Japanese women look to Korean men as hallyu shapes marriage views

May 21 (Asia Today) -- A growing number of Japanese women are choosing Korean men as marriage partners, drawing attention from local media as the Korean Wave expands beyond dramas and K-pop into dating and family life.

The trend did not emerge overnight. Positive views of young Korean men in Japan were shaped in part by Lee Soo-hyun, a Korean student who died in 2001 while trying to save a Japanese man who had fallen onto the tracks at Tokyo's Shin-Okubo Station.

The image spread further in 2004, when NHK aired the Korean drama "Winter Sonata," triggering the "Yonsama" phenomenon around actor Bae Yong-joon. While the early Korean Wave created an image of Korean men as warm and romantic among middle-aged Japanese women, today's younger generation encounters Korea through K-pop, beauty, fashion, food and travel.

Japan's marriage market is shrinking overall. Government data showed 474,717 marriages in 2023, down nearly 6% from the previous year and below 500,000 for the first time since the 1930s.

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At the same time, foreign residents and cross-border exchanges are becoming a more visible part of Japanese society. The number of foreign residents in Japan reached 3.8 million in 2024, up 10.5% from the previous year and accounting for about 3% of the population.

Korean residents and Korea-related exchanges also remain significant. As of 2024, about 409,000 South Korean nationals lived in Japan, along with about 23,000 people registered under the old "Chōsen-seki" status, a postwar classification for people from the Korean Peninsula that does not mean North Korean citizenship.

The May 28 issue of the Japanese weekly Shukan Shincho, released Wednesday, examined the phenomenon of Japanese women marrying Korean men, sometimes described as "hallyu men." The magazine cited images Japanese women often associate with Korean men, including refined appearance, open emotional expression and attention to self-care.

But those images are closer to popular impressions shaped by Korean entertainment than objective descriptions of all Korean men.

The key point is that the image appears to be lowering barriers to real-life relationships. Major Japanese newspapers and broadcasters have not yet widely framed marriages between Korean men and Japanese women as a major social trend. Still, Korean dramas, K-pop, cosmetics, food and travel have become part of daily culture for many young Japanese women.

Changing views of marriage among Japanese women also play a role. Amid long-term low growth, delayed marriage and rising numbers of people choosing not to marry, more women are distancing themselves from the traditional model of male breadwinners and women responsible for housework and child care.

For some Japanese women, Korean men may appear to represent an alternative to conventional Japanese marriage expectations. If the "Yonsama" boom made Korean men objects of admiration, today's Korean Wave is making them part of real-life dating and marriage choices.

Still, hallyu images do not guarantee the reality of married life. Language, family culture, children's education, nationality and residency issues remain challenges for international couples. Idealizing men of a particular nationality also requires caution.

Even so, the recent attention to Korea-Japan marriages suggests the Korean Wave has entered a new phase. In Japan, hallyu is no longer limited to consuming music and dramas. It is also influencing whom people meet, marry and build families with.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260521010006271