The Surprising Reason You May Never Hear TWICE’s J-Line Sing In Japanese At Home
TWICE has released a number of Japanese songs, but you may never hear these songs on TV, due to Korea’s censorship laws.
On August 15, 1945, Korea enacted the Law For Punishing Anti-National Deeds, right after Japan’s rule ended. This law, and others like it, made it illegal to import and distribute Japanese media and was put in place to protect Korea’s native culture.
As such, Koreans couldn’t legally get a hold of any Japanese media, including music, until the late 1990s.
By the time the 2000s hit, the laws began to change. Koreans could access manga, see joint Japan-Korea films in theatres, and go to Japanese concerts.
Why, then, can’t home-viewers hear Sana, Mina,and Momo sing in their native tongue?
Although Japanese live performances are now legal, it is still illegal to broadcast Japanese music and television over Korea-based signals. That means any music show that is based in Korea cannot play music with Japanese lyrics.
In fact, in 2014 KBS banned Crayon Pop‘s “Uh-ee” from broadcast because it contains the Japanese word pikapika.
It may be disappointing to know that TWICE’s Japanese singles may never hit the Korean air waves…
…but luckily for ONCEs, the internet exists!
You can check out TWICE third Japanese maxi single, “Wake Me Up” here.
