CULTURAL INSIGHT

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On today's TADA Korea, we talk about BTS's ongoing popularity in Japan, and the return of a Korean rock legend Shin Joong-hyun. Amid deteriorating relationships between Korea and Japan, K-pop sensation BTS's popularity does not seem to have an affect at all in Japan. We bring you the details.

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Even as Korea-Japan relations deteriorate, BTS remains as popular as ever in Japan. In the wake of their successful concerts in Japan a few days ago, the hottest K-pop boy band set another record high for a foreign artist in the Japanese music market. According to the Oricon chart, an album sales survey site in Japan, the group's tenth Japanese single album, "Lights/ Boy with Luv," released on July 3rd, garnered 621,000 points to top the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Oricon converts album sales into points and BTS is the first artist to earn more than 600,000 points in the first week of an album release. The latest single album features three songs - the new release "Lights," the smash hit "Idol" that ranked in the top tier of the American Billboard main chart, and "Boy with Luv" released earlier this year. The godfather of Korean rock Shin Joong-hyun is set to release his first new album in 14 years. Shin will present a commemorative album on the 15th of this month, produced together with his three sons, Dae-chul, Yun-chul, and Seok-chul, and fetauring his tribute guitar. In 2009, Shin received a special tribute guitar from the world-class guitar maker Fender Musical Instruments. His latest album was produced to commemorate this tribute instrument. U.S.-based Fender is known to award tribute models only to legendary musicians such as Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Shin is the world's sixth and Asia's first artist to receive a tribute guitar from the leading guitar manufacturer. The iconic guitarist said the upcoming album will contain eight tracks, all of which will be highly experimental.