Young South Koreans drive shift in attitudes to Japan as ties thaw By Reuters

By Hyonhee Shin, Minwoo Park and Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) – Jeong Se-ah feels happy to see Tanaka, a Japanese bar host character from the early 2000s created by a South Korean comedian, because he revives her teenage memories of watching animations from the neighbouring nation.

The 24-year-old office worker is one of a growing number of young South Koreans drawn to the products and culture of Japan, coming to see it as more of a friend than a foe that colonised the country 70 years ago, unlike previous generations.

Dressed in a Japan-inspired retro costume and manga accessories among a crowd waiting for Tanaka to begin a concert near Seoul, the capital, Jeong sang a ditty by a Japanese rock group the entertainer idolises, X Japan.

“I like Tanaka more than his real self,” Jeong said. “There is something really charming and touching about him, and I’ve never seen an artist who tries so hard to make eye contact and communicate with every single fan.” 

The character’s easy talk about Japan and its culture built on that allure, she added. “There was a social environment that sort of encourages boycotting Japanese culture, but people seem to be accepting it naturally,” Jeong said.

For his part, Kim Kyung-wook, a once forgotten comedian who has transformed the character into one of South Korea’s hottest YouTube stars and entertainers, said his appeal to the young mattered more than the reason for it.

“I think, for young people, it’s not about why, but just the fact they like something,” said Kim, who became fascinated by Japanese culture as a teenager, leading him to give the character a style and background missing from the Korean scene.

And his persona’s catchy manner of speaking, wolf-cut hairstyle, retro outfits and mastery of old Japanese and K-pop songs have contributed to that success.

Now Kim exemplifies the changing attitudes of young Koreans as ties with Japan thaw. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose May visit to Seoul was the first by a Japanese leader in 12 years, offered unprecedented personal condolences to wartime victims.

Today’s fervour for Tanaka, with nearly 800,000 Youtube followers, after gigs with famed K-pop stars, such as Taeyang of Bigbang, and a national tour that saw concerts sell out in minutes, is very different from the response to his 2018 debut.

Then, with spats over their shared wartime history flaring between Seoul and Tokyo, Tanaka was hardly popular.

Relations had plunged to their lowest in…