The Top Asian Representation Moments of 2025
From ‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ to Mamdani madness, here are the Asian representation moments from 2025 that live rent-free in our minds.
Photo Illustration: RepresentASIAN Project. Photos: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Pop Mart, Gino Lucas/Bolo Music Group.
Well folks, 2025 is coming to a close, and damn, it’s been a year. With the political landscape changing rapidly, massive DEI cuts, ICE raids and the ongoing genocide in Palestine, it’s felt like a significant setback for people of the global majority and strategically undervalued communities. But yet, we pressed on and we survived (maybe just barely, but we did it!). And once again, our communities have proven that diverse storytelling has value and representation does, indeed, still matter.
So, in the spirit of celebrating the good, here’s a look back at the top Asian representation moments of 2025.
Asian Representation Moments in Sports
Ichiro Suzuki enters the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Ichiro Suzuki with his National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque. Photo: Facebook/MLB.
As the first Asian-born player enshrined into the Hall of Fame, this marks a massive cultural milestone. One of the first true global superstars of modern baseball, Ichiro (it’s first-name basis for this guy, always — literally, he became the first MLB player to emblazon his jersey with his first name since Vida Blue) reshaped how Major League Baseball evaluated international talent, blending precision, discipline and longevity into a career that challenged long-held ideas about power, aging, race and who gets to define greatness in the sport. Lest we forget, the icon was already working with a loaded trophy shelf, including 10 Gold Gloves, 10 All-Star selections, and seven straight batting titles in Japan. Until this day, and after playing 28 seasons of MLB baseball, there has never been a player quite like Ichiro.
India women’s national cricket team wins World Cup
This victory represents a long-overdue correction in global cricket, where women’s achievements have historically been underfunded, under-televised and undervalued; shocker. In India alone, where cricket is beyond beloved, it’s the men’s teams who have long been prided. This win, over South Africa, is a testament to years of grassroots investment, rising professionalism, and unapologetic ambition, and proof that South Asian women athletes are no longer asking for space in the global game, but decisively taking it. As team captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, via CNN, “We were waiting for this moment, and now this moment has come. Now we want to make this a habit.”
Alex Eala, Janice Tjen and Coleman Wong make Grand Slam history
Across multiple draws and disciplines, Eala, Tjen, and Wong signalled a turning point for Asian representation in pro tennis this year. After becoming the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam title by claiming the girls' singles crown at the 2022 US Open, this year, Eala became the first Filipina tennis player to reach the Women’s Tennis Association’s Top 50 rankings. It’s no surprise; she’s a mentee of champ Rafael Nadal.
Also making history, Janice Tjen became the first Indonesian woman to win a Grand Slam singles match in 22 years, while Coleman Wong became the first man from Hong Kong to win a Grand Slam singles match in the Open Era. All in all, this felt like a year when Asian tennis stopped being framed as a future possibility and started being treated as a present force.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto caps a historic season on the World Series stage
Yamamoto’s tireless and maybe even superhuman World Series performance — whether measured in sheer dominance or composure — underscored how far Japanese pitching has come from novelty status to foundational excellence. He was named to the 2025 NL All-Star team, earned two NL Pitcher of the Month honours, and won the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award after helping the Dodgers secure back-to-back World Series titles in 2024 and 2025. His performance reinforced a truth baseball can no longer sidestep (hopefully): the sport’s highest stakes increasingly belong to players developed outside North America, whose technical mastery and mental discipline are redefining what championship pedigree looks like.
Asian Representation Moments in Politics
Zohran Mamdani’s big win — and the rise of Rama as a political cultural force
After toppling a political dynasty (in his own words), Zohran Mamdani’s victory signalled a generational shift in how left politics can look, sound, and feel in North America: unapologetically socialist, immigrant-rooted, and digitally fluent. Both Indian and Muslim, his win still feels shockingly groundbreaking. But the aftershocks extended beyond the ballot box.
His wife, accomplished artist Rama Duwaji, became a breakout social media presence in her own right, embodying a new archetype of political partner — funny, stylish, politically sharp and unwilling to shrink herself as just a First Lady. Together, they offer a vision of political life that feels communal, contemporary and oh so promising. As Mamdani said in his victory speech, at an especially imperative moment in U.S. politics, “New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant.”
India formally recognizes trans women as women
India’s recognition of trans women as women marked a watershed moment in legal and cultural self-definition, affirming gender identity as a matter of dignity rather than medical gatekeeping. In a country where colonial law, religious conservatism and bureaucratic violence have long clashed, the move carries global significance, especially for South Asian diasporas watching closely.
