earthquake
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泰 囧:
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Although released at the end of 2012, the low-budget comedy sequel Lost in Thailand was popular enough to be the top movie searched in 2013.
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快餐
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As the economy slows, a burst of new entrants, new concepts and competitve prices has made fast food a hot search.
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天天 有喜
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Known as “A Happy Life” in English this drama blending period drama and supernatural elements was the TV hit of the summer
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qq2013:
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A new version of Tencent’s desktop chat client qq was released
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我 是 歌手
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“I Am a Singer” a reality TV show along the lines of The Voice
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91 助手
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A popular Android app market
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疯狂 猜 图
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An app called “Crazy Name That Picture” had Chinese people drawing and guessing others’ others drawings, spawning a genre of apps that extended to “Crazy Name That Tune.”
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ios7
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Apple’s new OS was heavily searched.
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THAILAND
The Thai list is notable in Asia for having several hit songs.
เดี่ยว 10
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Season 10 of Thailand’s standup comedian Udom Taepanich
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คุณชายพุฒิภัทร
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Chapter 3 of the ‘Suparburoot Jutathep Series’ aka ‘Jutathep Gentlemen’ has made the lead actor become Thailand’s top star in a short time.
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พี่มากพระโขนง
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An adaptation of the Mae Nak Phra Khanong legend of Thai folklore. Pee Mak is one of Asia's highest grossing films of all time.
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ฮอร์โมนวัยว้าวุ่น
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Hormones is a 2013 Thai TV series. It features modern issues and experiences of Thai teenagers such as high school life, adolescent sexuality and substance abuse.
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ทองเนื้อเก้า
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A remake of a sentimental drama series, this latest version portrays a new interpretation of a family that is wrecked by each member’s bad karma.
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iPhone 5s
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Thais searched for Apple’s new smartphone.
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โดเรม่อน
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Thailand celebrated the 80th birthday of the creator of of the Japanese popular robot-cat “Doraemon,” which is particularly popular in Thailand.
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ภูมิแพ้กรุงเทพ
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A Thai pop rocker teamed up with a Thai country folk singer to make “Puum Pae Krungthep,” or “Bangkok’s Allergy”
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คุกเข่า
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Another chart song features the story of a guy who begs his girl not to leave him, although the video suggests he;s being sarcastic.
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แน่นอก
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A pop hit that spawned a lot of covers this year.
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INDONESIA
Asia’s shift to chat apps was neatly captured by the rise of Line appearing on the same list as Blackberry’s Mobile Messenger service being made available on Android. Indonesia’s answer to Justin Bieber turned out to be a street musician who plays a mean guitar.
Paul Walker
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“The Fast and the Furious” star’s death made him the top trending term in Indonesia
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Padamu Negeri
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The Ministry of Education and Culture's online database for educators, where students can access their grades, learning materials and tests online. Teachers also can access it to share and receive information
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BBM for Android
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The Blackberry messaging tool that has long been popular in Indonesia became available in Indonesia
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CPNS 2013
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Indonesians searched for details of the examination for civil servants
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Harlem Shake
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Harlem Shake
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Eyang Subur
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A number of celebrities publicly broke away from the guidance of Indonesia’s “spiritual adviser” Grandfather Subur
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Line
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Line's chat app
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X Factor Indonesia
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The X Factor franchise is still going strong in Indonesia.
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Tegar
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Tegar was a street musician boy who hit the big time after an online video of him singing landed him on TV and then a spot supporting a favorite band.
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Modoo Marble
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An Indonesian version of a Korean online game called Modoo Marble was a rare desktop-computer-only hit in Asia
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MALAYSIA
An election and border incident defined this year’s searches. Lots of Asian nations searched for new smartphones. Malaysia searched for a government-run rebate program on new smartphones.
Lahad Datu
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A border incident in Sabah led to a flurry of searches
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SKMM
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Malaysia had a program where people under 21 could get a 200 ringgit rebate on the purchase of any smartphone costing up to 500 ringgit
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Keputusan PRU13
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Results in this year’s general election
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Gwiyomi
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The cute Korean dance was watched and parodied in Malaysia
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Teduhan Kasih
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TV series
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Malindo Air
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A new Malaysia-Indonesia airline started
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WeChat
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China’s chat app gained a lot of traction in Malaysia
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The Conjuring
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The director of the sleeper horror-movie hit The Conjuring was born in Malaysia
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Cinta Jannah
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Another TV series
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