In Tokyo – The leaders of Japan and South Korea showed an unusual level of harmony, belting out K-pop hits during a summit on Tuesday. The leaders, whose countries have had strained relations in the past, have agreed to deepen cooperation amid a wave of unexpected cultural exchanges.
A concert by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung follows a summit in Japan’s ancient capital of Nara, Takaichi’s hometown.
Dressed in personalized track jackets, they sat side by side and belted out hits including South Korean K-pop group BTS’ “Dynamite” and Kpop Demon Hunters’ “Golden.” A short video of the operation was posted on the official Instagram account of Takaichi’s office on Wednesday.
The jam session surprised Takaichi, for a long time heavy metal fan and avid drummer in his college days, to his South Korean partner.
“Playing drums has been a dream of mine for a long time,” Lee told X, thanking Takaichi for his hospitality in arranging the jam session.
“Since we have been respecting our differences and harmonizing our rhythms, I hope that Korea and Japan will deepen cooperation and become closer little by little,” said Lee, admitting that the gig was perhaps, “strange,” for him.
“When we met at APEC last year, [Lee] he said it was his dream to play drums, so we prepared for a surprise,” said Takaichi later on a social media site.
Takaichi, a conservative politician whose credentials as a motorcycle enthusiast and heavy metal fan have added intrigue to his nomination as Japan’s first-ever female prime minister, praised drum set novice Lee, calling her a quick learner for picking up a beat in minutes.
“In order to develop Japan-South Korea relations in a forward-looking and stable manner, we will continue our close communication between the two governments including continuing our ‘shuttle diplomacy’,” Takaichi said in a message to X.
Lee Jae-myung/X
The rhythmic diplomatic overture appeared to go down well with some social media users in both countries, who maintained relations despite ongoing hostility over Japan’s actions as a former imperial power and certain territorial disputes.
“Music seems to have the power to connect hearts on a deeper level than words ever could,” a Korean user posted on X about a video of him playing a drum, according to CBS News partner network BBC News. “An exchange like this may be quiet, but it will certainly help to advance the relationship between Korea and Japan.”
“Just seeing them actually playing the drums together – not just standing around – looks like they’re having a lot of fun, and that’s the most important thing,” wrote Japanese user X. “Both Korea and Japan are going through difficult situations, but if we can meet in the middle, I believe things will go well.”
South Korea and Japan are both important allies of the United States, for both defense and economic purposes.
Both nations host large US military bases and military deployments, and it has he promised to work closely with Washington balancing China’s growing influence in global affairs, and countering regional threats of North Korea and Beijing’s willingness to regulate Taiwan.