Michelle Wu becomes the youngest person re-elected mayor in Boston’s history
Michelle Wu’s re-election cemented what her first victory suggested: progressive governance rooted in lived experience is not a fluke, but a mandate. As the youngest mayor (she’s 40 years old, for the record) and the first woman of colour to lead Boston, her political endurance matters alongside her symbolism. During the election, she defeated her primary challenger Josh Kraft, a fellow Democrat and the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, which says just about everything on the new status quo. Since, she’s also gone head-to-head with U.S. President Donald Trump as she’s continued to defend keeping Boston a sanctuary city. That’s an ally.
Asian Representation Moments in TV/Film
The Year of Kpop Demon Hunters
2025 will forever go down in history as the year that Kpop Demon Hunters took by storm. The Netflix film by Toronto director Maggie Kang became the streaming platform’s most-watched original movie ever, shattering records with over 500 million views and counting. Additionally, the soundtrack continues to slay the Billboard charts; it’s the first soundtrack with four simultaneous Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and the smash hit “Golden” hit #1 for eight weeks and has been on the charts for over 25 weeks this year. “Golden” has also been nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys marking the first time in nearly 20 years a girl group’s song gets a nod in that category. It also marks HUNTR/X (EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami) making history as the first K-pop group to be nominated at the Grammys for Song of the Year.
But what makes the success of Kpop Demon Hunters extra special is that it’s a Korean story being embraced by individuals worldwide (I mean, did you see all the kiddos dressed up as HUNTR/X for Halloween this year?). It combines K-pop with Korean mythology and incorporates cultural elements throughout. And in a world where politicians are making it seem like DEI is dead, Kpop Demon Hunters just goes to show that culturally specific storytelling does matter.
Heated Rivalry: The Gay Canadian Hockey Show That Could
Heated Rivalry seemingly came into popularity out of nowhere, but we’re not complaining. The Crave Original show has been dominating our feeds for the past several weeks, as has its stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. The series is based on Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novels and centres on two professional hockey players that spark a secret romance spanning years. One of these players, Shane Hollander (played by Williams, who is Korean Canadian) is half-Asian and his racial background plays an important part throughout the series. Show creator Jacob Tierney says that hockey and romance’s lack of diversity made having an Asian Shane all the more important. “I wanted to address [his cultural identity] and I wanted to talk about it because there aren’t [...] that many Asian players in hockey, and it makes the whole thing more interesting.”
In an interview with The Permanent Rain Press, Williams said getting to bring his Asian Canadian side to the show was “fun” and “meant a lot” to him and his mom, who is Korean.
“She always thought it would be harder for me to break into film and acting because she hadn’t really seen anyone…it’s pretty new that Asians are leading film and TV here in North America,” he said. “So then to land a role that necessitated being Asian was I don’t think something she saw coming, so that meant a lot.”
Season one of the show has quietly expanded what Asian representation in sports dramas can look like and we can’t wait to see where the story goes next in season two.
Shōgun Sweep Continues
After dominating the awards season in late 2024, Shōgun continued its reign going into 2025. The FX series swept all four of its nominations at the Golden Globes, winning Best Television Series - Drama, Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series - Drama (Hiroyuki Sanada), Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series - Drama (Anna Sawai) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on Television (Tadanobu Asano). Hiryoku Sanada made history as the first Japanese actor to take home a Golden Globe and the first Asian actor to win in that category. The show also won at the BAFTA TV Awards, SAG Awards, Critics Choice Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Asian Representation Moments in Music
KATSEYE becomes a global phenomenom
In 2025, KATSEYE solidified itself as a global cultural phenomenon — an impressive feat for a group that had only debuted a year prior. The global girl group engineered by HYBE and Geffen Records not only made their Billboard Hot 100 debut this year, but also earned Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their hit single, “Gabriela.” Additionally, they played Lollapalooza, went on their first North American headlining tour and performed at the MTV Video Music Awards. And who could forget that viral Gap ad that had us all learning that dance to Kelis’ “Milkshake”? Honestly, if this is what they can accomplish in year two, we can’t wait to see what they do next.
Cocona, Cherry and Bain Come Out
Despite its global reach, K-pop remains a conservative industry that rarely makes space for idols to openly name queer identities. However, 2025 was a notable year for visibility thanks to Just B’s Bain, JWiiver’s Cherry and XG’s Cocona.
