The Change Mariner

Japan, South Korea Draw Closer

New York Times:

In recent years, especially since Japan and South Korea were co-hosts of the World Cup in 2002, the exchange in popular culture has risen sharply. Although the legacies of Japan's brutal colonial rule here remain close to the surface, the cultural interchange signifies a profound change in the relations between the countries since Japanese troops withdrew at the end of World War II.

Last month, South Korea lifted almost all restrictions on the import of Japanese culture after tentatively opening its market in 1998. For the first time, South Koreans can legally buy CD's of Japanese singers and rent Japanese movies at the local video store. Japanese can now be heard on cable television, which until recently would have been greeted with the same kind of outraged reaction from some listeners as playing Wagner does in Israel.

In Japan, many people who had never thought about the Korean peninsula are watching South Korean television dramas and studying the language. Kimchi -- the spicy pickled vegetable that is Korea's national dish -- would have been dismissed a generation ago, but it is now becoming a favorite in Japan.