"NewJeans fever"... In Japan, explosive growth of 4th generation... Why? [Japan's K-Pop now (1)]

 June 29th, 2024

On the 26th and 27th, the group NewJeans held
the "Bunnies Camp 2024 at Tokyo Dome" at Tokyo Dome
In  Bunkyo-gu, Tokyo. Courtesy of ADOR

The popularity of K-Pop in Japan is peaking.

A year and 11 months after their debut, the group NewJeans took the stage at Tokyo Dome in Japan. They released their single "Supernatural" on the 21st and officially debuted in Japan, and held their first fan meeting "Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome" on the 26tj and 27th. It is the shortest period among foreign artists to enter the Tokyo Dome, and the fastest solo entry among K-Pop idol groups.

NewJeans heated up the Tokyo Dome with a total 91,000 spectators for two days, and major Japanese media outlets as well as Korea dealt with it in detail, detailing NewJeans' popularity in Japan. On various social media, NewJeans and their performance-released search terms have also been on top of the list every day, which has led to an upward trend in the local music chart, showing close to syndrome.

Local media outlets such as Sankei Sports,
 Nikkan Sports and Daily Sports heavily covered the Tokyo Dome
performance by the group NewJeans. Courtesy of ADOR

Since then, aespa's second Tokyo Dome performance is scheduled in August and IVE's first Tokyo Dome performance in september. They have all decided to enter the Tokyo Dome less than three years after their debut, creating a positive trend with faster growth than the 2nd and 3rd generations. K-Pop, which has steadily established a position in the Japanese pop market for more than 20 years since BoA, which was called "Hallyu" in the 4th generation idol groups.

Why are the 4th generation idola showing a steep rise the Japanese music industry? Hwang Deok-sang, director of SEIZA, a Japanese branch of EsNation, and Cha Heon-young, head if the web general team of Short American Media, cited the rapid growth of social networking services (SNS) culture an the change of the K-Pop consumption generation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest reasons. 

Aespa (left) who will be on stage at Tokyo Dome for their 2nd
World tour "2024 Aespa live tour - Sync: Parallel Line" in August and
 Will enter the Tokyo Dome for the encore concert of the first world tour
"Show what I have" in September. Courtesy of each agency

The team leader Cha said, "In the past, something had to be shown through a broadcast to become a hot topic, but now we live in an era where people who want to see it can find it themselves," adding, "SNS provides high accessibility to information and spread quickly. These days, people can know everything about SNS once it posted on TikTok or YouTube, even overseas knows about it. My daughter is in the 5th grade of elementary school, and she heard that "maratanghuru" challenge was nominated for a talent show. In short, when have entered an era where a 'star' can be created overnight," he explained.

He continued, "In the early days of "Hallyu," marketing was mainly conducted through broadcasting and magazines in Japan, but now global marketing using online content, is the center. In particular, as real-time communication such as live broadcasting is strengthened, the size of fandom is growing."

Hwang Deok-sang, director of Danmi Media, met in Tokyo, Japan on the 27th.

He added, "For that reason, Japanese agencies, which were wary of Korean entertainment advancement, are now actively engaged in business with great interest. This also seems to be the reason why K-Pop idols have been able to rapidly expand their scope within the Japanese music industry."

Director Hwang also pointed out, "The change in the age group of fans is also affected."

He said, The Korean wave, which began in the early 2000s with 'Winter Sonata' or 'Dae Jang Geum', was a favorite genre for middle-aged women, and even the 2nd generation idola did not establish a solid position as the mainstream. As these who enjoyed the 2nd generation K-Pop culture in Japan, are actively consuming Korean culture, such as K-Pop, which has been naturally absorbed since childhood."

Local fans gathered in front of NewJeans' 'Supernatural Pop-up' in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Provided by ADOR

In fact, in the case of Japanese members of groups that have recently debuted, including Ryo, Riku, Yuushi, and Sakuya of NCT Wish, which debuted this year, there are frequent stories, saying, "My parents liked K-Pop, so we listened to it together, and that's when I naturally started dreaming of becoming a K-Pop idol."

Director Hwang said, "Young people in Japan are following Korean fashion a lot. There's also a perception that 'it's Korean because it's good' in beauty products and styles. In Korea, too, seeing Japanese city pop becoming popular abf absorbing various cultures. I think it's a good phenomenon that we're consuming each other's culture. There are times when things go wrong due to history or politics, but I think the power of culture is what keeps us unwavering.

Original article: 스포츠경향