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Image also plays a critical role in separating the two countries' pop music. A crass way of summing it up is this: K-Pop stars out-sex their J-Popcounterparts. The members of Girls' Generation show a fair amount of skin in their music videos, while many fans were drawn to KARA by a chunk of choreography Wikipedia dubs "the butt dance." Beyond straight-up sex appeal, K-Pop groups look and act like real adults,whereas J-Pop outfits often emphasize adolescent cuteness. K-Pop unit T-ara's 2009 video for the song "Bo Peep Bo Peep" centered around a member of the girl group going to a club and hooking up with a guy in the bathroom, an elevator, and his apartment. The Japanese clip, in advance of T-ara's official Japanese debut later this month, finds the members wearing cat ears and playing un-erotically with one another: the sexuality of the original replaced with Hello-Kitty-approved cuteness. The most popular Japanese act of the moment, AKB48, is a collection of 48 singers usually wearing high-school uniforms while behaving like 15-year-old girls. It's been a tried-and-true path to pop success; Japanese singers have been donning their staple sailor suits since the '70s-a fashion shtick that's far from progressive. Girls' Generation and KARA aren't glimmering examples of feminism, but at least they look and act like grown women.
As is often the case with any new trend, the Internet also gave K-Pop a kick start on its way to routing J-Pop. Before Girls' Generation and KARA officially debuted in Japan, curious fans of other Korean cultural exports discovered these groups via YouTube. This e-exposure helped build a bigger fan base, one guaranteed to buoy these girl groups once their music reached Japanese shores. Most Japanese music companies, meanwhile, vigilantly remove unofficial clips from video sites. In one recent incident, Lady Gaga's official YouTube account was briefly suspended after she posted an unauthorized clip of her appearance on J-Pop boy band SMAP's variety show. Instead of embracing exposure from one of the West's most popular entertainers, J-Pop powers that be opted to shut her down.
J-Pop juggernauts won't be vanishing from the charts anytime soon, but Korean pop has found a way to win big on Japan's home turf and rile up the xenophobic fringes. The only question remaining isn't whether Korean cultural powerhouses will stick around, but, rather, will J-Pop artists reinvent themselves or stay stuck in their schoolgirl-style sonic time warp?