Japanese, South Korean leaders jam to K-pop hits at summit

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation after a summit in Nara, capped by a surprise cultural moment as the two leaders shared a lighthearted drumming jam session to popular K-pop hits

Tokyo: The Japanese and South Korean leaders agreed to deepen cooperation between their countries before they let loose with their own surprise cultural exchange in a surprise jam session drumming to K-pop hits.

The musical performance between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung followed Tuesday’s summit in Nara, Japan, Takaichi’s hometown.

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Wearing personalised athletic jackets, they sat side by side and drummed to hits such as BTS’s “Dynamite” and K-pop Demon Hunters’ “Golden” in a short video posted by Takaichi’s office on Wednesday.

The jam session was a surprise by Takaichi, a heavy metal fan and an avid drummer in her college days.

Lee, in a message on his own X, thanked Takaichi for his hospitality in arranging the jam session, as playing the drums has been his longtime dream.

Just like they respected each other’s differences and aligned their rhythms gradually, Lee said, he hoped South Korea and Japan would deepen their cooperation and become closer step by step.

Takaichi, in a video, complimented Lee as a fast learner, saying he learned to play the drums in just a few minutes.

“In order to develop Japan-South Korea relations in a forward-looking way and stably, we will continue our close communication between the two governments, including by proactively carrying out our shuttle diplomacy,” Takaichi said.