For this year’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen, K-pop girl groups including ILLIT will participate in the popular Japanese end-of-year show. But why is the group earning harsh reactions?
Since December 1, the term “ILLIT Kōhaku” has become a popular search on Japanese X and Yahoo Japan. This follows the announcement that six K-pop and K-pop inspired idol groups, such as TWICE, LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT, TXT, ME:I and JO1, will join NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen taking place in December . 31.
However, Japanese audiences were not happy with how girl group ILLIT was included, as they only debuted in March 2024.
The reason was due to their “unknown identity” in the country. Although the team went viral for their hit debut track, “Magnetic,” this wasn’t enough for them to be recognized, especially by those who weren’t K-pop fans.
Kōhaku Uta Gassen, which in the 1960s became one of Japan’s representative television programs with a viewing rate of over 80%, is interpreted as recognizing a top singer in the Japanese music market with its appearance.
As a result, they were sad that many K-pop artists would join, even adding a rookie who had not yet made his official debut in Japan. For them, ILLIT is stealing a spot from an artist who more deserves to be among the 41 teams.
READ ALSO: ILLIT Minju criticized for inviting Sana to her show TWICE: ‘Don’t meddle with them’
Some of the reactions are:
- “I don’t know who he is…”
- “Why are there so many K-pop singers at Japanese festivals?”
- “It’s K-pop heaven again this year.”
- “Is it right for a singer whose identity is unknown to appear on Kōhaku Uta Gassen?”
They also insisted that it was a Japanese music festival, not a Korean one. On the other hand, locals who like K-pop defended the group and wrote:
- “It is wrong to criticize ILLIT without knowing their popularity.”
- “It’s old-fashioned to criticize them just because they’re Korean singers.”
Music critic Tetsuo Higara also added:
- “Kōhaku Uta Gassen is not a stage where only Japanese appear.”
RELATED ARTICLE: ILLIT Fans Accuse Filipino Girl Group BINI of Cheating After Winning ‘Best Asia Act’ at the 2024 MTV EMAs