In April, Bain came out as gay during a K-pop concert in Los Angeles, making history as the first openly gay active male K-pop idol. At the concert, he declared, "I'm proud to be part of the LGBTQ community!" and performed Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" to a supportive crowd. Later, in July, Cherry, a former Boys24 contestant, publicly came out as a trans woman during an Instagram live, making her one of the first openly trans women in the K-pop industry. Then, in December, Cocona publicly shared that they identify as transmasculine and nonbinary, marking a rare moment of gender-expansive representation in an industry that has long relied on ambiguity rather than affirmation. While Bain, Cherry and Cocona’s experiences and identities are distinct, they have all challenged long-standing norms within K-pop and have helped to widen the possibilities of who an idol is “allowed” to be.
The Junos Introduce a South Asian Music Category
This year, the Juno Awards introduced the South Asian Music Recording of the Year Category, marking a long-overdue shift in how Canadian music institutions recognize cultural impact. South Asian artists have shaped Canada’s musical landscape for decades, but have remained largely invisible within mainstream award structures. This new category not only acknowledged the scale and influence of South Asian music in Canada, but also signaled a broader move towards recognizing diasporic sounds on their own terms, rather than folding them into catch-all “world music” labels. The inaugural winner of the award was AP Dhillon, who made history in 2023 as the first-ever Punjabi act at the Junos.
FilAm Rapper Ruby Ibarra Wins NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest
It was a major moment of Pinoy Pride when Filipino American rapper Ruby Ibarra won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, an annual “search for the next great undiscovered artist.” The 37-year-old from the Bay area beat out nearly 7,500 other entrants with her song “Bakunawa” which “stunned the contest judges with its passionate delivery, genre-defying sound and multi-generational band.” Sung in English, Tagalog and Bisaya, “Bakunawa” pays homage to the Filipino folklore story of the Bakunawa dragon who swallowed the moon. It also served as a love letter to Ibarra’s first child, meant to liberate her from the effects of their cultural history.
“[The song] interprets the story as a metaphor for resistance and a battle cry against erasure,” Ibarra told NPR. “Much of Philippine history consists of colonization, imperialism and martial law—but on the other side of that is a rich history of Filipino people who have long resisted, organized and led revolutionary uprisings.”
The multigenerational band featured Ouida, Han Han and June Millington (from ‘70s rock band Fanny) on vocals as well as Anna Candari on guitar, Jojo Ramirez on drums and Camille Ramirez on bass. Ibarra told NPR she wanted these intergenerational artists to represent how oral mythologies are passed down over time.
Asian Representation Moments in Pop Culture
Lauren Chan covers Sports Illustrated
Early this year, model, entrepreneur and advocate Lauren Chan was on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. Aside from being a great moment of Asian representation, Chan is also the first out lesbian and the first Chinese person to grace the cover. Chan has spent her career as an advocate for plus-size inclusion and started Henning, a plus-size fashion line. “Then once I started my journey with Swimsuit, it has become a lot about LGBTQ folks and the AAPI community, because I believe I’m also the first Chinese person on the cover of Swimsuit," she said in an interview with People Magazine. "So although my career has taken different forms, the same North Star has been followed, and that is to represent people like me who have felt marginalized and left out to have them feel not just included but celebrated.”
Labubu world domination
The Monsters, a collection of blind box toys and bag charms from China’s Pop Mart became an unmissable trend this year with celebrities like Michelle Yeoh and BLACKPINK’s Lisa professing their love and obsession for the furry little snaggle-toothed toys. The dolls have tripled Pop Mart’s profits this year, raised the store’s stock by 500 per cent and have consistently sold out around the world. And, of course, a proliferation of fakes (lovingly dubbed lafufus) have entered the market as fans of the monstrous toys wait patiently for a new drop.
Diljit Dosanjh stuns at the Met Gala
Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh turned heads at this year’s Met Gala dressed in custom Prabal Gurung and honoured his heritage. The white and gold sherwani, tehmat, jeweled turban and cape with an embroidered map of Punjab on it gave royalty as he continued to smash barriers. He was the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella in 2023 and has made headlines for his music. Now, with a certified fashion moment in the history books for Dosanjh, there’s no telling where he’ll go next.
Mindy Kaling becomes the first south asian woman to receive a star on the Walk of Fame
Writer, producer and actress received a star on the Walk of Fame this year, cementing her legacy as one of the most iconic pop culture stars in Hollywood. Kaling, who’s well known for her work on The Office, The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever and Sex Lives of College Girls continues to pave the way for other South Asian creators like herself. “I am so proud to be South Asian and I want to make my community proud of everything I do but more importantly I want to help usher in the next generation of South Asian stars - who are already making a huge impact across the world,” she wrote on Instagram after the unveiling of her star.