My wife is currently in South Korea with a friend, shopping and eating various delicious Korean foods. Like many Japanese, she’s been caught in the Second Korean Pop Culture Wave that’s currently taking Japan by storm (the first was the “Winter Sonata” boom of 2002), and she loves to watch the hanryu (“Korean wave”) doramas that take up an increasing share of Japanese television. In the same way that idols of the 1990s all seemed to come from Okinawa, where the “otherness” of Amuro Namie or SPEED offered something lacking in mainland Japanese stars, now the world of K-POP is winning a lot of fans. The iTunes Japan store is well stocked with songs by Korean female groups like Girl’s Generation or Kara, or popular male groups like Beast or Shinee. (iTunes Japan cards are the #1 products Koreans buy at J-List.) When asked about the attraction of Korean boy bands, J-List’s resident K-POP expert and bento buyer Ai-chan said, “For years all the popular bands have been affiliated with Johnny’s Entertainment, like Arashi. They’re chosen for their young boyish faces, but Korean singers look older, more ‘manly’ and fresh. Also Korean bands dance much better.” I certainly like the style and polish of the new female Korean groups, especially their sing-song Korean-Japanese accents, which are so darned cute.
Korean Generation: the Second Korean Wave is taking Japan by storm.
