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Top 10 Most Influential Asians of 2008
Written by Amped Asia on October 3, 2008
5) Utada Hikaru
Utada Hikaru is one of the top-selling Japanese singers of all time. Her albums have all reached number one on the Japanese charts. Uniquely, she is one of
the few Japanese stars who has a great command of the English language. Many in the United States may recognize her name because of her work on the Kingdom
Hearts game soundtrack. Although she has not been incredibly popular in the United States, she is one of the most recognizable names in Asia.
Why she made our list?
Her activities in 2008 as well as her past history in the Japanese entertainment industry have all attributed to her position on our list. In 2008 she made
it to the top of the Japanese charts again with Heart Station, which is her 5th consecutive chart-topping album. In the past she has reached a Michael
Jackson-level of fame by selling several million copies of her albums and having incredible media visibility. She is now aiming to try again for the US
market after her 2004 English Album, Exodus.
Utada has several awards to her name including the Nihon Golden Disk "Song of the Year" award for 14 different songs (since 2000), and the Golden Disc
"Pop/Rock Album of the Year" for all her Japanese albums. She was also ranked in "Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists of All Time" by HMV in 2003, and #10 in HMV's
"Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" in 2006.
4) Park Jin Young
Park Jin Young, most commonly known as JYP, is one of the leaders in the Korean entertainment industry. Having founded entertainers like Rain and Wonder
Girls, JYP Entertainment is quickly becoming one of the top entertainment industries in South Korean media. Unlike other executives, Park makes himself a
public figure in the Korean entertainment industry, frequently appearing on shows and even posing for modeling photos.
Why he made our list?
Right now his company is at the peak of the entertainment industry and is set to break through to the United States. Wonder Girls has quickly shot to become
the most popular girl group in South Korea despite only having debuted last year in 2007. Park Jin Young also isn't just another man in a suit; he frequently
appears on Korean TV shows and walks with his stars on the red carpet. He has also shown that he isn't afraid to poke fun at himself (see the opening of
Wonder Girls' music video for Tell Me).
3) Jerry Yang
The founder of Yahoo is one of the richest people on the planet with a net worth of 2.3 Billion. Coming from Taipei, Taiwan to San Jose, California at the
age of 10, Yang knew no English. However, in just three short years, Mr. Yang mastered the language and was even placed into his school's AP English program
later.
Yang went on to Stanford University, where he joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. It was also during this time that he partnered up with David Filo that he
created the first iteration of Yahoo called "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web." This was during the very early days of the internet (1994) where people
were only just beginning to realize the profit potential that the internet provided. Later Yang's website was renamed to "Yahoo!." They immediately saw their
website begin to increase in popularity and began to expand. Now Yahoo is one of the most popular websites on the World Wide Web.
Why he made our list?
Although Yahoo has declined in recent years due to the popularity of Google, the website is still one of the most popular and influential websites on the
net. Yahoo news remains one of the most popular sources for news on the web. Yang is also a known philanthropist, having donated to several charities and
most notably to his alma mater, Stanford for $75 million. Because Yahoo has become one of the major channels of information in our society, Yang is
indirectly responsible for the influence of millions of people around the world.
2) Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan is renowned world-wide as one of the most prominent Asian figures on the big screen. With a long career of over 30 years, Chan has around 100
films to his name. He is also the first to popularize the "action comedy" genre. In 2008 and late 2007, he was part of two Hollywood blockbusters, The
Forbidden Kingdom and Rush Hour 3. In Hong Kong, Chan produced a new series called The Disciple, where he tried to find a new action star
to appear in action movies produced by his production company, JCE Movies. He and his stunt crew trained each contestant to compete in different action-movie
categories such as wire-suspension, gunplay, car stunts, and many others.
Why he made our list?
Chan is one of the top innovators of the action movie genre. Having singlehandedly popularizing his "action comedy" movies, he has gone on to become one of
the greatest action stars of all time. He is also actively involved in world issues, having donated to several charities and pledging to donate half his
assets to charity upon his death. His involvement in conservation efforts, animal abuse issues, and disaster relief efforts for floods in mainland China and
the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami has demonstrated his willingness to help the world with his status as an international icon. His dedication to providing the
audience with entertainment, risking his own life, and his philanthropy is the reason he made our list of most powerful Asians of 2008.
1) Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a renowned, academy-award winning film-maker from Taiwan. His first success was 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which went on to
become one of the top grossing Asian films of all time and was nominated for three academy awards including Best Picture, Best Foreign Film, and Best
Director. The film ended up winning Best Foreign Film. Since then Ang Lee has directed a wide variety of genres ranging from superhero action movie
Hulk to homosexual drama Brokeback Mountain.
Why he made our list?
Besides being one of the people at the forefront of promoting Asian interests, Ang Lee is also one of the most talented directors of our time and one of the
only Asian directors to have won an Academy Award for his film. His 2008 movie, Lust, Caution was one of the primary reasons we included him in our
list because it blew expectations of audiences worldwide and popularized up and coming actress, Tang Wei.
Film is one of the most influential forms of media in the world, and because of this, Ang Lee has a substantial amount of influence to the world. His
storytelling abilities and his skills as a director make him one of the most potentially influential Asians in the world. Interestingly, Lee is willing to
get his hands dirty and experiment in a wide variety of genres (such as the Superhero action genre). His success in many different genres has firmly placed
him as one of the top entertainers of the century.His contributions to the entertainment industry have made him a crucial part in promoting Asians and Asian
media in Hollywood, and he may be a key player in cementing Asia as a major player in global entertainment.
So there you have it. Ten of the most influential Asian people of this year and of this generation. Tell us what you think buy submitting a comment.
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