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Korea's music industry is in the middle of an epic slump that makes its Japanese counterpart, which is trying to get out of its own slump, look good. 2004 was an all-time low for album sales in Korea, with the Music Industry Association of Korea reporting total sales of 100 billion won ($160 million). This is down almost 50% from the previous year.
So what? Nippop is about the Japanese music scene. Aren't you a bit off topic?
Hardly. For the last several years, everything Korean has been hot in Japan, including pop music. As recently as 2002, the only Korean artist bringing home the bacon here was teenage wundergirl BoA - Avex's only realistically prospective salve for the axe wound that will be inflicted by pop queen Ayumi Hamasaki when she finally calls it quits.
Boy, have things changed...
Over the last year or so, multiple Korean artists have charted strongly in Japan. In February, R&B star Se7en (known, for better or worse, as the male BoA) released his first Japanese single, entitled "Hikari", which debuted on the Oricon chart at #25 on the release day. Like most of the Korean artists charting in Japan recently, Se7en trades on smooth, well-produced R&B grooves along with pretty boy looks.
Korean megastar Rain also had a Japan release in February. His album It's Raining debuted at #15 on the Oricon chart, eventually climbing as high as #11. Like Se7en, Rain performs highly polished R&B and is plenty easy on the eyes. He also has a body that is probably sending the boys from SMAP running for the gym.
In early March, yet another Korean R&B artist (seeing a stylistic pattern here yet?) known simply as K debuted at #8 on the Oricon chart with his single "The Days of Him", which is enjoying serious prime time exposure as the theme song of the popular Japanese television drama H2.
And despite all the new kids on the block, BoA's Japanese sales aren't slowing down a bit. Best Of Soul, released February 2, debuted at #1 and has already passed the million mark at the time of this writing, blowing domestic artists out of the water and making her the first artist in Japan to pass the million mark in 2005.
Two Korean artists with releases in Japan - Lee Jung Hyun and Ryu - even played at the ultra-Japanese Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve to an extremely receptive audience; affirmation of not only public, but wholesale industry acceptance of the K-pop boom.
Even artists whose music isn't getting released domestically in Japan are carving out fan bases through imported repertoire and word of mouth. Take a look at the world music section in any major Tower Records or HMV store and you will see a wide range of imported Korean CDs - sometimes taking up an entire wall. Even domestic chains like Yamanogakki, Wave, and Shinseido have started to get in on the game, with stores in major metropolitan areas offering a selected range of imported K-pop. In addition to the major retailers, thousands of independent retailers across the country are stocking Korean imports, and multiple online retailers offer full lineups as well.
One couldn't be blamed for wondering what's up with Japan's sudden love affair with Korea, especially after considering the ill will that existed between the two countries ever since Japan's colonization of Korea (1910-1945). Many point to the 2002 soccer World Cup as the real turning point. While a mutual cultural interest was already percolating beneath the surface at that time, this international soccer event turned into an all-out love fest between the two countries, supported by multiple private sector companies and government bodies, sparking an explosion of tourism between the two countries that still does not seem to be slowing down.
So how long is the Korean boom going to last in notoriously fickle Japan? While songcraft and production are generally top-notch, and most of the artists extremely talented, K-pop could be faulted for being somewhat of a one-trick R&B pony. As such, some industry observers are predicting that when the R&B fad finally fizzles in Japan all the bright-eyed hopefuls betting the farm on hitting it big here could be sent packing back to Korea on a one-way ticket. For the time being, however, it might not be smart to bet against them.
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