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Korean Festival vs. Thai Festival (Fake Korean Wave?)

The following video is near the top of YouTube Japan’s most viewed ranking for today (with over 150,000 views):

The video compares footage from two events held in Tokyo: a Thai food festival and a Korean food festival. Apparently there were some press reports claiming that over 200,000 people attended the Korean food festival, but the video shows otherwise. The Thai festival, on the other hand, was packed with visitors.

The video is meant as evidence that the media is fabricating the “Korean Wave” in an effort to shove Korean culture down the throats of the Japanese people. The uploader also states that Koreans in Japan are more likely to commit crimes than Thais in Japan.

The 200,000 claim does seem to be an exaggeration. The media could have been deliberately distorting the truth, or could have just been lazy and accepted whatever the event organizers told them. But is it evidence that the whole “Korean Wave” has been manufactured by the media? I would argue that this video tells us very little about the popularity of Korean culture in Japan because:

The Thai festival was held in summer, when people like to visit outdoor food tents. The Korean festival was held in the freezing cold of January.
Thai food is less common in Japan, making it more exotic and special. I attended the Thai festival in 2010 because I don’t have many opportunities to eat Thai food. Korean restaurants, on the other hand, are almost as numerous as McDonald’s or Yoshinoya: they’re everywhere.
If one were to visit Shin Okubo, the center of the “Korean Wave” in Japan, one would find huge lines outside of its Korean restaurants. Even in winter.

The crime claim may also be exaggerated. Thai people in Japan commit less crimes than Koreans because there are far fewer Thais in Japan. The actual rate of crime, however, may be different from what the video uploader claims.

If the conspiracy theorists want to prove that Korean pop culture and food are not actually popular in Japan, they’re going to need better evidence than this video.

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51 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - January 16, 2012 at 12:45 pm

Categories: Foreigners in Japan Tags:

http://twitter.com/Karina1003 Karina1003

I do believe the number attending was likely a fabrication. Also, regarding Shin Okubo, it is well-known amongst Japanese people that there is a higher concentration of ethnic Koreans in the area, hence explaining the popularity of Korean related stuff in that part of Tokyo
http://tokyodeep.info/2010/09/10/141133.html This website (tourist info site?) explicitly says that Shin-Okubo is a ‘Korea Town’ (and it’s been known as that even before the Hallyu Wave situation. There are more ethnic Koreans in Japan, compared to ethnic Thai people in Japan, so naturally, the likelihood of a criminal being an ethnic Korean is much higher than an ethnic Thai, simply because there are much fewer Thai people in Japan in the first place. Of course the video is not enough to claim that the Hallyu wave is ‘manufactured’ by the media, but I have no doubt the media often overexaggerates things.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

Also, regarding Shin Okubo, it is well-known amongst Japanese people that there is a higher concentration of ethnic Koreans in the area, hence explaining the popularity of Korean related stuff in that part of Tokyo

Yes. But if you’re suggesting that the lines outside those restaurants are mostly Korean people, you’re wrong. It’s Japanese people. I go there often – the employees of the restaurants are Koreans, but the customers are Japanese. Particularly Japanese women.

Hiroshima

Because you see the lines of Japanese people outside of the Korean restaurants in Shin Okubo means the popularity of Korean culture in whole Japan??

http://www.japanprobe.com James

No. Popularity of restaurants really don’t tell us much about the popularity of Kpop, Korean movies, or Korean dramas. And neither does the popularity of food festivals in Yoyogi Park.But the popularity of Shin Okubo’s restaurants does show that it would be wrong to watch the video and assume that Korean food is unpopular.

Hiroshima

It is popular, I like it too. But it is not that popular as media report.
It is one of foreign culture Japanese people like, not a special one.
Though some people seem to want to make it look as if it is the best.

Jeffrey

Wouldn’t it be better put that the staffs of these places are Korean-Japanese?

Larry Paomeij

All SE Asia countries suffered a same problem from Japan at WWII. Yet they not act like a total sentimental childish. Korea and China should learn how steadfast SE Asian are.

Yori

Because they bow to Japanese money.

Larry Paomeij

nope.exe

http://www.meow.fr Meow • Japan & Urbex

“Thai food is less common in Japan, making it more exotic and special.” Do you live in Korea Town? Because I live in Roppongi and I do see Thai food everywhere. I don’t know any Korean restaurant though, except “Korean barbecues” which are more Japanese food than anything else I really think it depends on where you live, but in Tokyo, mostly for me, I see Thai restaurant, and people around me (Japanese) go for thai lunch more than korean lunch.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

I live in Roppongi

One of the most international areas of the entire country. Hardly representative of Tokyo, or Japan.

