Politics (political phenomena) has become disconnected from culture (cultural phenomena) in East Asia.
In 2002, a South Korean schoolgirl was run over and killed by a U.S. military armored vehicle, prompting students to take to the streets of Seoul for candlelit protests against the United States. Yet this campaign of political anti-Americanism did not turn into an anti-American cultural trend, as these same students continued to wear jeans, eat at McDonald's, drink Coca-Cola and watch Hollywood movies — all potent symbols of American culture.
Unlike in some Middle Eastern nations, political demonstrations against the U.S. did not translate into anti-Americanism in lifestyle and culture.