Lifestyle,nightlife
Korean Pop Conquered Japan Music Niigata 2011
Image also plays a critical role in separating the two
countries' pop music. A crass way of summing it up is this: K-Pop stars
out-sex their J-Pop
counterparts. The members of Girls' Generation show a fair amount of
skin in their music videos, while many fans were drawn to KARA by a
chunk of choreography Wikipedia dubs "
the butt dance." Beyond straight-up sex appeal, K-Pop groups look and act like real adults,
whereas J-Pop outfits often emphasize adolescent cuteness. K-Pop unit T-ara's 2009 video for the song "
Bo Peep Bo Peep"
centered around a member of the girl group going to a club and hooking
up
with a guy in the bathroom, an elevator, and his apartment. The
Japanese clip, in advance of T-ara's official Japanese debut later this
month, finds
the members wearing cat ears and playing un-erotically with one
another: the sexuality of the original replaced with
Hello-Kitty-approved cuteness. The
most popular Japanese act of the moment, AKB48, is a collection
of 48 singers usually wearing high-school uniforms while behaving like
15-year-old
girls. It's been a tried-and-true path to pop success; Japanese
singers have been donning their staple sailor suits since the '70s-a
fashion shtick
that's far from progressive. Girls' Generation and KARA aren't
glimmering examples of feminism, but at least they look and act like
grown women.
As is often the case with any new trend, the Internet also gave
K-Pop a kick start on its way to routing J-Pop. Before Girls' Generation
and KARA
officially debuted in Japan, curious fans of other Korean
cultural exports discovered these groups via YouTube. This e-exposure
helped build a bigger
fan base, one guaranteed to buoy these girl groups once their
music reached Japanese shores. Most Japanese music companies, meanwhile,
vigilantly
remove unofficial clips from video sites. In one recent
incident, Lady Gaga's official YouTube account was briefly suspended
after she posted an
unauthorized clip of her appearance on J-Pop boy band SMAP's
variety show. Instead of embracing exposure from one of the West's most
popular
entertainers, J-Pop powers that be opted to shut her down.
J-Pop juggernauts won't be vanishing from the charts anytime
soon, but Korean pop has found a way to win big on Japan's home turf and
rile up the
xenophobic fringes. The only question remaining isn't whether
Korean cultural powerhouses will stick around, but, rather, will J-Pop
artists reinvent
themselves or stay stuck in their schoolgirl-style sonic time
warp?