“Korean barbecues” ….are more Japanese food than anything else

Most Japanese people consider them more Korean than Japanese. A quick check of the nationwide restaurant listing for Tabelog:

Thai Restaurant category: 1,192 restaurants

Korean Restaurant category: 6,029 restaurants (Yakiniku is a separate category: over 28,000 restaurants)

http://r.tabelog.com/rst/rstlst/?PG=1&memo=&from_search=&voluntary_search=1&SrtT=&sort_mode=&from_search_form=1&pcd=0&Cat=RC&LstCat=RC04&LstCatD=RC0401&LstCatSD=0&RdoCosTp=2&LstCos=0&LstCosT=0&LstSitu=0&LstRev=0&sw=&LstKind=01&x=115&y=13&LstReserve=0&LstSmoking=0 http://r.tabelog.com/rst/rstlst/?PG=1&memo=&from_search=&voluntary_search=1&SrtT=&sort_mode=&from_search_form=1&pcd=0&Cat=RC&LstCat=RC04&LstCatD=RC0401&LstCatSD=0&RdoCosTp=2&LstCos=0&LstCosT=0&LstSitu=0&LstRev=0&sw=&LstKind=01&x=103&y=10&LstReserve=0&LstSmoking=0

For Tokyo:Korean Restaurants: 1,827 (Yakiniku Category: 4,068)

Thai Restaurants: 497

http://www.meow.fr Meow • Japan & Urbex

In term of numbers, I’m not surprised at all that there are way more korean restaurants. When I’m talking to my Japanese friends though (within Tokyo), they talk a lot about Thai restaurants, way more than about the Korean ones. It seems they just have way more recognition in my circle of friends.

http://www.kingrpg.net KINGRPG

Thailand forgive everyone because everyone is the world

http://twitter.com/Notnato Nate

Yes!

Captaincrunch

I came from Korea last week Tuesday and going through immigration I noticed the K-Pop group Kara standing in line. After getting out of immigration I was greeted by as MASSIVE crowd of Japanese people taking pictures at Kansai International Airport. It was pretty awesome actually, I was on the same plane as Gyuri and shes gorgeous. I don’t think that the K-Pop wave fake at all. I’m a huge fan of Korean food like Samgyeop sal and dakkalbi, plus the girl groups from Korea are way better than the ones from Japan. 2NE1, Girls Generation, Kara, T-Ara are all pretty dang popular.

Hiroshima

I always think why these Korean people want to say Koreans are better than Japanese and blah blah blah……
yankdownunder

I came from Korea …

Why?

Korea has such good food, actors etc. Why leave? Were you kidnapped?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IR7WSOJD3ZTGNJKISLU2MZO23A Wewefwef Efwawefwef

..
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IR7WSOJD3ZTGNJKISLU2MZO23A Wewefwef Efwawefwef

i’d happily smash your head in.
Captaincrunch

just came here to get my working visa. Going back tomorrow

Hraesvelgr

Never really understood how people can say “girl groups from Korea are better than the ones from Japan” with a straight face. Same with people that go on about how Jpop (or Kpop) is better than American pop music, even though it’s all the same type of manufactured garbage that’s supposed to appeal to 11-15 year old girls.

Captaincrunch

I wouldn’t really say that. AKB48 is more geared towards lonely otaku dudes and middle aged guys.

Larry Paomeij

I’m sure i was read a news on this site about the famous Korean actor Jang Geun Suk greeted by a paid fans on airport :/

Azz3d

The fact is that for foreigners countries Korean food is much more complicated and not friendly flavored, i dont speak now of personal thoughts, just tested with 35 europeans, no one would prefer eating kimuchi than gyoza or gyudon. For Japanese seems diferent, they easily like kimmuchi and so, but they are side by side countries so it makes sense…
Otherwise i dont see the point to follow koreans that mainly copied Japanese standards in music dramas and so on, but this will always happen… Maybe the main couse of hate is couse is that we listen stories like, coreans invented the soysouce, koreans invented sushi, coreans invented Barbacue… Dude, thats a barbacue, fire, meat, since the 20.000 bc.
Thats what makes hateble the korean culture in basic ways, under my point of view.
With chinese culture i dont feel se way, probably is the lack of identification if the Korean culture.

I know gyoza came from china. Thanks.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_X43IBSNDVQK3WLTE2JVDVBXQ2Q Gafagea

swallow arsenic please.

Anonymous

Considering your three other posts are expletives-filled insults, that’s not nice at all, even if it had past precedent (food poisoning of gyoza). Go troll elsewhere.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IR7WSOJD3ZTGNJKISLU2MZO23A Wewefwef Efwawefwef

I hope you meet an agonizing demise. Preferably by catching aids.

Bruce Smith

Huh ? Korean food is great ! I’ve never met any Japanese people who did not like Korean BBQ.

yankdownunder

MASSIVE crowd

You are serious?!?

Captaincrunch

dude you can’t tell from the video

yankdownunder

Ok. You were there and I wasn’t. It’s just that that video was so far from massive.
I hope you have a good time in Japan and a safe flight back.

Table

So is it fake or not?
Anonymous

You people must realize by even talking about Korean wave is fake or not is indeed sign of popularity of Korean wave, what people should realize is Korean wave certainly do have niche market in Japan since Korea is closest neighboring country for Japan, and S.Koreans aren’t just old Chosen-jin anymore, they’re far more richer and civilized than before, rather than b!tching about Koreans, welcome Korean tourists and let them spend & indulge into Japanese culture. Cultural domination is more better than dominating with guns and bullets. Japan certainly did point gun at Koreans before, but past is past. Let’s look out for future. Japan need Korea as ally because America won’t save Japan’s ass when China rise to superpower stage, think smart. Why make more enemies? S.Korea certainly don’t think Japan as enemy anymore. Yes there are resentments and nationalism from both sides but hate and sentiment will not feed Japan any good, Korean wave isn’t threat but radiation & China is more threat. THINK OUTSIDE OF SQUARE!

