China's first K-pop concert in years signal efforts to mend ties
[SEOUL] Nearly a decade after China imposed an unofficial ban on K-pop performances in the mainland, Beijing appears to be lowering one of the non-trade barriers that kept South Korea's cultural phenomenon out of the country.
South Korean boy band Epex is now gearing for a concert in China next month, their agent C9 Entertainment said on Tuesday (Apr 29), raising expectations that Beijing may ease restrictions on K-pop culture in the mainland.
The concert, scheduled for May 31 in Fuzhou, marks the first performance in nine years in mainland China by a K-pop group comprised entirely of Korean nationals, Lee Jae-young, chief executive of C9 Entertainment told Bloomberg News.
K-pop stars with foreign nationalities have occasionally appeared on Chinese television shows, according to Yonhap News, which first reported the news. Lee said that the Fuzhou concert venue has a capacity of about 1,000.
The news fuelled a rally in South Korean entertainment stocks, with K-pop stocks helping charge the small-cap Kosdaq Index higher.
The timing may be coincidental, but it adds to growing evidence that China is seeking to improve relations with regional partners as countries grapple with increasingly hostile and unpredictable trade policies under US President Donald Trump.
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Last month, trade chiefs of South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul, where they renewed calls for an open, fair flow of goods and pledged to deepen economic ties.
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
China imposed the so-called 'K-wave ban' in 2016 in retaliation for Seoul allowing the US military to deploy missile defence system called Thaad, or Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense. Before the restrictions, China was among the fast-growing markets for K-pop.
Beijing reacted by blocking Chinese tour groups from visiting South Korea, while sales of Korean products such as cars and cosmetics also dropped. Lotte Group pulled back by selling its supermarket business and exiting a theme park project under development. Companies such as Samsung Electronics have shifted production from China to Vietnam and other countries.
The latest move raised doubts among curious Chinese fans, and some took to the social media asking: 'Has the Korea ban been lifted?'
Epex's plans come as some Korean movie and K-pop stars have cautiously resumed their activities in mainland China. Some attended a Ralph Lauren fashion show in Shanghai, holding fan meet-ups in major cities that have been shunned since China's ban. Korean producers have also begun talks over content exports, while there have been no official approvals on the Korean dramas yet by the Chinese government.
Ji In-hae, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said in a recent note that if China allows K-pop singers to perform at large concert halls and permit local broadcasters to air new Korean dramas simultaneously, it would be a 'real, substantial' signal of relaxed restrictions. BLOOMBERG
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