In Seoul’s hip Hongdae neighbourhood, 19-year-old Choi Jae-eun is already deep in conversation with her friend about the latest anime drop on Netflix. The pair are making their way to Animate, a shop inside AK Plaza whose shelves overflow with Japanese manga, anime figurines and limited-edition merchandise.Pop-up stalls themed around blockbuster series lure teenagers and twenty-somethings who, until recently, might have been dismissed as otaku – a once-derogatory term for obsessive fans.But...