According to the Sports Nippon newspaper, Korean groups BIG BANG and KARA will be making their first appearances in the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen. The last Korean artists to perform on opposite teams at Kohaku were Lee Jung Hyun and RYU in 2004, but BIG BANG and KARA will be the first groups ever to do so.
BIG BANG, who made their debut in Japan last year, will be participating as an ordinary member of the White Team, rather than as part of a special project. They are planning to arrive in Japan on December 26 and stay until the new year. This means that they will be absent for NHK’s annual press conference introducing the first-time Kohaku participants, but they have already recorded a video message for the event.
KARA debuted in Japan just this year. They will be part of the Red Team, but details about their participation are not yet known. ). The honor of performing on Kōhaku is strictly by invitation, so only the most successful J-Pop artists can perform.
Note: Kouhaku  is a big year end music event in Japan arranged by NHK. They form 2 most popular music teams and then let them battle on the New Year’s Eve night.It’s usaully the male artists on white and female on red team.Kouhaku’s the legend music show in Japan TV history and have the highest TV rating.The artists who attend this will get a lot of popularity nationwide and it’s their lifetime career highlight. The honor of performing on Kōhaku is strictly by invitation, so only the most successful J-Pop artists can perform.
source: tokyograph