Ms. Korhonen, 28, who lives in the central Finnish city of Oulu, said in an email that she was surprised by the cartoon’s popularity in general, and in China in particular. “This makes me think I should take Chinese classes or something so I could understand better what’s happening, haha!” she wrote.

News of the cartoon’s Chinese fan base was first reported in English by the news site Sixth Tone.

In some ways, Matti’s gently caricatured Finnish environment is the antithesis of China’s acquisitive, in-your-face public life — and that may explain why “Finnish Nightmares” has touched a nerve among some Chinese readers.

Yang Yixin, a professor of Finnish language and culture at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the series resonates in China “because essentially Chinese people do have a shy, introverted and bashful side, like the Finnish.”

“Moreover, modern technology has changed our way of communication,” Professor Yang added. “It estranges us from each other, especially young people. They might become a little anthropophobic, just like Matti.”

Song Zhengyao, a student in the university’s Finnish program, said that Chinese fans like the series because it presents an “authenticity” that is lacking in their day-to-day lives.

“People have to meet their clients and their superiors for work, they have to be hypocritical even though they don’t want to be,” he said of life in China. “When they read ‘Finnish Nightmares’ they see the frank and sincere life they want to live.”