Decolonizing Korean Popular Music: The “Japanese Color” Dispute over Trot

Abstract

Trot is a genre of popular music in South Korea (hereafter Korea) from the colonial period (1910–45), and it is still debated whether it should be understood as part of the native culture or as a component of the transplanted culture due to the influence on it of the Japanese genre enka. For 20 years after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Korea did not have any diplomatic relationship with Japan and banned all forms of Japanese culture, including Japanese popular music. However, since 1965 when Korea normalized relations with Japan, the question of whether trot should be considered part of Japanese or Korean culture—and therefore whether it should be banned or permitted—has been up for debate. For instance, the most famous song of this period, “Camellia Lady” by Lee Mee-ja, was banned due to its “Japanese color.” Nonetheless, trot was the most popular musical genre in Korea even after the country’s liberation from Japan; it was also the comfort music enjoyed by Koreans during the Korean War (1950–53). This article addresses the origins of this dispute by examining Korea’s political and cultural decolonization of popular culture during the postcolonial era.

Ackonweledgement

This research was performed with the support of Academy of Korean Studies in 2016.

Notes

1. Here, “modern” refers to the period when popular music was mass produced for mass consumption.

2. Jori means traditional Japanese flip-flops, and Housewife Friend is Japanese magazine for married women.

3. Nissan’s Datsun was imported to Korea after changing its name to Saenara which means “new country.”.

4. It is a Japanese song sung by zainichi (Koreans residence in Japan).