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| The Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo / Yonhap |
Despite frequent ups and downs in the diplomatic relationship between Seoul and Tokyo, their cultural ties remain solid and are growing even more, the head of the Korean Cultural Center in Japan said Friday.
"I could feel that 'hallyu' is facing a new boom in Japan," Hwang Seong-woon, the head of the Korean Cultural Center in Japan, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency and other news outlets, recalling his experiences here.
Hallyu, or the Korean Wave in English, refers to the global boom of Korean pop culture.
He said a record high number of 82,000 people visited and enjoyed a Korea-Japan cultural festival the center hosted in 2018, while Seoul and Tokyo were caught in a diplomatic row stemming from the history of Japan's colonial control of Korea from 1910-45.
"The popularity of K-pop groups is phenomenal here. ... BTS, for example, is planning Japanese performances for July, having successfully staged a Japanese dome concert tour from late last year to early this year, (selling) some 380,000 seats," he said.
"It is no more surprising that key Korean music groups take No. 1 on Oricon charts when they release albums," Hwang said. "I think there are more Japanese people who view the political rifts (between Korea and Japan), and the cultural and human exchanges separately."
This week, the Korean Cultural Center celebrates the 40th anniversary with a special exhibition on Korean traditional handicrafts and a music concert featuring music instruments from both countries.
Japan, geographically closer to Korea than any other country, has been one of the major consumers of Korean cultural content since a long time ago.
That was why South Korea chose Japan's capital Tokyo as the first destination of Korean cultural diplomacy four decades ago.
The Korean Cultural Center in Japan was established in May 1979 as South Korea's first overseas body to promote Korean culture worldwide.
With the start in Japan, South Korea's global network has grown to operate 32 state-run Korean cultural centers in 27 foreign countries, including the United States, France, Vietnam and Argentina.
"(The centers) have so far served as the foothold for promoting Korean culture worldwide and played a role in the spread of hallyu," he noted.
Hwang also said hallyu is now bringing other Korean cultural content like films, computer games and literature to the attention of the global audience of late, including in Japan.
Encouraged by such developments, the center located in Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku district has worked to introduce a new variety of Korean cultural content to Japanese people and beyond, including Korean food, animations on Korea's cultural heritage and globally celebrated K-pop music, according to Hwang.
"Thanks to hallyu, an increasing number of people around the world have developed an interest in South Korea and Korean culture," he said. "In this point of view, I am sure (hallyu) has contributed to going beyond the cultural supremacy of the Western sphere and expanding the cultural diversity of humankind." (Yonhap)
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