Korea-Japan Festival turns 20 in Tokyo with K-pop makeovers, hanbok

The Korea-Japan Festival drew hundreds of visitors to the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo from Friday through Sunday, offering hanbok try-ons, K-pop-style makeovers and direct exchanges with young Koreans and Japanese. The event marked its 20th anniversary and moved from Hibiya Park to the cultural center in a new format. Organizers expected nearly 6,000 visitors across the three days, while Park Young-hea said the festival reflects changing Japanese interest in Korean culture.

The festival began in 2005 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.

This year’s event moved from Hibiya Park to the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo.

Organizers expected nearly 6,000 visitors across the three days.

The indoor venue allowed organizers to emphasize the latest Korean products and trends as well as performances.

The festival drew young Koreans and Japanese volunteers through the JENESYS cultural exchange program.

Published Sep 27, 2026 3:31 pm KST

Cultural exchanges flourish amid continuing thaw

Visitors to the Korea-Japan Festival, held from Friday to Sunday, queue before the festival starts at the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

A promotional image for the Korea-Japan Festival in Tokyo / Captured from the Korea-Japan Festival in Tokyo's website

TOKYO — Hundreds of Japanese visitors lined up outside the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo each morning from Friday through Sunday, eager to try on hanbok (Korean traditional attire), get K-pop-inspired makeovers and meet young Koreans face-to-face at the annual Korea-Japan Festival.

Drawing visitors ranging from young adults to families, the three-day festival offered hands-on experiences designed to showcase both contemporary trends and traditional Korean culture. Visitors could speak directly with young volunteers from Korea and Japan, experience professional K-pop-style makeovers and take part in cultural activities. Organizers expect nearly 6,000 visitors across the three days of the festival.

This year marked the festival's 20th anniversary, with the event having launched in 2005 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.

In a departure from previous years, the event moved from Hibiya Park to the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo as organizers experimented with a new format. The indoor venue allowed the festival to place greater emphasis on the latest Korean products and trends as well as performances, while overcoming restrictions on commercial activities at public parks.

Park Young-hea, right, director of the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, gives a tour to visitors during the Korea-Japan Festival in Tokyo held at the center, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

"With the rise of the internet and social media, young Japanese people want to engage with the Korean culture that is trending in Korea right now. In the past, it was just conceived of generally as 'Korean culture,' but now youth see Korean culture as ‘cool,’” Park Young-hea, director of the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, told The Korea Times on Friday.

Park noted that unlike in the past, when interest was largely focused on television and film, the current cultural boom has had a widespread effect on local lifestyles.

“It is extremely important to maintain our traditional offerings, but we learned that at a certain point we needed to present something new. That moment came this year,” she explained.

The hanbok experience drew some of the longest queues of the weekend, with young Japanese women in their 20s waiting to wear the Korean traditional clothing and take photos beneath traditional Korean lanterns. "Kawaii" — the Japanese word meaning "cute" — was a common exclamation among those who tried it on.

One Japanese man in his 20s who attended on Friday liked it so much that he returned the next day.

"I came back to pick up a missing item, but decided to enjoy the event all over again because it turned out to be surprisingly fun," he said.

Visitors wearing hanbok (traditional Korean dress) chat together during the Korea-Japan Festival at the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

Volunteers for the Korea-Japan Festival laugh with participants at the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

For the Korean student volunteers who flew from Korea as part of the Japanese government's Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) cultural exchange program, the festival offered a chance to experience a country that has long felt both close and distant.

"When I learned that more than half of the Japanese public feels positively toward Korea, it was just a statistic to me. But meeting so many people at this event who genuinely love Korea brought those numbers to life," Gwak Young-gyun, a 28-year-old graduate student who led the Korean delegation, said. "I believe Korea–Japan exchange is at its strongest when people meet face-to-face and connect on a personal level."

Lee Chae-yun, 22, the group's deputy leader, said the experience showed that people-to-people ties do not need high-level diplomacy to flourish.

"Meaningful connections between Korea and Japan can grow naturally when we experience each other's culture and find common ground," she said. "The bonds young people are building today could become the solid foundation for our shared future."

Megumi Hamada, a Japanese visitor attending the Korea-Japan Festival for the 10th year in a row, shows off a souvenir at the Korean Cultural Center, Tokyo, Japan, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

For older people who remember lingering political tensions between Seoul and Tokyo, the shift in atmosphere has been striking. Megumi Hamada, attending the festival for the 10th consecutive year, said the change has been dramatic.

"There used to be anti-Japanese sentiment and some people pointed fingers at you just for traveling to Korea. Now, such hostility has vanished. Japanese youth like Korea, and Koreans increasingly like Japan, too. It feels like cultural exchange has become much happier compared to the past,” Hamada said.

"It’s wonderful to see the younger generation connecting without prejudice — something my generation struggled with. Also, fuelled by the popularity of Korean dramas and music across Japan, Korean trends are leading some cultural conversation in Japan today. I hope this relationship continues to thrive.”

Park said she sees the enthusiasm for Korean culture as more than a passing trend.

“The younger generation, who grew up enjoying K-pop, will be moving Korea-Japan relations forward from now on. Their approach will be very different from our generation's — and for that reason, I have high hopes,” Park said.

