Okay, global faves are honestly ruining my life in the best way and I need to talk about it.
I’m sitting here in my apartment in Bushwick, November 2025, half a cold matcha oat latte spilled on my lap, scrolling TikTok at 1:17 a.m. because sleep is for people who don’t have a parasocial relationship with seven Korean men. Like, global faves weren’t supposed to hit this hard, but here we are. https://www.lays.com/products/lays-potato-chips-blueberry-cheesecake-flavor
How Global Faves Took Over My Very American Brain Global Faves
Real talk: I grew up thinking the height of culture was the McDonald’s dollar menu and whatever was on MTV. Then 2017 happened and BTS dropped DNA and suddenly I’m 28 years old learning Korean on Duolingo because I want to understand what Jungkook is saying when he calls me “baby” in lives. Embarrassing? Absolutely. Do I care? Reader, I do not.
And don’t even get me started on how I cried—actual tears—in a Target parking lot in Ohio because they had the purple bag Lay’s from China that taste like blueberry cheesecake. I called my mom sobbing like “Mom they have the weird chips here!!” and she thought someone died. https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/feature/heattech/women
The Global Faves I Will Literally Fight You Over Global Faves
- Spicy Shin Ramyun at 3 a.m. while watching Crash Landing on You (the superior way to consume both)
- That one Turkish delight my coworker brought back that tasted like rose perfume but in a good way?? I ate six and felt fancy
- Old-school Nokia ringtone remixes on TikTok that make me feel 14 again even though I’m pushing 30
- The fact that half my wardrobe is now Uniqlo Heattech because Japanese people apparently cracked the code on not freezing to death
Why These Global Faves Feel Like Home Now Global Faves
Here’s the messed up part: these global faves make me feel more connected than anything “American” does right now. Like I’ll be on the subway absolutely inhaling Taiwanese fried chicken from a place in Flushing and some random auntie smiles at me because she sees I’m struggling with the little plastic gloves and hands me a wet wipe without saying anything. That’s it. That’s the global fave. https://www.bighitcorp.com/eng/artist/bts
Meanwhile I can’t even talk to my neighbor because we both pretend we’re busy checking mail.
Anyway, I accidentally spent $87 on Korean skincare last week because some girl on TikTok said if I use snail mucin I’ll look like Jimin and now my bathroom looks like a Sephora exploded but my skin does kinda slap so who’s the real winner here.
The Ones That Honestly Confuse Me But I’m Still Obsessed Global Faves
I’m not proud of this, but I own three separate Stanley cup dupes from AliExpress because the real one is $50 and I’m not a psychopath. Does it keep ice for 48 hours? Yes. Do I feel slightly dead inside every time I use the pink one with the anime stickers? Also yes.
And don’t judge me but I have a playlist that’s literally just Italian club remixes of early 2000s Disney Channel songs and it slaps at 2x speed when I’m cleaning my apartment. Global faves don’t have to make sense okay. https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu/fries.html
Look, at the end of the day these global faves are just proof that humans are messy and beautiful and we’ll adopt anything that makes us feel something. Even if that something is crying over animated idols or eating chips that taste like dessert.
So tell me in the comments—what global fave are you low-key (or high-key) obsessed with right now? Bonus points if it’s something that would make your 2015 self horrified. Global Faves
I’m gonna go reheat some kimchi fried rice and pretend I’m emotionally stable. Love y’all. 🫶
