Music is not only entertainment but plays political, social roles

要約

South Korean pop singers and groups will not be part of the yearend NHK music show, Kohaku Uta Gassen, this year. When NHK announced its 50 performers for the singing extravaganza broadcast every New Year’s Eve, Korean performers were conspicuously absent.

Fans and commentators claimed that the diplomatic conflict over the Takeshima Islands played a part in the decision. However, NHK said in a news release that the selection of artists for the 62nd annual program was based on artistic activities and the support they receive from the general public, not on politics.

Korean pop groups — K-pop for short — have appeared consistently for several years in the singing contest. Last year, K-pop groups, such as Girls’ Generation, KARA and TVXQ, received extremely high viewership ratings. Outside of Japan, K-pop, like J-pop, continues to garner fans from around the world.

From the beginning, bringing in K-pop groups to the New Year’s Eve program was an act of soft diplomacy — something NHK should strive to continue. Entertainment is one important function of music, but in this age of internationalized consumer markets, music also plays political and social roles. The inclusion of Korean singers not only marked recognition of their popularity in Japan but also reflected a positive gesture toward a neighbor that, despite past conflicts and current disagreements, shares many similar cultural attitudes, not to mention musical tastes.

The New Year’s Eve singing contest has long been one way to celebrate the new year, but the contest also was a measure of popular taste. The restriction of performers to only Japanese artists is hardly indicative of what Japanese listen to the rest of the year.

It might be some time before NHK again invites performers from another country to its program, although hopefully this won’t be the case. In the meantime, the appealing power of pop music, no matter where the artists come from, will continue winning the hearts of fans throughout Asia and the world.

日本語の抄訳はウィークリー12月22日号のP18に掲載されています。