Could K-pop help build bridges between South Korea and Japan?<br />Lingering tension remains between Seoul and Tokyo over a range of territorial and historical issues, but for Japanese singers and dancers coming to Seoul to try and become a K-pop star, their one and only focus is fulfilling a dream... and that is... making it BIG.<br />Won Jung-hwan reports.<br />17-year old Yuka Hasumi is auditioning to get into a K-pop training academy. <br />Other Japanese teenagers watch Yuka closely,... as they also share her dream of becoming a K-pop superstar.<br />"If I pass this audition, I will practice to the death to become a K-pop star."<br />Nao Niitsu, a 19-year-old college freshman from Tokyo, practices singing and dancing alone in her home. <br />Nao, who also eagerly studies the Korean language, is already in South Korea, preparing to make her mark in the entertainment business.<br />She says she's enjoying her time in Korea.<br />"Our generation is much more interested in Korean cosmetics, fashion and K-pop than the recent diplomatic issues between the two countries. Our generation has a very good impression about South Korea."<br />Miyu Takeuchi is a former member of Japan's renowned idol group (AKB forty-eight) AKB48,… and she is also one of many K-pop star wannabes from Japan. <br />Miyu said it wasn't a difficult decision to leave a 10-year career with a top Japanese idol band to come to Korea. <br />"I have no regrets leaving my Japanese idol group and becoming a trainee for a K-pop group. I've accomplished nothing so far."<br />Diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan have soured, but there's no dampening K-pop's popularity in Japan. <br />"BTS and Twice, these are entertainers that everyone loves. There's still much more room in the Japanese market for K-pop acts."<br />The recent success of BTS's tour in Japan proves that,… at least in terms of K-pop, the tense relations between the governments in Seoul and Tokyo doesn't negatively affect young Japanese from wanting to make it big as a K-pop star.<br />Watchers say the influx of Japanese talent could offer some welcome relief to the increasingly bitter political acrimony between the two countries. <br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
