K-pop (Korean popular music) is a genre of music that originates from South Korea and has the influence of genres and styles from around the world including jazz, rock, hip hop, electric dance, country, folk, R&B, and classical music. K-pop is increasingly getting popular in Japan particularly among the youth.
This paper will explore the Influence of K-pop in Japan, particularly the attitudes of the Japanese who consume K-pop on Korean culture and society. Based on the political divide between Korea and Japan, and the Korean popularization of the anti-Japanese propaganda that traces its roots to the atrocities of WWW2, the topic is of interest as it explores whether K-pop has the potential to change the political climate between the two.
Ethnomusicology and the study of world music requires us to examine the juxtaposition of sameness and difference in music, and a great deal of analysis comes from our ability to recognize that concepts like local/global, home/away, self/other are constructed and constantly shifting based on our own perspectives.
