SEOUL—Once considered to be a minor genre of music here, J-pop has now become music to the ears of young South Koreans.

For example, tickets for a concert here of popular music duo Yoasobi instantly sold out while a bar playing J-pop tunes in a college area in the city is enjoying a roaring business.

Why is the once-forbidden genre from Japan suddenly capturing the hearts of young music fans so much?

MINOR TO MAJOR

Before appearing on Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK)’s iconic Japanese TV show “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” which is a staple of New Year’s Eve, Yoasobi performed its first concerts in South Korea over two days in December. The venue in Seoul was filled to capacity.

More than 4,000 young fans sang their hit song “Blue” in chorus: “See what, see what, covered deep inside, let us hear the voice in you, and resonate in you, hold on.”

A single round of concerts had initially been scheduled, but when tickets were gone within about one minute following their release, an extra event was added.

Tickets for that were also sold out in about a minute.

Kwon Young-hyun, 23, a college student who has been a fan of the duo for four years, said listening to J-pop is part of his daily life. Kwon came across Yoasobi “by accident on YouTube.”

A 25-year-old company employee named Han Jae-pil said he loves J-pop as well.

“I used to feel embarrassed about sharing my love of songs from Japanese musicians on social media because J-pop was formerly viewed as a minor genre,” Han said. “This kind of view no longer exists.”

Yoasobi saw its songs explode in popularity in South Korea last year after K-pop stars posted a succession of videos where they danced to the hit song “Idol” on TikTok.

“We started receiving a spate of messages on Instagram from South Koreans who often listen to our songs” last year particularly, recalled Ayase, Yoasobi’s composer who goes by one name, in response to an Asahi Shimbun inquiry.

DRAMATIC MARKET CHANGE

Yoasobi is not the only example of Japanese musicians with a strong fan base in South Korea.

Singer-songwriter imase’s “Night Dancer” became the first J-pop piece to crack the top 100 on the overall music chart on Melon, South Korea's largest music distribution platform, last year.

The song ended up reaching its highest rank of 17th.

Its success can alike be attributed to TikTok.

“There were always hardcore fans, but the genre had never gone mainstream in the music market in South Korea before,” Melon’s operator wrote in a magazine. “This trend underwent a drastic change in 2023.”

Melon cited not only Yoasobi and imase, but also Aimyon, Kenshi Yonezu and Yuuri as high-profile J-pop singers.

A bar in Seoul’s Sinchon area marked by a large student population caters to J-pop enthusiasts.

Since its opening last March, the bar called Rest plays J-pop music. Every seat at the counter is nearly always occupied during the night hours, even on weekdays.

As the operator makes it a rule for customers to “converse exclusively in Japanese,” young patrons cheerfully discuss the music scene in Japan at the pub.

Kim Ye-seul, 33, said she took an interest in the idol group Super Eight, formerly known as Kanjani Eight, during her elementary school days.

She bought their CDs and learned Japanese by watching TV variety shows featuring the members.

Kim recalls being lambasted as “a traitor” as an elementary school student when she tried singing a Japanese song during karaoke.

The situation has all changed, however, now that J-pop has won public understanding in South Korean society.

“I have found new friends at this bar,” said a grinning Kim.

DARK HISTORY

Before and during World War II, Koreans were forced to embrace the language and culture of Japan under Japanese colonial rule.

Thus, musical scores, TV dramas and other forms of pop culture from Japan were strictly kept away from consumers in South Korea for a long time following the end of the war.

But after the 1987 democratization of South Korea, an increasing number of young individuals were exposed to Japanese culture in the 1990s.

The rock band X Japan especially proved to be a huge hit in South Korea, with pirated cassette tapes circulated en masse.

Looking back on those days, a 43-year-old Korean language teacher said she “would clandestinely enjoy works of X Japan and SMAP.”

The public was long divided over whether to officially accept Japanese pop culture in South Korea.

However, then President Kim Dae-jung announced at the Japan-South Korea Joint Declaration in 1998 plans to allow in Japan’s pop culture in phases.

The South Korean market fully opened its doors to Japanese music CDs in 2004.

Kim Sung-min, a sociology professor at Hokkaido University’s graduate school, who has authored publications such as “Nikkan Popular Ongakushi” (The popular music history in Japan and South Korea), recounted the process.

“Bilateral cultural exchanges had aggressively been made among individual citizens, so there was no longer any justification for banning Japanese culture in the 1990s,” noted Kim. “The cultural liberalization was driven by members of the public.”

Asked why J-pop is winning over young fans in South Korea, Kim said many feel no sense of “guilt” about the trend because their parents had already become familiar with Japanese music in the 1990s.

Aside from the historical reason, Kim argued the spread of social media, along with the appeal and uniqueness of J-pop, are likewise playing a crucial role.

“For example, Aimyon shows off her skills only with the help of a single acoustic guitar all by herself” unlike K-pop stars who typically perform in groups, said Kim. “Her style looks fresh and attractive to the eyes of South Koreans because that type of music cannot be found in their own country these days.”