Japanese and American Influence on Korea

Japan and the United States have historically shaped Korea’s music. Korea, having been colonized by Japan, adopted music trends that were prevalent in Japan. However, once the United States established a military presence in Korea, music trends became more Western. While both the US and Japan have exerted considerable influence on Korean music, the US has contributed more to Korea’s music scene because the Korean people were more receptive to American influence.

Due to Japan’s colonization of Korea and its proximity to the Korean peninsula, Japan influenced Korean music. Pak Yong-ku, a music critic, commented on Japan’s pressure on Korean music so that “‘Korea had no choice but to swallow what must be categorized as a Japanised version of Western music” (Maliangkay 2007: 54). Because of Japan’s close ties to it’s colonized country, naturally, Japan was able to control what the people of Korea could listen to. Japan also controlled the means of production. For instance, during the colonization of Korea, “‘Singers and instrumentalists had to travel to Japan to cut their songs into plates. This, plus the pressure exerted by the occupying Japanese, inevitably had an effect on the type of song popular in Korea’” (2007: 61). Since the only way singers could get their song recorded was by traveling to Japan for Japanese companies, Japan had control over the music that was produced. Of course, entertainment companies aimed to make profits, not dominate the people of Korea. Although Japan had control over music during the colonial era, companies still considered the tastes of their Korean consumers. This influence lasted until Japan lost WWII and its control of Korea.

After the decolonization of Korea under US occupation, American music began to influence Korea. In an effort to distance itself from Japan, Korea attempted to form its own national identity. However, Korea borrowed American ideals for stability, such as the idea that “Democracy would protect people’s needs and provide essential cultural conditions that would entail significant artistic freedom and enable Koreans to compete with the West” (Maliangkay 2006: 21). In turn, these American ideas were reflected in the new opportunities for music. These opportunities were found in the ways music⁠—especially popular music⁠—transformed due to American influence. Often, this music was performed for American soldiers based in Korea to cater to American tastes. However, some reasons why Western pop music in Korea was so popular was because of “its emphasis on individualism, energetic movement, and expressiveness, as well as its use of a foreign language, appealed greatly to Korean students” (2006: 23). Because of this appeal, Korean audiences replicated these styles in their own music. Examples of Western influence in Korean music during this time period was how “a large number of singers began to sing with a western vibrato, to diverse backing instruments and strongly emphasized beat structures” (2006: 24). The author, Roald Maliangkay notes that Koreans viewed this new American music as exotic, and would use it as a form of escapism from the recent horrors of colonization (2006: 24). Eventually, this music would become integrated into the popular music of today.

The reason why the US had more of an influence on Korean music is that the people of Korea were more receptive to the messages of the US. Unlike Japan, who suppressed Korean culture, the US shared a music style from their homeland. While Korea had negative sentiments about Japan’s colonization, it was much more welcoming to American culture and music styles. Therefore, the US influenced Korean music more.

References

Maliangkay, Roald. “Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop

Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s.” In Korean Pop Music Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard. 21-33. England: Global Oriental, 2006.

Maliangkay, Roald. “Their Masters’ Voice: Korean Traditional Music SPs (Standard Play Records) under Japanese Colonial Rule.” The World of Music 49, no. 3 (2007): 53-74.