Japanese music and food find growing acceptance in South Korea amid warming bilateral ties

After a previous program with a similar topic ended its work earlier this year, the market was appreciative of how it was received. It first aired in May.

Seoul-based CReA Studio, which created both indicates, said it took a great chance bringing the concept to life.

” There were concerns that this ( concept ) could cause some backlash. But amazingly, people responded quite positively”, the film’s CEO Seo Hye-jin said.

She added that people found the two programs” sensational” because Japanese music have never before been aired on popular South Korean television.

INITIAL WORRIES ON Welcome

South Korea’s free-to-air systems typically do not show Chinese information.

When South Korea was under Chinese colonization for 35 years, remains from more than a century.

Some North Korean singers who were invited to the music show first expressed concern because they lacked knowledge of how the general public would respond to their rendition of Japanese.

” I thought it would be great if I could, as a singer, take part in this historic moment, when we can sing songs and become one ( through music )”, said veteran South Korean singer Lyn.

Korean viewers were very open to it, even though we spoke a different language, and I do n’t believe they ever connected it to any agonizing historical events or other things.

Utagokoro Rie, a song from Japan and a member in the program, claimed she was unaware of the country’s troubled history before making her first actually trip to South Korea for the program.

” When I first appeared on the show and sang, I was n’t thinking about ( politics ) at all”, the 51-year-old told CNA.

” But after this present aired, I heard Koreans claim that I serve as a bridge between South Korea and Japan. When they said that to me, I felt a sense of duty.

SOUTH KOREA-JAPAN Relationships

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo quickly improved after Yoon Suk Yeol became leader of South Korea in 2022.

He and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resumed making mutual visits as the two nations ‘ officials, a discipline that had been discontinued since 2011;

Both leaders want to strengthen security assistance, working with frequent allies, including the United States, to better manage North Korea’s nuclear threats.