From J-pop to animated films, Japanese culture catches on in Korea

Resurgence in popularity signals new phase of cultural exchange

By Dong Sun-hwa

Japan has long been a close but distant neighbor to Korea. The two countries are geographically close, but their relationship is full of twists such as the unresolved legacies of Japan's forced colonial rule of Korea in 1910-45.

Political spats between Korea and Japan have had a spillover effect on people's daily lives. When the relationship turned sour, many Koreans avoided traveling to Japan and buying its products. Fans had to hide their love of Japanese films or comics so that they were not seen as being pro-Japanese or unpatriotic.

This phenomenon was most visible a few years ago when a plethora of Koreans started the "No Japan" movement, a boycott campaign of Japanese products following Tokyo's export curb on the critical components for the semiconductor and display industries here. The restrictions came shortly after the Korean Supreme Court's 2018 ruling that ordered its firms to compensate surviving Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

The boycott dealt a critical blow to several Japanese companies here including the casual wear manufacturer Uniqlo. The total sales of FRL Korea, the operator of Uniqlo in Korea, stood at 629.8 billion won ($469 million) from Sept. 2019 to Aug. 2020 ― more than a 50-percent fall from the same period in previous years.

A college student holds a one-person protest against Japan to urge a boycott of its products in front of a Uniqlo outlet in central Seoul in 2019. Yonhap

These days, however, young people in Korea are changing the game. They openly support J-pop singers, frequently watch Japanese animated films and fly to the neighboring country to explore its cuisine and culture.

"The cultural exchange of Korea and Japan seems to have entered a new phase, with their younger generations viewing culture and politics as two separate subjects," Jo Gyu-heon, a professor of Korean-Japanese cultural content at Sangmyung University, told The Korea Times. "Their resistance to each other's culture ― which is largely attributable to the two countries' political feuds ― is vanishing as they begin appreciating cultures together on diverse social media platforms like TikTok."

He elaborated, "Today, numerous K-pop groups like TWICE have Japanese members and Japanese people sing K-pop songs in Korean, not in their own language. Knowing that both cultures offer content that cannot be replaced by others, young people in Korea and Japan are now accepting them as they are."

Kim Hyo-jin, a professor at the Institute for Japanese Studies at Seoul National University, pointed out that Japanese pop culture has been "consistently popular" in Korea since the mid-1990s. However, its popularity was sometimes invisible due to Korea's political climate.

"The physical proximity of Korea and Japan, as well as the lexical similarity of their languages, have largely contributed to the rise of Japanese culture here," she said. "But its popularity could not be realized from time to time because of political reasons."

Kim says different administrations have different attitudes toward Japan, and this fact seems to affect how Koreans treat Japan and its content.

"During the previous Moon Jae-in administration, there was the 'No Japan' movement, and many people had to stay silent about their preferences," she explained. "But today, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is the polar opposite, and people do not hesitate to savor the culture of the neighboring country."

In one case, Japanese singer imase recently became the first J-pop singer to make it onto the Top 100 chart on Melon, a major music streaming platform in Korea, with some 7.5 million monthly active users. The 22-year-old's 2022 release "Night Dancer" grabbed the No. 17 spot ― the highest-ever rank for any J-pop song ― after it went viral on TikTok. Thanks to his growing popularity, imase even held his first performance in Korea last month, inviting some 500 fans.

"I am glad that so many people in Korea listen to my music, which has gone beyond language and borders," imase said during the event.

Professor Jo explained that the popularity of Japan's city pop in Korea has played a pivotal role in promoting "Night Dancer."

"In Korea, the 'newtro' culture blending the modern and retro trends has been in vogue since 2018, prompting many young people to appreciate Japan's nostalgic city pop on YouTube," he noted. "Many of them found it hip and sentimental and became more accepting of Japanese music. A lot of them joined its cover dance challenge on TikTok, too."

A promotional poster of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" / Courtesy of Universal Pictures

A host of Japanese films ― particularly animated works ― are continuing their winning streak in Korea as well.

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" ― a flick based on the popular Nintendo video game character ― ranked first on the box office here during its opening weekend following its release on April 26, drawing more than 800,000 cinemagoers. Director Makoto Shinkai's animated movie, "Suzume," recently exceeded 5 million ticket sales here, becoming the first-ever Japanese movie to reach the milestone. Basketball animation "The First Slam Dunk" and teen romance movie, "Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight," also sold more than 3.8 million and 1 million tickets, respectively.

Kim noted that animated films and comics are Japan's competitive edges.

"Japan is mostly reputed for its animated movies and comics," she said. "Its pop culture is still beloved by numerous people worldwide. In fact, many countries such as Thailand are accepting both Japanese and Korean culture these days. They are co-existing in many parts of the world."

Jo added, "Since Korea and Japan have different strengths, there is room for cooperation. In the days ahead, they are likely to create something new together, thereby enhancing their political ties."