Sketchbookuser

Yes, yes, real mature. Blame it on China, won’t you. Matter of fact, blame EVERYTHING on China. They can take it, it’s nothing new really. They suffered through a century of shame already, so lets just pile on another century on them for good measure, never mind the fact that most Chinese aren’t even remotely responsible for the woes you see from China everyday. Gotta love having a double standard for everything, huh?

Anonymous

Fyi, rise of China isn’t good all all East Asian nations because China pushes for domination and hegemony politics.

http://twitter.com/Notnato Nate

Even setting the restaurants aside, those innumerable shops selling bootleg pictures (of Korean men that look slightly less like women than popular Japanese men) do a pretty impressive trade too. I feel like there’s a crowd of people out there that think it’s meaningful to “reject” Korean culture (despite Starbucks and McDonalds on every corner), but they are outnumbered by K-pop fans.
And both are dramatically out-numbered by people who think of Korea like they think of China, like they think of Italy, like they think of America: A series of foods and stereotypes, plus that one guy you used to know. Japan is not a country with great animosity toward the anyone in the world.
Could the “boom” be manufactured? Yes. In fact, I’d bet it is, just like the AKB boom, and every other trend in Japan. At least korean food tastes good.
Anonymous

Pop music groups, TV dramas and movies from both Korea and Japan are all shallow entertainment devoid of serious cultural value.

But seriously, any culture will complain and worry about foreign cultures changing their societies. A TV program I was watching about the first Plymouth colony in America said that the colonists were very worried about Native American cultures and language infecting the language and practices of the colonists.
Anonymous

Massive crowd? The Beatles had a super duper massive crowd waiting to greet them everywhere they go. This is weaksauce by comparison.

Captaincrunch

That’s like saying Spiderman is weaker than Superman by comparison.

VGS

200,000 people attended ? Impossible.

200,000 people / 19 hours open = 10,526
10,526 / 40 food tents = 263 people per hour
i.e. 263 / 60 = 4.4 (people per min) must be served @every food tents.
flowby

The biggest “fake” here is the manufacturing / presentation of the video itself.

Extract what you want and present it in your own image to create instant fact.

A lot of insecure people with a lot of time on their hands.

Anonymous

Wouldn’t that be true for almost everything you see other than what your eyes see?

flowby

Well if you want to go an’ get all deep ’bout it

You could even throw in “What is reality?”

yankdownunder

Excellent description of Roland Buerk’s video.

http://ohmytokyo.tumblr.com nana

i was at the korean festival both days and i don’t find the crowd in the footage representative of the crowd i saw while i was there (around 12~16). obviously there weren’t 200.000 people there at one time, but considering how harajuku is usually busy on weekends + extra busy those particular dates because of the hatsumode to meiji shrine, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think a large amount of people might have passed through over the course of the festival. basically, i don’t think you can disprove the amount of people with so little footage, which for all we know was shot in the morning just as the festival was opening?

yankdownunder

i don’t think you can disprove the amount of people with so little footage, which for all we know was shot in the morning just as the festival was opening?

Yes I thought the video looked like it was taken at opening time when there wouldn’t be crowds.

Bernician

As someone who works in a Japanese high school and knows lots of young Japanese girls….I can honestly say that no, the idea that there isn’t a serious craze for everything remotely Korean is just wrong. They’re mental for it.

yankdownunder

works in a Japanese high school and knows lots of young Japanese girls.
serious craze
They’re mental for it.

Based on your intimate knowledge of ”lots of young Japanese girls”?

Bernician

Who said anything about being intimate?
Working in a high school=working with teenagers=being aware of what young folk are into.

yankdownunder

I don’t know how popular Korean culture is in Japan.

I do know how bad the media is at providing any accurate info on this topic.

For example this BBC video report by Roland Buerk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16380764

South Korea’s K-pop culture growing in Japan

“South Korea’s K-pop music has overtaken Japanese music as the industry’s most popular genre in the country.

Relations between the two countries have been difficult after Japan’s colonisation of Korea in the first half of the 20th century.

But with the growing popularity of Korean culture, will attitudes to people of Korean origin, who make up a large ethnic minority in Japan, soften?”

Roland Buerk is saying Japanese will stop hating( attitudes soften) Koreans because they love Korean music and food.

“overtaken Japanese music”
Has it? Are there still some Japanese singers that have jobs?

The youtube video in the post and the BBC report are not objective professional reports.

And the BBC report is the usual bash Japan stuff.
Bruce Smith

Here’s a radical idea: There are many things to like about Korean culture, Thai culture and Japanese culture. How about we all just enjoy the good things and stop worrying about which country the good things in life are from ?

Korean Festival vs. Thai Festival (Fake Korean Wave?)

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