Jeong Se-ah feels happy to see Tanaka, a Japanese bar host character from the early 2000s created by a South Korean comedian, because he revives her teenage memories of watching animations from the neighbouring nation.
The 24-year-old office worker is one of a growing number of young South Koreans drawn to the products and culture of Japan, coming to see it as more of a friend than a foe that colonised the country 70 years ago, unlike previous generations.
