Japanese and Korean collaborations in K-pop: Iz One, TWICE and K-pop spaces in Tokyo

Abstract

K-pop groups and artists have been localized to appeal to the lucrative Japanese market since the early 2000s. However, the two successful girl groups, TWICE and Iz One, exhibit a new direction in K-pop, by being members of both Korean and Japanese origin within the same groups. By drawing upon the literature on localization strategies and contentious Japan–Korea relations, ethnographic fieldwork and media sources, this article examines two locations in Tokyo in which K-pop consumption takes place. Contrary to the polarization tendencies that signify current Japan–Korea relations in the political realm, the gendered K-pop spaces and Japan–Korea collaborations such as Iz One signify benign hybridity and localization.