UCLA
Center for East Asian Studies
Korean Youth and Popular Culture
April 10, 2000
Nikkei Weekly || Korean Youth Culture || News File Index
South Korean pop music on a roll
Growing popularity spurred by hit movie, Net, cultural exchangesYoung people have been tuning in to more South Korean music because of a recent hit movie, the spread of the Internet and an increase in bilateral cultural exchanges.
Interest in pop music was ignited late last year with the South Korean hit film "Shuri." When sets containing a compact disc of the soundtrack and movie tickets were put on sale by Tower Records Inc. in Tokyo's Shibuya district, they were bought up in a hurry.
Skyrocketing sales
The Internet and an increase in cultural exchanges between the two countries have also fueled music sales.
"Many customers place orders after they have looked over the Web sites of South Korean artists," says Ichiro Shimizu, representative director of Sound Space, a leading importer and wholesaler of South Korean CDs. The company in Tokyo has seen its import volume rapidly increase and monthly sales skyrocket to 4,000 to 5,000 units, up 50% from a year earlier. Sound Space plans to tie up with a South Korean record company to distribute music in cyberspace.
Shibuya's Tower Records has also seen sales soar. South Korean pop now comprises about 25% of the 4,000 CDs in the Asian pop racks, and sales are up some 30% year on year, says company employee Yuko Takenaka.
Music by female groups such as FIN.K.L and SES featuring powerful beats is also selling well, especially among teen-agers and young adults in their 20s.
