VOA慢速英语--Young Japanese Seek K-Pop Stardom in South Korea

 

K-pop music is popular in many countries.

This popularity has led to a number of young people leaving their home countries and going to South Korea - the center of the K-pop universe. Industry experts estimate there may be up to one million music hopefuls seeking stardom in South Korea.

Most of these young men and women are South Koreans. But a growing number come from Japan, where K-pop has a huge following.

One such K-pop wannabe is 17-year-old Yuuka Hasumi. She delayed her high school education in Japan in February and instead went to South Korea in hopes of becoming a star performer.

Hasumi knew this decision meant her life in South Korea would not be easy. She would need to spend long hours working on her voice and dance moves. There would be little time for social activities. This meant giving up much of her privacy, having no boyfriend and little or no use of her telephone.

The young woman signed up to attend the Acopia School in Seoul, a preparatory school offering young Japanese a shot at K-pop fame. Acopia teaches students the songs and dance moves, as well as the Korean language.

Such training programs are the first step for Hasumi and others trying to prepare for an intensely competitive series of auditions². All the music hopefuls dream of getting invited to perform for major talent agencies. In the end, the agencies accept only a small number of “trainees” to shape into possible stars.

It is difficult, Hasumi told a Reuters news agency reporter after one of her dance class workouts. She attended the class with Yuho Wakamatsu, a 15-year-old friend from Japan.

Hasumi is one of about 500 Japanese who join the Acopia School each year. The program costs up to $3,000 a month. The cost includes training activities and a place to stay.

The school can organize auditions for its students with talent agencies. Industry experts say the auditioning³ process has fueled a “Korean-wave” of pop culture that has spread worldwide over the past 10 years.

One of the biggest K-pop groups to explode into stardom was the South Korean boy band BTS.

“They’re nuts about BTS over there in Japan,” said Lee Soo-chul, who belongs to the Seoul-Tokyo Forum⁴. The private group has members from the Japanese and South Korean diplomatic and business communities.

K-pop’s huge popularity in Japan comes at a time when relations between South Korea and Japan have experienced difficulties. Relations have been hurt by South Korean court rulings against Japanese companies for carrying out forced labor⁵ during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization⁶ of Korea. Many South Koreans believe Japanese officials have not done enough to take responsibility for Japan’s colonial past.

But Lee says K-pop groups and well-known Korean musicians keep performing to large, sell out crowds throughout Japan. “There is no Korea-Japan animosity there.”

Rikuya Kawasaki is a 16-year-old Japanese K-pop star hopeful. “I might get criticized for being Japanese, but I want to stand on a stage and make (South Koreans) know Japanese can be this cool,” she told Reuters.

Many schools and talent agencies attempt to find new recruits in Japan because it is the second largest music market after the United States.

Some Japanese have already made it big in K-pop. The three Japanese members of the girl band Twice helped make the group a success. Twice is now the second most popular band in Japan, after BTS.

Yuuka Hasumi is hopeful that K-pop can be good for relations between the two countries. “It will be good if Japan and South Korea will get along through music,” she said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

audition¹ – v. give a short performance to try to get a job as a singer, dancer, etc.

band – n. a group of singers or other musicians

nuts – adj. mad or unsound; crazy

animosity – n. a feeling of hatred⁷ or anger toward someone

stage – n. raised platform on which people perform

recruit – n. someone who has recently joined an organization

1 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

2 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

3 auditioning   

vi.试听（audition的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She was auditioning for the role of Lady Macbeth. 她试演了麦克佩斯夫人的角色。
• Which part are you auditioning for? 你试音什么角色？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。