K-pop stardom luring Japan’s youth to Korea despite diplomatic tensions

One of the world’s biggest boy bands, BTS, have helped K-pop explode across the globe

There are an estimated 1 million K-pop star wannabes, from South Korea and abroad, hoping to get a shot at super competitive auditions by major talent agencies that will take on just a select few as “trainees”.

Yuuka Hasumi put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if that means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and even no phone.

Hundreds of young Japanese hopefuls have joined schools which offer them a shot at stardom. They are charged up to £2,300 a month for training and board.

Acopia School in Seoul fixes auditions for its candidates with talent management companies, which have been the driving force behind the “Korean-wave” pop culture that exploded onto the world stage in the past decade with acts such as global chart topping boy band BTS.

The influx of Japanese talent that is reshaping the K-pop industry comes at a time of increasingly bitter political acrimony between the two countries, which has damaged diplomatic ties.

That the tension has done little to dent the K-pop craze among Japanese youth, and the willingness by Korean agencies to take on Japanese talent, speaks to the strength of the ties between their people.

Tensions rooted in Japan’s 1910-1945 colonisation of Korea have risen after South Korean court rulings against Japanese firms for forced labour, and amid a perception in Korea that Japan’s leadership has not adequately atoned for its colonial past.

But the popularity of Korean culture and K-pop music is on the rise in Japan, with many fans and artists saying they are not bothered by the diplomatic tension.

“I might get criticised for being Japanese, but I want to stand on a stage and make (South Koreans) know Japanese can be this cool,” says Rikuya Kawasaki, a 16-year-old Japanese K-pop star hopeful who auditioned unsuccessfully in Tokyo for Acopia School.

There’s no shortage of Japanese hopefuls willing to train under talent agencies’ watchful eye, some having left successful careers back home in search of K-pop fame.

Additional reporting by Kwiyeon Ha in Tokyo and Minwoo Park in Seoul ​