Malaysia reads Korean people less than its neighbours do, and Korean brands more. The question is whether that is one thing or two.
Four categories of people land between 7.6% and 8.6%. Brands land at 23% — 2.8× the average of the four.
Share of a subject's four-country total that sits in the Malay Wikipedia. An evenly-read subject lands at 25%. Every figure is already divided by the size of each Wikipedia, so this is not measuring how many people can read Malay.
| Category | Subjects | Malaysia's share |
|---|---|---|
| Groups and bands | 255 | 8.6% |
| Solo musicians | 1,446 | 8.5% |
| Actors | 1,023 | 7.8% |
| Athletes | 900 | 7.6% |
| Luxury, fashion and car brands | 22 | 23% |
We divide by the size of each Wikipedia, not by population. Malaysia has roughly a fifth of Indonesia's people but the Malay edition draws roughly a fifth of the Indonesian edition's reads, so the two cancel less than they look like they should. What is left is a difference in what gets read, not how many can read.
| Brand | Indonesia | Vietnam | Thailand | Malaysia | Total | Malaysia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balenciaga | 3.65 | 9.83 | 5.65 | 20.36 | 39.49 | 51.6% |
| Prada | 7.69 | 8.18 | 2.28 | 18.35 | 36.5 | 50.3% |
| Cartier | 1.3 | 2.07 | 6.54 | 8.42 | 18.33 | 45.9% |
| Chanel | 7.47 | 14.01 | 6.24 | 19 | 46.72 | 40.7% |
| Gucci | 6.04 | 11.23 | 20.75 | 20.31 | 58.33 | 34.8% |
| Dior | 4.73 | 12.7 | 5.95 | 4.64 | 28.02 | 16.6% |
| Kia | 6.2 | 10.72 | 2.86 | 3.35 | 23.13 | 14.5% |
| Rolex | 3.44 | 5.09 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 13.53 | 14% |
| Tommy Hilfiger | 2.75 | 3.51 | 1.43 | 1.06 | 8.75 | 12.1% |
| BMW | 24.63 | 19.25 | 15.22 | 7.66 | 66.76 | 11.5% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 19.62 | 19.68 | 19.19 | 6.5 | 64.99 | 10% |
| Porsche | 9.54 | 12.16 | 8.73 | 3.16 | 33.59 | 9.4% |
Subjects below 3 in total are left out — at that size a single burst of reading turns into a large-looking share.
| Name | Indonesia | Vietnam | Thailand | Malaysia | Total | Malaysia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Joo-yeon | 1.02 | 1.43 | 3.2 | 8.6 | 14.25 | 60.4% |
| SISTAR | 4 | 5.18 | 5.1 | 19.37 | 33.65 | 57.6% |
| Ahn So-hee | 6.13 | 3.01 | 6.96 | 20.93 | 37.03 | 56.5% |
| Cho Kyu-hyun | 7.51 | 3.87 | 9.34 | 19.28 | 40 | 48.2% |
| Ailee | 3.05 | 2.56 | 1.53 | 5.08 | 12.22 | 41.6% |
| Jihyo | 9.66 | 6.92 | 8.21 | 15.82 | 40.61 | 39% |
| Park Soo-ah | 0.48 | 0.92 | 1.37 | 1.74 | 4.51 | 38.6% |
| Kim Jae-joong | 10.47 | 10.37 | 9.2 | 16.97 | 47.01 | 36.1% |
| Moon Ga-young | 17.6 | 17.31 | 15.17 | 25.02 | 75.1 | 33.3% |
| Jang Seo-hui | 0.57 | 1.73 | 0.48 | 1.35 | 4.13 | 32.7% |
| Park Chu-young | 1.42 | 1.6 | 1.04 | 1.89 | 5.95 | 31.8% |
| Yoo Jae-suk | 6.18 | 9.99 | 5.31 | 9.81 | 31.29 | 31.4% |
We cannot say why. A share is not a reason. Malay is also read outside Malaysia and many Malaysian readers use English or Chinese Wikipedia instead, so this measures the Malay edition rather than the country.
All six groups, side by side · The athletes in full · How we count
Groups, solo musicians, actors, athletes — the Malay Wikipedia takes 7.6% to 8.6% of the four-country reading for each. For luxury and car brands it takes 23%. Four categories in a narrow band, one well outside it.
14 August 2026