China, Japan, Korea: The New Cultural Triangle for Brands with Julien Lapka

Is the old China-first Asia marketing playbook breaking down? In our 100th episode, Julien Lapka joins Shanghai Zhan to discuss how China, Japan, and Korea are becoming a more connected cultural triangle. The conversation explores how travel, social media, beauty, retail, hospitality, craft, food culture, and algorithm fatigue are reshaping consumer expectations across Northeast Asia — and why brands may need to think less in terms of isolated markets and more in terms of regional cultural influence.