REVIEW · Festivals
BON. Inoue and Manami Nagai bring two voices together — Korea–Japan Festival 2026
Performance highlights
Selected repertoire · Not in performance order
- Beautiful — BON. Inoue▶ Watch video
- Nan Gwaenchana / Koi no Survival (I Will Survive) — BON. Inoue▶ Watch video
- Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto — Manami Nagai▶ Watch video
- GLAMOROUS SKY — Duet▶ Watch video
From a televised contest to a cultural exchange stage
The Korea–Japan Festival 2026 in Seoul took place on October 10 at COEX in Gangnam. Under the theme of a new step towards a better future, it presented traditional performances, popular music and cultural experiences from both countries.
The festival began during the 2005 Korea–Japan Friendship Year, marking 40 years of normalised diplomatic relations. It has since become a prominent setting for citizens to encounter each other's cultures. This year again brought performing artists from many fields to Seoul.
Among the notable performers were Japanese singers BON. Inoue and Manami Nagai. After competing in Japan's Geneki Kaou programme, they became known to Korean viewers through the 2026 Korea–Japan King of Singers contest. Having competed against Korean singers on television, they now appeared as participants in a cultural exchange event.
Their performance began around 4:15 p.m. and combined solo numbers with a duet. Distinctive vocal colours and singing styles offered Korean listeners several different sides of Japanese popular music.
BON. Inoue's powerful “Beautiful”
With teal hair and a white outfit, BON. Inoue performed Superfly's “Beautiful.” Strong vocals and energetic movement are characteristic strengths, and ample vocal power drove this performance too.
Released in 2015, “Beautiful” showcases Superfly vocalist Shiho Ochi's explosive singing. Its high range, sustained phrases and changing emotional demands place considerable emphasis on vocal ability in a live setting.
Inoue used those qualities to effect, sustaining vocal energy through the high notes and conveying the original's exhilarating character. Moving actively while maintaining vocal control recalled strengths already evident in the competition programme.
The performance of “Beautiful” is available below in Diego’s footage from the event.
BON. Inoue · Beautiful
Another selection was “I Will Survive,” also familiar through the Korean version “Nan Gwaenchana” and the Japanese title “Koi no Survival.” Gloria Gaynor's 1978 disco classic is widely known in Korea through Jinju's version, and has also been adapted and covered by Japanese singers.
Inoue moved between Korean and Japanese, bringing versions familiar to both audiences into one performance. Its strong rhythm and expansive vocals made it well suited to Inoue's style.
Together, the two songs demonstrated vocal power and expression. More than simply reaching high notes, Inoue maintained the songs' energy and carried it into the audience.
The event footage also includes “Nan Gwaenchana / Koi no Survival,” performed in Korean and Japanese.
BON. Inoue · Nan Gwaenchana / Koi no Survival
Manami Nagai's lighter touch in “Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto”
Nagai offered a brighter, gentler mood after Inoue's forceful singing. Wearing a pale-purple dress and holding a red rose, she performed JY's “Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto.”
Released in 2016 as the theme for the Fuji TV drama of the same name, it was recorded by Kang Ji-young, formerly of Korean girl group KARA, under her Japanese solo name JY.
A Japanese singer performing a Korean-born artist's Japanese-language song at a bilateral festival in Korea fitted the occasion especially well. It introduced Japanese pop while carrying a natural connection to Korea.
Nagai used her clear tone to express its bright, romantic atmosphere. Compared with Inoue, there were differences in projection and vocal steadiness, but her softer voice and cheerful expression established an individual character.
A small sound mishap interrupted the opening. Just before the backing track, an unexpected English count-in—“ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!”—rang through the venue. Nagai briefly appeared surprised. The sound, absent from the original, momentarily disrupted the introduction, but the performance then continued normally.
Brief as it was, the incident underlined the importance of sound preparation and cueing. Its timing at the very point when the song's mood was taking shape made it unfortunate.
Nagai nevertheless continued, showing her vocal colour and expression. Her approach was less about overwhelming volume than about conveying a song through brightness and warmth.
Watch Manami Nagai’s performance of “Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto” in the footage below.
Manami Nagai · Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto
Two contrasting voices in “GLAMOROUS SKY”
After their solos, the pair performed a duet. They chose “GLAMOROUS SKY,” released by Mika Nakashima in the role of Nana Osaki from the film NANA.
Released in 2005, the song is widely recognised in Japanese rock and popular culture. HYDE of L’Arc-en-Ciel composed it, with lyrics by NANA creator Ai Yazawa. Its popularity grew alongside the film's success.
A strong guitar sound and rock energy define the original. Nakashima's distinctive voice gives it an atmosphere unlike a conventional pop ballad.
Inoue and Nagai retained their contrasting styles. Inoue's powerful tone carried the rock energy, while Nagai's clearer, softer voice brought a different colour.
The considerable difference between their voices became the duet's defining quality. Alternating passages created something unavailable in the solo sets, while shared sections let listeners hear their individual characters side by side.
It was particularly interesting to hear Inoue's strength and Nagai's bright tone crossing within one song. Rather than adopting the same style, each maintained individual strengths.
Having appeared together as Japanese representatives in the 2026 televised contest, they were now reunited in a Seoul cultural event. A connection formed on television had continued onto a live stage.
Diego’s event footage also captures the pair’s “GLAMOROUS SKY” duet.
BON. Inoue × Manami Nagai · GLAMOROUS SKY
A televised connection continues through musical exchange
Both singers expanded their activities this year through Japan's Geneki Kaou and Korea's 2026 Korea–Japan King of Singers. Their appearances reflect a continuing path from working in Japan to Korean music television, followed by performances and events in Korea.
Here, the emphasis shifted from competition to presenting their music. Inoue delivered forceful Japanese rock and pop, Nagai offered brighter and softer songs, and “GLAMOROUS SKY” brought the two approaches together.
Afterwards, Inoue wrote on social media about the pleasure of singing in Korea with Nagai again. Inoue also reported receiving a commendation for contributions to bilateral exchange and expressed an intention to continue working in both countries.
The footage also documents the presentation of certificates of appreciation, adding a record of the exchange beyond the musical performances.
BON. Inoue × Manami Nagai · Certificate presentation
The wider festival featured performers from Korea and Japan across traditional arts, popular music, dance and other forms of performance, with cultural-experience activities elsewhere in the venue.
Within that programme, the pair focused on Japanese popular music. Songs associated with Superfly, JY and Mika Nakashima introduced different styles, while their Korean-and-Japanese “I Will Survive” drew on music familiar in both countries.
Their appearance also showed how relationships formed on television can become live encounters. Singers who moved from a Japanese competition to Korean broadcasts now met Korean listeners directly at a Seoul exchange event.
At COEX on October 10, Inoue and Nagai conveyed different musical qualities through solos and a duet: vocal power, bright tone, and the shared “GLAMOROUS SKY.” Their short set made room for several distinct moods within Japanese popular music.
Related event footage
Related event footage from Diego’s channel.