Japanese songs to be sung in S. Korea, 1st time since war

Asian Political News, Oct 5, 1998

TOKYO, Oct. 3 Kyodo Japanese songs will be sung at a friendship festival Oct. 25 in Seoul for the first time since the end of World War II when South Korea banned the public performance of Japanese songs, Tokyo metropolitan government officials said Saturday. Chon Wol Son, a Korean opera singer living in Japan, will sing at the festival commemorating the 10th anniversary of the friendship tie-up between the cities of Seoul and Tokyo, the officials said.

The South Korean government still bans the performance of Japanese songs in public places, although many karaoke bars in South Korea feature Japanese pop songs. The metropolitan government negotiated with Seoul to make the festival a fresh start for cultural exchanges between the two countries in line with the planned visit to Japan of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung next Wednesday, the officials said. The songs to be performed by Chon include a popular Japanese song "Yoake no Uta" (A Song of Dawn), and the children's song "Akatombo "(Red Dragonfly). "I am glad that Japan asked me to play such an important role. I would like to put myself to good use for the exchange of friendship between the two countries," she said.