Again, John Simons in an interview: mentions Korea. Is there a firm(ish) tradition? Twice in under a fortnight I've come across 'Ivy League' items made in Korea: 'Towncraft' and 'English Squire'. By Korea, do we assume South Korea?
Yes we assume South Korea.
If you watch the interesting new (and quite shocking) Squid Games on Netflix there are some RL BDs, nothing else (there isn't much time for it and it's not really the point).
Korea and Japan are incredibly close georgraphically. South Korea also close to USA culturally, but not to the extent of Japan.
Although I hear it mentioned all the time, Netflix is not something we've latched onto.
The US-Japanese connection is highly complex. Anyone seen that movie by Samuel Fuller? 'House Of Bamboo'?