By: Rosnah Ahmad
First published: 27 January 04, TODAY

J-pop (Japanese pop), which has long had a following in Asia, is set finally to make its presence felt in South Korea - legally.

On New Year's Day, the South Korean government lifted nearly all remaining regulations related to a decades-old ban on the Japanese pop culture.

Until 1988, when then-President Kim Dae Jung had announced a step-by-step change in policy, South Korea had a near total ban on Japanese cultural products, as it feared being overwhelmed by the influence of its former colonial master.

However, many young South Koreans have long had access to Japanese anime, songs and movies via the black market.

While the end of the ban represents a milestone in the often-rocky relations between the neighbours, another interesting development is taking place in the opposite direction. Korean Pop (K-Pop) is making waves in Japan - and it has nothing to do with government rules and regulations, since Japan has no ban on South Korean cultural imports.

During a recent trip to Tokyo and Osaka, I was struck by the "Korean boom" in Japan - something that I had never seen during my previous visits there.

Magazines on South Korean pop stars and actors could be found in Japanese bookstores, while the staid semi-government station, NHK, was playing a rerun of the 2002 hit Korean serial, Winter Sonata, just a few months after its first broadcast.

One could also buy the soundtrack of an old South Korean television serial at record stores in Tokyo - though it is already out of print in South Korea itself!

There was even a book offering Japanese readers their first lessons in the Korean language - based on the screenplay of Winter Sonata.

And who could ignore BoA, the hyper-active South Korean teen sensation who is giving Japan's own "pop princess" Ayumi Hamasaki, a run for her yen in the Oricon (Japan's version of Billboard) charts?

For those who have been following the advent of the K-Pop wave in Asia in recent years, this development will not come as a big surprise.

One could easily dismiss it as a case of Japan being just the latest Asian country to fall for the charms of South Korean showbiz hunks and sweethearts.

However, for those who have followed the turbulent relationship between South Korea and its far-from benign - make that "brutal" - former colonial master, Japan, the kimchi boom in the land of sushi is, in my book, epoch-making to say the least.

Japan, for one, is a difficult market for any Asian entertainer to crack. And if one is a Korean, the odds are much higher.

Many Japanese - especially those of the older generation, who are infused by a sense of superiority that comes from their country's status as South Korea's former colonial master - used to regard South Koreans as country bumpkins and socially less-refined than them.

To this day, South Koreans who are born in Japan and know of no other home except the Land of the Rising Sun, are still treated like second-class citizens and suffer much discrimination.

Many are forced to adopt Japanese names and hide their Korean identity in order to get ahead in society.

So, what accounts for this palpable change of heart?

Of course, the "I am superior" attitude still persists among many Japanese.

But such national pride and prejudice have no doubt been dented by Japan's prolonged economic stagnation.

On the other hand, its former colonial subject is fast becoming an economic power in its own right.

While Japan has yet to crawl out of its decade-old economic quagmire, South Korea has managed to overcome its own economic crisis in less than five years after going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with hat in hand in December 1997.

And it managed to repay its US$58-billion ($98.4-billion) loan to the IMF in 2001, well ahead of schedule.

Further, South Korean companies - once regarded as poor imitations of their Japanese counterparts - are giving the latter a run for their money.

In 2001, South Korea's Samsung Electronics earned US$1.2 billion - more than Japan's Sony and the other top five Japanese electronics makers combined.

Let's face it, money talks.

I believe Japan's readiness to embrace Korean pop culture reflects, in part, a belated appreciation of South Korea's achievements.

Some have also credited the joint hosting of the 2002 soccer World Cup for allowing Japanese and South Koreans to view each other in a more positive light.

During the tournament, thousands of Japanese visited South Korea to watch the matches - exposing them to the vast developments in the country.

All the matches played in South Korea were broadcast live in Japan.

And when the Japanese team failed to make it to the semi-finals, Japanese fans transferred their loyalty to South Korea - donning the South Korean team jerseys and even waving the South Korean flags at the matches where the South Koreans were playing.

It would be interesting to see if the growing fascination with each other's cultures will have a positive spillover into other arenas.

While diplomatic ties between the two countries have been on the upswing, such ties tend to be rattled by perennial problems such as the annual pilgrimage by Japanese ministers to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours the Japanese war dead, including the World War II A-class criminals; differences on how much "Sunshine" to offer to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il; and Seoul's suspicions about Japan's military ambitions.

The J-Pop and K-Pop fever now sweeping the two countries is not going to wash away years of ill-feelings overnight.

But, if the younger generation in both countries can relate to each other in more positive ways than was possible under their parents and grandparents, the historical baggage may no longer be a big obstacle to firmer Japanese-South Korean ties.

With China strong enough to throw its weight around in Asia and North Korea out to make friends turn against each other, a Japan and South Korea that are more in sync with each other will put the region in good stead.

As the lyrics of the Korean version of the World Cup's official theme song, Let's Get Together Now, go: Don't you think it is time we all let go of the fear inside?
Open up our minds, understand each other …
No longer a dream, peace and love become a reality.