从周五到周日，韩日文化节吸引了数百名游客来到东京韩国文化中心。活动提供韩服试穿、K-pop风格妆容改造以及与韩国和日本年轻人直接交流的机会。今年是该文化节举办20周年，活动形式也从日比谷公园移至文化中心。主办方预计三天活动将吸引近6000名游客。朴英熙表示，该文化节反映了日本人对韩国文化日益浓厚的兴趣。

该节日始于2005年，是为了纪念韩国和日本建交40周年。

今年的活动从日比谷公园移至东京韩国文化中心举行。

组织者预计三天内将有近6000名游客参观。

室内场地让主办方能够重点展示最新的韩国产品和潮流，以及各种表演。

通过 JENESYS 文化交流项目，该节日吸引了韩国和日本的年轻志愿者。

发布于2026年9月27日下午3:31（韩国标准时间）

随着气候持续解冻，文化交流蓬勃发展。

周六，在位于日本东京的韩国文化中心，参加从周五到周日举行的韩日文化节的游客们在文化节开始前排队等候。（韩国时报 朴智媛 摄）

东京韩日文化节宣传图片 / 图片来自东京韩日文化节官网

东京——从周五到周日，每天早上都有数百名日本游客在东京韩国文化中心外排队，渴望试穿韩服（韩国传统服装），体验 K-pop 风格的妆容，并在一年一度的韩日文化节上与韩国年轻人面对面交流。

为期三天的节日吸引了从年轻人到家庭的各类游客，提供了一系列互动体验，旨在展示当代潮流和韩国传统文化。游客可以与来自韩国和日本的年轻志愿者直接交流，体验专业的韩流风格造型，并参与各种文化活动。主办方预计，节日三天将吸引近6000名游客。

今年是该节日举办的第 20 个年头，该活动于 2005 年创办，旨在纪念韩国和日本建交 40 周年。

与往年不同，今年的活动从日比谷公园移至东京韩国文化中心，主办方尝试了一种新的举办形式。室内场地使得本次活动能够更加注重展示韩国最新产品和潮流趋势，以及呈现精彩的表演，同时也克服了公园商业活动的限制。

周六，在东京韩国文化中心举办的韩日文化节上，中心主任朴英熙（右）正在为参观者讲解。照片由《韩国时报》朴智媛拍摄。

“随着互联网和社交媒体的兴起，日本年轻人想要接触目前在韩国流行的韩国文化。过去，它只是被笼统地称为‘韩国文化’，但现在年轻人认为韩国文化‘很酷’，”韩国文化中心东京分部主任朴英熙（音译）周五告诉《韩国时报》。

朴指出，与过去人们主要关注电视和电影不同，当前的文化繁荣对当地生活方式产生了广泛的影响。

“保持我们的传统特色固然非常重要，但我们也意识到，在某个时刻我们需要推出一些新的东西。而这个时刻就在今年到来了，”她解释道。

韩服体验活动吸引了周末最长的排队人群，许多二十多岁的年轻日本女性排队等候穿上韩国传统服饰，并在传统的韩国灯笼下拍照留念。“卡哇伊”（日语中意为“可爱”）是试穿者们最常发出的感叹。

周五参加活动的一位二十多岁的日本男子非常喜欢，第二天又来了一次。

“我本来是回来取一件丢失的物品，但没想到活动竟然如此有趣，于是决定再好好享受一番，”他说。

周六，在东京韩国文化中心举行的韩日文化节上，身着韩服（韩国传统服饰）的游客们互相交谈。韩国时报朴智媛摄

周日，在日本东京的韩国文化中心，韩日文化节的志愿者们与参与者们开怀大笑。（韩国时报 朴智媛 摄）

对于作为日本政府“日本-东亚学生和青年交流网络”（JENESYS）文化交流项目的一部分从韩国飞来的韩国学生志愿者来说，这个节日提供了一个体验一个长期以来既亲近又遥远的国家的机会。

“当我得知超过半数的日本民众对韩国抱有好感时，这对我来说只是一个统计数字。但在这次活动中，我遇到了许多真心热爱韩国的人，这些数字才真正鲜活起来。” 28岁的研究生郭永均（音译）说道，他也是韩国代表团的团长。“我相信，韩日交流只有在人们面对面交流、建立个人联系时才能达到最佳状态。”

该组织副组长、22岁的李彩允表示，这次经历表明，民间关系的发展并不需要高层外交。

她表示：“当我们体验彼此的文化并找到共同点时，韩日两国之间有意义的联系就能自然而然地发展起来。年轻人今天建立的联系，可能会成为我们共同未来的坚实基础。”

周六，在日本东京韩国文化中心，连续第十年参加韩日文化节的日本游客滨田惠美（Megumi Hamada）正在展示她的纪念品。（韩国时报 朴智媛 摄）

对于那些还记得首尔和东京之间长期政治紧张局势的老一辈人来说，如今的氛围转变令人瞩目。连续第十年参加该节日的滨田惠美表示，这种变化非常剧烈。

“过去确实存在反日情绪，有些人甚至会因为你去韩国旅行而对你指指点点。现在，这种敌意已经消失了。日本年轻人喜欢韩国，韩国人也越来越喜欢日本。感觉文化交流比过去更加融洽了。”滨田说道。

“很高兴看到年轻一代能够摒弃偏见地交流——这曾是我们这代人努力克服的难题。此外，韩剧和韩流音乐在日本的流行也带动了韩国文化潮流在日本引发的讨论。我希望这种关系能够继续蓬勃发展。”

朴女士表示，她认为人们对韩国文化的热情不仅仅是一时的潮流。

“年轻一代从小就喜欢K-pop，他们将是未来推动韩日关系发展的主力军。他们的方式与我们这一代人截然不同——正因如此，我对他们寄予厚望。”朴槿惠说道。