The "Japan-Korea Exchange Festival" was held in Seoul on the 5th with the aim of promoting cultural exchange between Japan and South Korea. Held online due to the effects of the COVID-19 virus.

The Japan-Korea Exchange Festival is sponsored by an executive committee made up of companies and organizations from both countries, and has been held every year since 2005, the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea.

In October 1998, Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung (both at that time) announced the "Japan-Korea Partnership Declaration." The Declaration stipulates a future-oriented relationship between Japan and South Korea, facing the past and vowing to develop relationships based on mutual understanding and trust.

The Japan-Korea Exchange Festival is sponsored by both the Japanese and Korean governments to realize the spirit of this declaration. It has been held in Seoul since 2005, but since 2009 it has been held in both Seoul and Tokyo with the intention of creating this event together in Japan and South Korea. This year too, it will be held online in Tokyo on the 11th.

In 2019, when Japan-South Korea relations began to deteriorate further, the event was held as scheduled at both Seoul and Tokyo, although the event was in jeopardy. About 72,000 people, the second largest number in the past, visited the event in Tokyo held at Hibiya Park.

In addition to KPOP and JPOP, it has been established as an event where each other's traditional performing arts and gourmet food can be enjoyed, but due to the corona virus, it has been forced to be held online since last year.

This year's theme is "Let's walk together even if we can't meet". On the 5th, there was a performance by a female music group using traditional Korean musical instruments at the venue in Seoul, and the pattern was livestreamed through the video posting site "YouTube". Koichi Aiboshi, Ambassador to Korea, sent a message in Korean saying, "The fact that we were able to hold the event in the difficult situation of re-spreading the corona is important for the development of private-sector exchange between Japan and South Korea."

In 2019, when Japan-South Korea relations began to deteriorate further due to the former recruitment problem and the tightening of export restrictions on Korea by the Japanese government, Japan-South Korea exchange projects were canceled or postponed one after another. Even so, it was this "Japan-Korea Exchange Festival" that was held. And now, they're trying to overcome the corona pandemic.

The 12th meeting by Koichi Hagiuda, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, and Hu Heping, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of China, on the 30th of last month. The "Japan-China-Korea Culture Ministers' Meeting" was held at a video conference to discuss cultural exchanges after Corona.

After confirming the current state of cultural exchange between Japan, China and South Korea affected by the corona, a joint declaration was announced to resume and develop cooperation in cultural exchange between the three countries in the future.

It is said that "pretending to got to Korea" is currently booming among some young people in Japan. While you can't go on an overseas due to the corona, you can bring Korean gourmet food to your home and enjoy the feeling of going on a trip to Korea.

In South Korea, "Its up to you" is currently booming among some young people. While they can't travel to Japan, they visit Japanese gourmet sushi restaurant and ask for the menu recommended by the owner. It's a little luxury time for young Koreans who want to enjoy the atmosphere of traveling to Japan.

South Korea and Japan are facing a difficult physical exchange due to the unexpected corona epidemic. However, from a different point of view, it was realized that the two peoples were happy to be able to easily interact with each other as long as they had the feeling of acknowledging each other while being forced to live a difficult life due to the corona.