Japanese Pop Singers Advancing on Korean Pop Music Market

Japanese singers are knocking on the door of Korea's pop music market.
The drummer of the Japanese rock band 'X-Japan', Yoshiki, reportedly visited Korea last week.
According to a source within pop music circles, Yoshiki, who has a considerable following in Korea, secretly visited Korea last week for three days and met with domestic record companies.
The source said, 'Yoshiki was very intereted in the Korean recording market. Maybe, Yoshiki is seeking to enter both Korea and China's markets.'
The Japanese rock band 'Loudness' will hold a concert on December 19. It will be the first such concert by a Japanese pop group. However, it will not quite be history in the making because Loudness was selected because they sing their songs in English. Regulations still bar Japanese bands singing in Japanese.
Sources within the pop music industry said, 'Japanese singers regard Korea as a bridgehead to China's market. We should take advantage of our position.'
Kang Chan-ho : stonecold@joongang.co.kr