New Delhi: A video of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi playing the drums together has set the internet ablaze. The two world leaders engaged in a spontaneous jamming session after their summit talks concluded Tuesday.
Wearing matching blue jumpsuits, with a screen in the backdrop showing the flags of the two countries, the duo played popular songs including ‘Golden’ from the Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters and ‘Dynamite’ by Korean boy band BTS.
The moment was reminiscent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Japan visit in 2014, when he played the traditional Taiko drums alongside a Japanese drummer. He was at an event marking the launch of Tata Consultancy Services’ Technology and Cultural Academy in Tokyo.
Lee was visiting Nara, Takaichi’s hometown, where the two leaders exchanged signed drumsticks after the performance—which was also an homage to Takaichi’s role as a drummer in a heavy metal band.
“Mr. President, you playing the drums is seriously so cute,” commented a user on Lee’s X post. “Seeing you syncing rhythms with the Prime Minister makes me think Japan-Korea relations will really work out great too.”
Lee called the performance ‘a bit awkward’ at first before the two leaders achieved a ‘common harmony’. He compared it to how Japan and South Korea can respect each other’s differences while deepening cooperation.
“When we met at APEC last year, he mentioned that his dream was to play the drums, so I prepared a surprise for the occasion,” Takaichi wrote on X. “We will continue close communication between the governments of Japan and the ROK, including the active implementation of ‘shuttle diplomacy’.”
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A time of uncertainty
Despite sharing a security alliance, the two nations have a strained history arising from Japan’s colonial past and territorial grievances. Lee’s visit to Japan has been part of a larger effort to improve relations with regional powers, including China.
A few days before his drumming session with the Japanese prime minister, Lee visited Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. In October 2025, he presented US President Donald Trump with the controversial golden crown.
The meeting between Lee and Takaichi comes at a time when both countries are dealing with increased uncertainty from both the US and China.
Japan and South Korea are both US allies and have worked with the Western power to counter China’s growing strength in the region. With China tightening its export of rare earth metals, Lee and Takaichi also pledged to increase economic cooperation between their two countries.
Before Lee came to power, there were concerns in Washington that Seoul could drift closer to Beijing. Lee was seen as leaning toward socialist economic causes, and the fear was that the country would diplomatically align with China, its largest trading partner.
Similarly, in Tokyo, there was a fear of a repeat of the 2019 dispute, when South Korea had threatened to quit an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan. Lee was viewed in Japan as a progressive populist who might shift the diplomatic balance if he won.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)