Korea-Japan cultural exchanges flourish 60 years after normalizing ties

Two main actors of the Korean TV drama "Winter Sonata" / Courtesy of KBS

Diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan have weathered numerous storms over the past six decades, but their cultural exchanges have steadily grown, driven in large part by the sustained popularity of Korean pop culture in Japan.

Japan, once a "forward base" for the Korean Wave, or "hallyu," is now seeing a two-way cultural flow, with artists from both countries increasingly active in each other's entertainment markets.

The Korean TV drama "Winter Sonata," which aired on a channel affiliated with NHK in 2003 and later on the national broadcaster the following year, is widely credited with launching the first wave of hallyu in Japan.

The series became a nationwide hit and turned its lead actor Bae Yong-joon — nicknamed "Yonsama" by middle-aged and older Japanese women — into a household name.

A scene from a film "Shiri" / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Earlier, Korean exports such as the film "Shiri" and K-pop diva BoA had gained some traction, but it was "Winter Sonata" that sparked a cultural phenomenon.

Following its success, many Korean dramas, including "Dae Jang Geum," "You're Beautiful," "Descendants of the Sun" and "My Love from the Star," aired on Japanese networks, helping build a broader fan base. What began as content consumption evolved into a thriving fan culture, with fans attending events, buying merchandise, and visiting filming locations.

Until the 2000s, Korean dramas in Japan were primarily watched by women in their 50s and older. But the genre's appeal broadened to younger and male viewers with the release of the drama "Crash Landing on You," starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, on Netflix in 2020.

K-pop stars later became the next runner of hallyu.

In 2009, boy group TVXQ entered the Japanese market, following in BoA's footsteps. It became the first K-pop group to perform at Tokyo Dome, marking a milestone in the genre's expansion. It was followed by the so-called second-generation K-pop groups, such as SHINee, Girls' Generation, Kara and BIGBANG, who also made a significant splash in Japan.

The momentum of cultural exchanges slowed in 2012 as bilateral ties soured following then Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to Dokdo, a set of rocky Korean islets also claimed by Japan. However, devoted Japanese fans continued to support Korean content, in contrast to China, where political tensions over Korea's deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system led to a suspension of Korean entertainment imports.

"Japan, along with the Chinese-speaking world, has a long history of consuming diverse Korean content. While the market is not easy for non-Western cultures to penetrate, its fandom tends to remain loyal once a cultural product gains a foothold," said Lee Gyu-tag, a professor at George Mason University-Korea. "Unlike China, Japan tends to separate cultural interests from political issues, which has allowed Korean content to maintain its foothold."

The third generation of K-pop groups, led by TWICE and BTS, brought a renewed surge, selling out Tokyo Dome concerts and topping domestic charts.

K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of HYBE

BTS, in particular, became the top-selling act in Japan in 2021 and 2022, outperforming Japanese artists.

While Korean pop culture has enjoyed decades of popularity in Japan, the country's cultural content has only gained significant traction in Korea in more recent years.

Seoul began lifting restrictions on Japanese cultural imports in 1998 under then President Kim Dae-jung, gradually allowing access to Japanese films, comics, and music in the years that followed.

Early concerns that Japanese pop culture would swamp Korea's domestic industries have faded, eased by the nation's economic growth and the global ascent of Korean content.

In recent years, Japanese animation and music have gained traction in Korea.

Animated films like "The First Slam Dunk" and "Suzume" drew large audiences in 2023, while J-pop acts such as YOASOBI, Aimyon and imase are seeing increased popularity. As their songs found success in Korea, J-pop heavyweights, including Gen Hoshino, Mrs. Green Apple, Sekai No Owari, Ado and King Gnu, have either held or are scheduled to hold concerts in the country.

A growing number of Japanese performers have also joined K-pop groups. They include TWICE members Mina, Sana and Momo, and Le Sserafim's Sakura and Kazuha.

In the drama scene, cross-border collaborations are rising.

Most recently, Korean actor Chae Jong-hyeop starred in the Japanese drama "Eye Love You." The upcoming Japanese original Netflix series "Chocolate Romance" will feature Korean and Japanese leads and a joint production crew.

"The Japanese drama market is highly familiar with Korean dramas and feels little emotional distance from them," said an official at Studio Dragon, a leading Korean drama studio. "Both broadcasters and streaming platforms in Japan are showing growing interest in localizing our intellectual property."

Lim Hee-yoon, a Korean music critic, gave a positive outlook on future cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"The main obstacles to consuming Japanese culture were national policy, public sentiment, and a sense of cultural inferiority toward Japan," he said. "With the first two now resolved, and thanks to Korea's economic growth and the spread of hallyu, that sense of inferiority has turned into confidence. Going forward, cultural exchanges between Korea and Japan will continue to grow, and there will be even more new discoveries about each other."