Which one is the originator between Korean trot and Japanese enka?

[Andrewkim]

The common belief in Korean society is that trot music was born under the influence of enka music. However, historical analysis suggests that even Japanese people acknowledge the opposite.

The founder of enka in Japan is considered to be Masao Koga. In Tokyo, Japan, there is a museum dedicated to Masao Koga, where MBC from South Korea confirmed that the origins of enka trace back to Korean folk songs. This information is conveyed in a YouTube video titled "한국의 트로트와 일본의 엔카는 닮았다?"

Masao Koga was born in Japan but spent his adolescence in Korea from elementary school, graduating from Sunrin High School. He began his music career during high school in Korea. He himself admitted that his composition activities were influenced by Korean folk songs and melodies, and a Japanese individual interviewed on YouTube also acknowledges that enka originated from Korean melodies.

Furthermore, the term "enka" became established only after the 1970s.

Therefore, it should be avoided to vaguely claim that enka is the prototype of trot.

It cannot be denied that our music has been influenced by Japan, including during the colonial period. However, our trot music, originating from our folk songs, has developed autonomously under the influence of Western music, resulting in enka in Japan being influenced by our folk melodies. Therefore, understanding that influence was mutual is the accurate interpretation.

There are historical cases where our musicians, active in Japan, created enka hit songs that have no relation to traditional Japanese enka, so it's fair to say that the influence was reciprocal.

Additionally, although there is much more research, one example is the unique meter of 7 and 5 syllables found in both Japanese enka and our trot music, which originated from our own Korean traditional music, as seen in the ancient  청산별곡 about 1,000 years ago(고려시대).

Here is the sample of 7and 5 syllables.

in 돌아와요 부산항에 (조용필)

오륙도 돌아가는(7 syllables)

연락선위에(5 syallables)

In the early days of the Meiji era in Japan, Enka, which became popular, was closer to political speeches in style, and it's quite different from today's Enka. It is widely accepted that today's Enka originated from the 1930s with the composer Masao Koga.