Korean Pop and the Japan Otaku
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April 8, 2009 
Danny Choo wrote a post a while ago about his new found love for K-Pop (or Korean Pop) whilst studying Korean. It inspired me to write this post about my own love for K-Pop. I’m in a love triangle between Korean and Japanese culture. ^^
He wrote about the hottest K-Pop Girl Group, Kara (카라), and their latest single, “Honey”. (Watching the MV, they have the same charm as Morning Musume! ^^)
I, myself, have been a K-Pop fan for 4 years. That was way after I became an Anime fan. At first, I thought to myself that there was no way I would be interested in Korean music (however, I had a fond interest in live action Korean movies ^^). But that all changed in 2004 when I passed by The International Channel (now was known as the AZN Television) to find Revolution. It was the only TV show in existence [in the US] that showed music videos from Japan and Korea!
Thanks to Revolution, I was introduced to new Japanese–and Korean–music artists. Not only that I discovered Asian Kung-Fu Generation, SOUL’d OUT and Ketsumeishi, but I found Rain, Epik High, BoA (her Korean songs, that is), and BIGBANG (above).
A couple of years later, I found yet more K-Pop groups: Seo Tai-ji and Boys, (before Tai-ji went solo in 1999), Solid, S.E.S., and Fin.K.L.. Today, I’ve found myself listening to more K-Music than J-Music and American music. The same goes for K-Dramas: Full House, “Sang-Doo, Let’s Go to School” (both shows featuring Rain), and My Girl.
With Revolution gone, there is still hope for fans of the show, such as myself. I found out about The K-Pop Connection. It’s a video podcast showcasing Korean MVs–without hours of searching through YouTube. You could say it’s better than Revolution. Still, there has yet to be an alternative for J-Pop music videos. ORZ…
I still have a strong passion for Japanese culture, but this experience has also led me to something amazing. A personal fact: I’ve mastered Korean in just under 2 years compared to 7 years of Japanese (though I still have yet to master either languages).
J-Pop or K-Pop?
- K-Pop (56%, 9 Votes)
- J-Pop (44%, 7 Votes)
Total Voters: 16
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to be honest im very fond of both and don’t compare the quality too much.
However these past few years i have favored kpop the most.
Hahah I went through this same thing.. First I was all about Japanese language, culture and drama/anime and MUSIC.. then I met some of my now (best) korean friends who got me into teh kpop world I was studying korean and watching dramas nonstop. It even led me to work with MTV to create a korean american network (now MTV IGGY) I LOOOVE both kpop and jpop and it’s a struggle to blance them both! Even so EMBRACE THEM haha I still watch Japanese drama as well as Korean drama… but I am focused on getting Japanese down first before going into korean language.
Hahah I went through this same thing.. First I was all about Japanese language, culture and drama/anime and MUSIC.. then I met some of my now (best) korean friends who got me into teh kpop world I was studying korean and watching dramas nonstop. It even led me to work with MTV to create a korean american network (now MTV IGGY) I LOOOVE both kpop and jpop and it’s a struggle to balance them both! Even so EMBRACE THEM haha I still watch Japanese drama as well as Korean drama… but I am focused on getting Japanese down first before going into korean language. Can’t pick just one. gotta love them both the same!
I like both and actually there’s a lot of koreans involved in the jpop scene. I heard one of the guys from Mflo is Korean American. The best song they have is with Melody called Miss You. Check it out
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/m-flo-loves-melody-ryohei-yamamoto-miss-you/
Ah.. I’m familiar with M-flo. I didn’t know he was Korean until I read his bio. ^^
Hey thanks for mentioning the show!! I hope I can continue to bring you guys the best in Korean music!
This is very good information. Korean pop and Japanese Pop Culture is very nice. I like the drama and music of both culture.