Politically cold, culturally hot
The popular six-member K-pop group Beast wave to fans during a concert in this Dec. 12 2012 file photo. The group that has been performing on Japanese stages added a date to perform at the NHK Hall in Tokyo. / Korea Times file
By Kim Ji-soo
Korean singer Psy arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" in New York in this May 6, 2013 file photo. Psy will take his “Gangnam Style” performance to Japan, the first time since its release. / Korea Times file
The political vibes between Seoul and Tokyo are as chilly as it gets, but top “hallyu” or Korean wave stars are beating a path to Japan.
The Japanese music market is indisputably the largest one in Asia; it is also the second largest ― by country ― in the world. For some time, it has however been considered a saturated one for Korean pop artists.
Yet with the start of 2014, there is a rush, albeit small as yet, of events scheduled in the neighboring country.
CJ E& M that runs cable station MNet is taking the latter’s popular K-pop chart show, held overseas once a quarter, to Japan. It announced that M Countdown will be held on April 2 at the Yokohama Dome, Japan featuring top-notch K-Pop artist performances and various K-Culture engagement activities. The show’s only previous stop in Japan in April 2012 drew 13,000 fans.
“We will also hold an Asia Variety TV Forum this month in Japan to mark the airing of the reality travel program Sisters Over Flowers as well as the M Countdown in April,” said a CJ E& M spokesman.
“Each company will have different strategies but CJ E&M is aiming to raise exports to 15 percent this year from the current 12 percent. We believe the Japanese market is crucial in achieving this goal,” the spokesman said.
It’s not an off-the-mark estimation. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports and the Korea Creative Content Agency jointly issued a yearly prediction in the content sector where they anticipated a 12.8 percent rise, or about $5.75 billion, in content exports this year.
Top K-pop star returnee Rain also stopped in Japan on his return from Hollywood. In his first fan meeting in five years in Japan, Rain met with 5,000 Japanese fans at the Pacifico Yokohama. The meeting was in two parts, and had the singer talking about what he did over the past three years in the first half and performing in the second.
Fellow label-mate Beast, who performed dates in Chiba and Nagoya, recently confirmed a date for a performance at the NHK Hall in Tokyo. Another K-pop boy band Teen Top performed in Nagoya on Feb.5 as part of its “Teen Top 2014 Arena Tour High Kick.”
K-pop star Rain performs at the Pacifico Yokohama where about 5,000 fans gathered in this Feb. 7 file photo. / Courtesy of Cube Entertainment
YG Entertainment announced that its artists ― Big Bang, Psy, 2NE1, Epik High, Lee Hi and WINNER ― will perform in Japan. Its event will start off at the Osaka Kyocera Dome on April 12 and 13, and at the Tokyo Dome on May 3 and 4, before moving onto other parts of the world.
The nation’s top agency, SM Entertainment, is also planning a concert in Japan.
Its rookie EXO will hold concerts in Japan on April 12 and 13 at the Saitama Arena.
Klive, a hologram theater that opened in Dongdaemun Lotte Fitin, is expected to offer K-pop hologram services in Japan this month. Klive is the joint work of YG Entertainment and government-supported digital technology services from KT and District.
Industry insiders however do not necessarily link political factors to exports of Korean content. Also the nature of the Japanese music market is that K-pop artists with core fan following are likely to fare well throughout the year.