By AI TANABE/ Staff Writer
August 25, 2023 at 07:00 JST
Tsuki, a member of Billlie, serves as radio personality of “Tsuki Ent.View.” (Provided by Donuts Co.)
As the host of a radio show interviewing K-pop artists and introducing South Korean culture, 20-year-old Tsuki, who hails from Osaka Prefecture, knows her stuff.
In her day job, the young Japanese woman is one of the seven members of the popular K-pop group Billlie.
“I want to be a bridge between Japan and South Korea,” Tsuki said.
Her radio program, “Tsuki Ent.View,” has been running on Osaka Broadcasting Corp., known as Radio Osaka, since April.
It airs on Saturdays from midnight to 1 a.m. every week with Tsuki’s energetic voice.
“So, let’s listen to the first song and go on a fun K-pop trip,” she said.
The radio show is jointly produced by three companies: Radio Osaka, Donuts Co. and South Korea’s Superscale.
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“It’s a pleasure sharing K-pop and South Korean culture, and I also feel a responsibility,” Tsuki said.
As a child, she was fascinated by K-pop after watching the girls' pop group Girls’ Generation on Japanese TV.
She moved to South Korea in junior high school. She practiced hard and made her debut as a member of Billlie in 2021.
Her rich expressions and sharp dancing performances went viral. Tsuki’s performance video released in 2022 has been viewed more than 12 million times.
She has also been selected to host a music program in South Korea and is one of the Japanese artists in the spotlight in the country.
The radio show marks her first regular program in Japan.
“Trends differ between Japan and South Korea, so I’m studying what’s in demand in Japan by watching the news,” she said.
In the first half of the radio show, she introduces the latest music news using the K-pop hits chart.
The highlight of the show are interviews between Tsuki and K-pop artists.
Tsuki conducts the program in Japanese but speaks with guests in Korean. She then interprets their conversations in Japanese for listeners.
“Interpreting is difficult, but I’m always eager to convey the charms of our guests,” she said.
She tries to communicate with guests even during short breaks so that they can relax and tries to tell listeners as much detail as possible about what they discussed, she said.
The conversations proceed without interpreters, allowing a natural flow between the two languages. Loud laughter often erupts.
Listeners often feel as if they are sitting in on a chat between artists of the same age.
CONVEY SOUTH KOREA’S ATTRACTIONS
From a young age, Tsuki dreamed of “having a job that would allow her to play a role on the world stage, regardless of her profession.”
Her group debuted in Japan in May.
She is also participating in a South Korean variety show “Zombieverse” on Netflix starting in August, expanding her activities both domestically and internationally.
“I’d like to continue to convey the charms of South Korea to more people in Japan,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be a bridge between Japan and South Korea, so I hope to be involved in a lot more activities this year.”
Tsuki’s radio program can be heard through the “radiko” app’s time-free function, which allows listeners to replay programs for a week after their broadcast.
With a paid subscription, listeners can access the program anywhere in Japan.
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