Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
80th Liberation Day Are Korea, Japan culturally getting closer?
A promotional vehicle for K-pop boy band BTS passes through Tokyo’s Shibuya Scramble, July 20, 2021, three days before the 2020 Summer Olympics. Joint Press Corps
By Baek Byung-yeul
Cultural rapprochement forges new bonds between 2 nations
Eighty years after Korea's liberation from Japan, a profound cultural shift is reshaping the relationship between the two nations. For decades, the flow of pop culture was largely a one-way street, with Korea absorbing Japanese influences. Now, a vibrant two-way exchange is underway.
This cultural rapprochement is forging new bonds that are proving more durable than the often-rocky diplomatic landscape. Experts on both sides say that a shared future will be built on mutual understanding, collaboration and appreciation for each other’s cultures.
Great reversal from Japanese influence to K-culture’s rise
For decades, Korean popular culture was heavily influenced by its neighbor. Cultural critic Bae Kook-nam said from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule period through the 1990s, Japan's influence was "absolute."
"For instance, our trot music was influenced by enka, the Japanese singing genre, and early Korean dramas, films and entertainment shows were also heavily influenced by Japan," Bae said.
This one-sided flow of culture, however, began to shift dramatically in the late 1990s. The popularity of MBC's drama "What on Earth is Love" in China in 1997 is often cited as the beginning of the "Korean wave," or hallyu. As hallyu gained momentum, Korea's content industry began a period of explosive growth, driven by a new generation of K-pop idols and high-quality dramas.
Bae pointed to another key moment in 1998 when the Kim Dae-jung administration took a bold step toward the phased opening of Korea to Japanese popular culture. This policy was met with widespread fear that the nascent Korean cultural industry would be "eaten up" by its more powerful Japanese counterpart.
However, the opposite happened. The opening of markets and simultaneous government investment in local content fueled a boom. “Everyone was worried that Korean pop culture content would be cannibalized by Japanese content, but that hasn't been the case. On the contrary, it confirmed the power of Korean content,” he recalled.
The year 2003 was particularly significant for Japan, with the hit Korean drama "Winter Sonata" captivating a generation of Japanese women and solidifying hallyu's presence.
"The drama evoked the innocent sentimentality of their youth," Bae explained. From there, K-pop artists like BoA and TVXQ topped Japan’s Oricon charts, becoming household names.
This trend deepened in the 2010s, with K-pop groups like Girls' Generation and KARA, as well as dramas like 2009's "You're Beautiful," finding explosive popularity among younger Japanese audiences. This new wave of fandom extended beyond music and TV to Korean cuisine, beauty products and fashion.
The cultural exchange reached a new peak with the advent of streaming platforms. When Netflix launched its service in Korea in 2016, it provided a global platform for Korean content, a game-changer for an industry previously limited by language and distribution barriers. This led to global blockbusters like "Crash Landing on You," which created a sensation in Japan, and to hit series like "Itaewon Class" being remade for Japanese audiences.
Visitors stand in line to purchase Japanese cartoonist Takehiko Inoue’s popular “Slam Dunk” comic books at Seoul International Book Fair at COEX convention center in Seoul, June 14, 2023. Yonhap
Culture without borders
This shift has created a new reality for younger generations, as described by Hiroshi Todoroki, a professor of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. He has witnessed a profound change, where Korean and Japanese cultures are no longer foreign but have become "a part of daily life."
"Twenty years ago, foods like tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and yangnyeom (seasoned) chicken were known only to a handful of Japan's Korea enthusiasts," he said. "Now these foods are known by their Korean names, and Japanese companies sell them in convenience stores."
Similarly, he noted a change in music consumption. "Twenty years ago, BoA or TVXQ learned Japanese to break into the market, but now young Japanese people sing Korean lyrics in karaoke rooms," the professor said.
This cultural exchange is happening on the ground, driven by the younger generation. The professor highlights the surge in student exchanges, noting that high school students are now actively seeking to study in Korea. Travel statistics further reinforce this trend in 2024 as 3.22 million Japanese visited Korea, according to Yanolja Research.
Jayson M. Chun, a professor of history at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, also said from his American perspective, the two countries are "growing closer culturally today while respectfully maintaining their own beautiful and unique cultures."
He sees this convergence in daily life, pointing to bulgogi (Korean barbecue) rice balls in Japanese convenience stores and the presence of numerous izakaya (Japanese bar) in Seoul.
"Today, young people connect through music, dramas, anime and manga because popular culture is usually the first place that people from different nations meet each other," Chun said. He highlighted the cooperative message sent by multinational K-pop groups like TWICE and Le Sserafim, which have both Japanese and Korean members.
This flow of culture is not one-way. The love for Japanese films, animation and comics is also growing in Korea. The 2022 animated features "Suzume" and "The First Slam Dunk" drew over 5.5 million and 4.9 million moviegoers respectively, setting new box office records as the most and second-most successful Japanese films ever released in Korea.
Regarding the increasing Korean interest in Japanese content, an official from a local film marketing company said that the diversity of Japanese cinema resonates with the fragmented tastes of young Koreans.
"Japanese films are produced in a wide variety of genres, and these different genres seem to capture the diverse tastes of young Koreans," the official said.
"Also, Japanese animated films, with their high quality and engrossing storytelling, are emerging as a new alternative in the sluggish Korean film market. It seems that just as Korean content is loved in Japan, Japanese content, especially animation, is also increasingly loved in Korea."
Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige, who visited Korea in March to promote his film "The Solitary Gourmet," also commented on the growing grassroots exchanges between the two countries. "I believe Korea and Japan are a community of shared destiny and should cooperate as close neighbors," he said.
Todoroki believed that these "borderless cultural exchanges" are more effective than any formal diplomatic efforts. He advised that the role of both governments should be simply to "not get in the way" of these exchanges.
While acknowledging that historical issues continue to influence some perceptions, particularly among older generations, experts see a clear path forward for cultural relations.
Chun noted that cultural exchange has always existed, but political tensions often forced it underground. He cited examples like the popularity of singer Cho Yong-pil in Japan in the 1970s and Japanese anime being shown in Korea in the same decade, even amid bans. Only when relations warmed in the 2000s was it "OK to openly show each other's culture."
Bae echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the need to embrace cultural diversity and avoid exclusionary attitudes. He said that the future of both cultural industries will be built on mutual inspiration.
"We and Japan are neighbors who understand each other's cultural content best," Bae said. "The strength of our early trendy dramas came from our ability to absorb and 'Koreanize' the strengths of Japanese trendy dramas. It is undeniable."
Bae stressed that for Korea to maintain its current momentum, it must continue to learn and adapt from other cultures, including Japanese culture, to create new and competitive content. Just as the Netflix’s hit animated feature "KPop Demon Hunters" succeeded by blending American animation with K-pop, both countries can benefit from a reciprocal and open-minded approach, he said.