![](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/768x768/public/d8/images/methode/2019/09/04/89327a20-ce1d-11e9-9cec-db56b3c139e7_image_hires_111628.jpg?itok=e_kMIflw&v=1567566996)
Japanese fans of K-pop and kimchi unfazed by row with South Korea
- The rift stems from the bloody history between the two countries, particularly Tokyo’s occupation of the peninsula as a colony
- The diplomatic friction has culminated in tit-for-tat trade restrictions and the scrapping of a military information-sharing pact
Visitors to Shin-Okubo could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into a district in Seoul, with rows of restaurants serving kimchi and music shops selling the latest K-pop hits from BTS or Wanna One.
And in contrast to South Korea where anger over a deterioration in bilateral ties has sparked consumer boycotts of Japanese goods, it seems it takes more than a political spat to put off avid fans of Korean products.
“I love everything: K-pop, the food, the clothes. I would also like the two countries to make up,” said Anna Kaneko, a 19-year-old student making one of her regular trips to Shin-Okubo with a friend.
The latest row is deeply rooted in the bloody history between the two, particularly Tokyo’s occupation of the peninsula as a colony, during which hundreds of thousands were forced to come to Japan as labour and women forced into brothels as wartime sex slaves.
Bae Cheo-leun, who runs an organisation bringing together South Koreans in Japan, admitted that a few years ago “hate speech” against Koreans could be heard in the streets around Shin-Okubo but this has not been the case during the most recent row.
“There was a law brought in to prevent it which has proved effective, even though there is no real punishment,” Bae said.
“The young Japanese K-pop fans who come to this district have a deep love for South Korean culture,” added Bae, who accuses politicians on both sides of whipping up “nationalist sentiment”.
Kim Heun-hee, a Korean teacher who also runs a cultural cafe in Shin-Okubo, pointed to a difference in attitude between South Koreans living in Japan and those based in their homeland.
“The feeling in South Korea is very severe against Japan now, so some people think it must be dangerous for South Koreans to be in Japan,” Kim said.
“On the other hand, Japanese people in Shin-Okubo don’t want to talk about South Korea so much. Japanese people don’t have much interest in politics but many people also seem to be reluctant to respond heatedly to the political difficulties.”
![Korean restaurants in the Shin-Okubo district. Photo: AFP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/09/04/8ac8d3e8-ce1d-11e9-9cec-db56b3c139e7_1320x770_111628.jpg)
But while there seems to be little public anger in Japan at South Korea, there is also scant expectation that the situation will improve any time soon.
South Korean journalist Park Jin-hwan said that “tensions including historical issues and economic issues between the two countries will remain for a long time. I think Japan and South Korea are now entering a period like the cold war”.
So long as both sides have contrasting interpretations of the 1965 peace treaty that normalised diplomatic relations between the pair, political tensions will endure, Park added.
Bae said ties between Seoul and Tokyo were “the worst since World War Two” but sees hope for the future on the streets of Shin-Okubo.
“Today I got off at Shin-Okubo station and I saw the town so busy with young people enjoying South Korean food and culture. These young people accept good as well as bad things about South Korea,” Bae said. “I have high hopes that people like them will respect culture no matter how sour the political situation gets.”
Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook
![](https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/_next/static/media/wheel-on-gray.af4a55f9.gif)