For years, the prevailing wisdom in global business was straightforward: scale meant expanding into new markets, localizing products, and building international distribution. Today, that formula is changing, and leaning more into culture rather than geography, to drive global growth.

From the worldwide success of Korean dramas and Japanese anime to the normalization of subtitles and cross-border fandoms, audiences are proving they’re far more interested in authentic storytelling than where that story originated. In the process, they’re reshaping how companies think about globalization.

Few executives have had a front-row seat to that transformation like Young J. Cha. As CEO and co-founder of ODK Media, Cha has spent more than a decade building a business around connecting Asian creators with audiences beyond their home markets.

Long before “global content” became a buzzword, ODK Media was serving multicultural audiences in North America, partnering with hundreds of content providers and creating legal, accessible distribution for programming from Korea, Japan, Vietnam, China, and across Asia. Today, the company works with more than 360 content partners and has distributed more than 500,000 hours of programming. Its newest platform, Amasian TV, expands that mission further by introducing premium Asian entertainment to broader audiences through free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST).

Culture Is Driving the Next Wave of Global Business 

For Cha, ODK Media’s success isn’t simply a reflection of changing consumer tastes. It’s evidence of a broader shift taking place across industries.

“What we saw early was the already existing, but not fully realized, global demand for Asian content,” he says. “Our role was to help legalize and systemize that demand by sharing our vision with content partners and brands while building a sustainable ecosystem that connects creators, brands, and audiences.”

Rather than chasing trends, ODK Media focused on serving an audience that already existed but was largely overlooked by traditional media companies. As international entertainment exploded into the mainstream, that early investment positioned the company to grow alongside changing consumer behavior rather than reacting to it.

The rise of Korean entertainment accelerated that evolution.

“K-pop and the Korean Wave fundamentally changed how global audiences perceive Asian entertainment,” Cha says. “They proved that language is no longer a barrier when the storytelling and production quality are exceptional.”

The implications extend well beyond entertainment. As audiences become more willing to embrace stories from anywhere in the world, businesses across industries are learning that cultural relevance and authenticity can matter just as much as geographic reach.

The Biggest Library Doesn’t Win Anymore 

As streaming matures, consumers have more viewing choices than ever before. For media companies, that means success is no longer defined by who owns the most content.

“The platforms that succeed tomorrow won’t necessarily have the biggest libraries,” Cha says. “They’ll have the clearest content identity and the best delivery strategy.”

That philosophy has become central to ODK Media’s strategy. Rather than concentrating on a single platform, the company employs what Cha calls a “flexible, multi-distribution approach” across subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD), free ad-supported streaming television (FAST), and short-form content to reach different audiences wherever they are.

Amasian TV reflects that approach. Instead of positioning Asian entertainment behind another subscription paywall, the platform leverages the growing FAST ecosystem to make premium content more accessible to longtime fans while introducing new audiences to stories they may never have otherwise discovered.

In a fragmented media landscape, clarity of purpose may prove more valuable than scale alone.

When Accessibility Becomes a Competitive Advantage 

The same philosophy is reshaping how content reaches audiences around the world. For years, exclusivity was considered one of streaming’s greatest competitive advantages. Today, however, broad accessibility is becoming just as important.

“I believe the industry is moving toward a model where reaching the right audiences across more platforms is becoming increasingly valuable,” Cha says. “Exclusivity can be one strategy, but our mission is to be a bridge, making more Asian entertainment accessible to as many viewers as possible.”

Technology Removes Barriers. Stories Build Connections. 

Artificial intelligence has become one of the industry’s most closely watched innovations, but Cha sees its greatest value in removing barriers that prevent audiences from discovering great stories, not replacing creativity.

“AI brings opportunities to streaming by removing barriers and creating better experiences for both viewers and advertisers,” he says. “One of the biggest opportunities is AI-powered dubbing. It allows us to localize more Asian content faster and make our stories accessible to more audiences beyond language barriers.”

Beyond localization, Cha believes AI can also improve the advertising experience by delivering more relevant ads at the right moments, reducing disruption for viewers while helping advertisers better reach their audiences.

For businesses in every industry, the lesson is clear: technology should amplify authentic experiences, not replace them.

Global Growth Begins with Cultural Understanding 

Perhaps the most important lesson from ODK Media’s journey has little to do with streaming technology.

The company’s earliest audiences were Korean-, Chinese-, and Vietnamese-speaking communities throughout the United States. Those communities shaped ODK Media’s identity and reinforced the importance of earning trust before pursuing scale.

“My advice for CEOs is simple,” Cha says. “Deep dive into your audience. Understand their cultural backgrounds to deliver the right offerings. Stay flexible, stay authentic. Build with a global mindset but always anchor your business in your foundational community.”

As globalization becomes increasingly driven by shared interests rather than national borders, the next generation of business leaders may want to rethink what international growth really means.

The companies that succeed won’t simply be those expanding into the most countries, but they’ll be the ones that understand how to build meaningful communities across cultures.

In the future, competitive advantage won’t come from exporting products alone; it will come from building platforms that connect people through culture.

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