Because Jpop want to be by themselves
I think its because Japanese copyright laws are very hard and they rarely allow outsiders to enjoy their content.
Like in kpop lots and lots of content are easily accessible - youtube/vlive etc but japanese content are all kept behind paywalls.
Namie Amuro had some popularity in SK and a decent fan following. She even performed concerts there too but it was not a regular or targeted activity.
I think its because Japanese copyright laws are very hard and they rarely allow outsiders to enjoy their content.
Like in kpop lots and lots of content are easily accessible - youtube/vlive etc but japanese content are all kept behind paywalls.
If they want it spread it worldwide they would make it more accessible. They just don't want it. Japan and China think their own market is enough for them. While Korea is very open and always looking for new market.
Japanese music was banned in Korea for some time.
And Japanese artists dont need to promote in a smaller, much less profitable market.
If they want it spread it worldwide they would make it more accessible. They just don't want it. Japan and China think their own market is enough for them. While Korea is very open and always looking for new market.
Absolutely
It's also because korea is a massively smaller market than Japan and China.
Like a Japanese or Chinese artist can be hugely successful by nothing else beyond the borders of their own country whereas and you're seeing it these days koreans are less fond of kpop idols so they have to spread their wings to different countries to earn $$$.
I try to see from different perspective.
If you see K-charts, even kpop idols themselves have a hard time to hit big in their own country. So, it's not only exclusively J-artists.
Meanwhile in Japan, you can see various genres on the charts. From kpop, jrock, idol songs, indie, soloist. When it comes to music, Japanese taste is more diverse.
But indeed other factors are more like copyright issue and simply because Japan is the 2nd biggest music market in the world. It's my biggest problem because I can't even enjoy my fav J-music on Spotify 
Simple. Because Koreans think Jpop sucks. Their singing skills, dance moves, music, etc. I guess it is not only koreans who think so.
I think it just their norms. They seem never to try hard to market their music in SK. Even if they hold a concert it seems like just a normal tour, not a concert target to gain an audience from SK.
Kpop artists release music in Japanese and go to Japan to promote it so it's only normal they'll have a chance at becoming mainstream there. Jpop artists don't do that, mainly because they have one of the biggest music industries in the world and they don't have to rely on other countries like kpop does.
This question seems simple, but it's a complex problem and it's not just Japan x SK thing. It's more a Japan problem although the SK problem is an extra layer to this question.
Anime is really big in SK, so by proxy some musicians related to anime have a following just like they have a following everywhere. Other musicians in other genres have a "decent" following too like Joe Higashi. I'd not say he is GP friendly, but artists like him will be popular within these circles. So this type of artist can still have a decent following in SK (just like any other country) as this genres are very specific. Similarly Jrock and Jmetal have decent following as well.
Now with Jpop in specific, it's just not in tune with the general public taste. There are some niche fans, but it's super niche and they would just go to Japan to consume their music rather than wait them promote in SK which isn't much different from any other country trying to consume Jpop outside Japan.
If you like Jpop, you know it's just not easy to consume it. Actually it got harder over time. Japanese labels could have promoted Jpop, but they don't bother much save some random initiatives. It's easier to look for niche Japanese music than the popular acts there for my experience.
SK seems a pretty close market to promote, so an exchange should be a non-brainer, but other factors play the lack of Jpop presence in SK. It's not just lack of enthusiasm for Japanese labels to step outside their own market, but some hurdles as well piling up in case of SK.
SK still has some strong protectionism in place in the case of music industry which are still in place as opposed to anime and games which had their ban lifted. With strong policies toward exporting cultural assets actively, SK manages to spread Kpop outside SK exploring overlooked markets at first and going after open markets like Japan. That's why SK has success in Japan, but not much from the opposite side.
Japan cultural spread has always been passive (even with initiatives like Cool Japan). They just don't promote actively outside Japan. Even anime and manga active pursue of external markets by Japanese companies themselves is pretty recent considering how long this media has been popular outside Japan (even so they could still do much more).
If Japanese companies had real interest in promoting in SK, they could lobby the Japanese government to pressure/negotiate some easing of some Korean regulations which some of Korean government actually considered, but probably didn't bother to follow up as there is no real upside to change rules. Japanese dramas suffer similar restrictions (they just get "koreanized" them).
After that, Jpop after the mid 2000s is a bit too specific for outsider's taste in general let alone trying to cater SK taste. Dunno if they changed this recently, but after that period which Japanese cultural exports was suffering some slump (not just music, but games and anime were suffering too), they got really inward in terms of market pursuits and taste. Meanwhile Kpop actively tries to match all tastes by just being a mix of all pop genres and trying to keep a pure and conservative image which lot of societies around the world appreciate which includes Japan. Kpop just resonates more than Jpop which cater to a more specialized public even inside Japan.
If Japanese labels wanna be real and competitive outside Japan, they would have to cater a more generalist taste than specialist. Anime and gaming adapted very well after the 2000s hiccups, but I don't feel it with Jpop. I followed Jpop before this era and it was awesome. I still like it, but some of newer stuff is just a little too specific. I mean, vocaloids are way better at promoting outside Japan than Jpop labels.
Anyway, in SK if it's not American or maybe British pop, anything else it's just too small, not just Jpop. China has a huge influence of SK market, but Cpop is also non-existent even thou it's probably much much close to Kpop than Jpop although they still suffer for similar problems as Jpop like only catering to Chinese audience and distribution methods as draconic as Jpop plus the CCP factor. Meanwhile American pop can still enjoy decent level of popularity in SK just like almost everywhere in the world.
because they don't need Korea, for Japan, Korea is an irrelevant market
Japanese artists/companies don't make any efforts to market to Korea.
Korean artists/companies on the other hand debut groups specifically with the purpose of entering the Japanese market.
It's so difficult for English international fans to keep up to date with J-ent, let alone Korean fans.
Almost all subs are fanmade, there's almost no official subs.
Even if Japanese artists did promote in Korea it wouldn’t sell. Koreans don’t like it and I agree with them lmao most of j-pop aint digestible outside of Japan
Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!
