Inmates sleep on the ground of an open-air basketball court inside the Quezon City Jail in the Philippines. (Photo : Getty Images / Noel Celis)
There are moments that took the internet by storm in 2016 and captured the heart (and ire) of the Asian netizens, and even the whole world.
As the year 2016 is coming to an end, Forbes releases its list of Asia's biggest viral moments of the year. Among those that made it to the list include the controversial images of Philippine's drug war, the Pine Apple Pen and Thailand's prawn cracker dress.
Following the declaration of war on drugs of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, images of dead bodies of suspected drug users and pushers became common sight both in mainstream and social media. Also, one of the most controversial scenes that have been associated to the war on drugs was the jampacked prison in Quezon City. The images of the deplorable jail situation in the Philippines has made rounds online as different international media outlets picked up the story.
In Thailand, a fashionista took social media by storm when she parodied Thai actress Chompoo Araya's fabulous peach gown worn during the L'Oreal event at the Cannes Film Festival. The plus-size model Sine Benjaphorn opted to recreate the gown using her own version-with bags of prawn crackers made by no less than her mother. Benjaphorn, who goes by the name Framsook Lek Lek on Facebook, managed to recreate the outfit--from its color down to its texture. This Thai fashionista loves to make parodies of famous scenes and models, both local and international. Her fashion antics made her earn thousands of followers on her Facebook page.
Meanwhile, another scene that made rounds online is the catchiest song "Pen Pineapple Pen" by Japanese comedian Kosaka Daimaou. The song was parodied by different individuals or groups worldwide. Since its release, it has generated more than 101 million views on Youtube. BBC described this phenomenal video as something that has all the ingredients or viral video formula.
Among other viral moments in the Forbes list include the Instagram post showing a young lady sheltering an old woman in the rain, Indonesia President Joko Widodo's Zara jacket, the controversial flag underpants of some Australian males in Kuala Lumpur's F1 Grand Prix in October, and Jack Brown's discussion about the pricey transit in Phuket, Thailand.
