Following the release of Squid Game in 2021, American streaming service Netflix got its first taste of the power that foreign shows have on American audiences. In the first four weeks, 142 million households watched the South Korean survival drama, which allowed the show to top Netflix's all-time list of most-watched shows. However, in other countries, an appreciation for foreign shows has been around for a while. In fact, this is especially true in Kenya, a country with a strong interest in Chinese dramas, such as Love Yunge from the Desert and the Hunting.In part, this interest is because Chinese television stations like StarTimes have a presence in Sub-Saharan Africa. That said, Africa's interest in foreign shows is not just focused on China - Nairobi hosts an annual Korean Film Festival every October. Last year, the festival opened with 'Assassination', one of the highest-grossing Korean movies of all time, before showing the award-winning film Parasite.

Africa's Interest In Chinese Entertainment

However, interest lies predominantly in Chinese entertainment. This has led many Africans to learn Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese, including Cameroon national Francis Tchiegue, who now works as a host for StarTimes after living in China for over a decade. Learning Chinese online in Africa is easy, not just because private tutors conduct the lessons and personalize study plans (beginners are taught the pinyin system) to help improve pronunciation and fluency. Instead, it is because individuals can use mobile apps to practice vocabulary and writing, and Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the most promising mobile phone markets in the world. In the first quarter of 2021, Africa's overall mobile phone market saw year-over-year growth of around 14%, helped by the country's increasing youth population.Of course, access to Chinese television stations like StarTimes and mobile learning apps are not the only reasons Chinese dramas have found an audience in Africa. According to reports, this rising popularity is also because the two countries share similar values regarding honor and pain. Most Western productions do not focus on these things; instead, they have opted for superhero movies, romantic comedies, and famous franchise remakes. That is where China and Africa differ from North America, making C-dramas more relatable and attractive to African audiences.Source: PixabayDuring one of the company's 2021 earnings calls, Netflix announced to its shareholders that it would be focusing more on foreign content going forward. After the success of Squid Game and Money Heist, it would be remiss for the company to not capitalize on this trend. However, it brings up the question of whether this is a new trend or just new in the United States.Around the world, foreign content has long been popular, and this is especially true regarding entertainment coming from China and Korea. This interest has also led to many Africans like Francis Tchiegue moving to China or learning the language online, a reality that has been aided by the country's flourishing mobile phone market and growing youth population.