China hasn’t held a K-pop concert in 9 years. Is that about to change?

But concert approvals remain a major holdout, as evidenced by the recent cancelation of boy band EPEX’s concert in Fuzhou. The band’s concert in mainland China, originally scheduled for May 31, wasn’t just significant because it was EPEX’s first concert in China: It was — or would’ve been — the first K-pop concert in mainland China in nine years featuring K-pop acts of Korean nationality.

China, and its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), imposed an “unofficial” ban on Korean culture in August 2016, shortly after Seoul officially announced that it would deploy the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad). While a response to North Korea on paper, the CCP widely characterized the decision as an anti-Chinese measure from the allied powers.

What followed has been referred to as the “K-wave ban” in western media. While the Chinese government made no official announcement “banning” Korean culture in the country, TV dramas featuring Korean actors were removed in postproduction.

Outlets, including the South China Morning Post, said in 2016 that the Chinese authorities passed orders “verbally” to local media producers, asking them to postpone any works featuring Korean stars and that such media would not be approved by the Chinese government. BTS member Suga famously said in a livestream in 2023 that “there is no way for Korean singers to work in China.”

Analysts believe that China’s easing of its restrictions on K-pop concerts is a critical indicator of China’s willingness to normalize K-pop and other Korean cultural content. For major entertainment agencies like HYBE and SM Entertainment, the approval could expand their cash cow concert business: HYBE, in the first quarter of 2025, drew around 30 percent of its revenue from concerts alone, while SM Entertainment had 23 percent of its first quarter revenue deriving from concerts.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s optimism regarding K-pop during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik in February, where Xi mentioned that there should be no issues with cultural interaction between the two nations, is fueling hopes of the Chinese government reverting their “unofficial” restriction on Korean culture.

“Dream Concert” in China

Analysts project that the recent concert cancelation won’t change the course of the general sense of China easing out on Korean culture restrictions.

“It is likely that the concert was delayed by Chinese authorities due to an increase in concert-related fraud in the country,” said Lim Soo-jin, an analyst at Daishin Securities. “But the possibility of China lifting the ‘ban’ on K-culture is still valid.”

Now all eyes are focused on “Dream Concert,” which is scheduled to be hosted at the Sanya Sports Stadium in Hainan on Sept. 26. “Dream Concert” is an annual charity concert that features top-tier K-pop idols and artists. While the concert lineup has yet to be released and there’s no guarantee that it won’t be canceled last minute, as EPEX’s was, many hope to see A-list Korean artists.

And it’s not like China banned all things Korean culture for the last decade. Starting in July 2023, big-name K-pop bands Le Sserafim, Seventeen, ITZY and others held their first in-person fan sign events in mainland China, where members flew to China to perform a few songs and meet their fans. Album and merchandise pop-up stores have also been opened in major cities since.

WayV, a subgroup of SM Entertainment’s boy band NCT featuring three Chinese members and no Korean members, was also able to host a full-on concert in mainland China in 2024.

The launch of Dear u Bubble in China, a localized version of SM Entertainment’s private messaging service, expected in June or July, will also fuel the K-pop wave in the country, according to Park Su-young, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities.

Video games make a comeback

Video games, once heavily regulated by the Chinese authorities, have enjoyed more approvals over the past few years.

Online games, in order to offer service in China, are required to obtain formal approval from China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), which was tightly shut to Korean games in 2017.

But the NPPA has been approving more and more Korean-made titles since 2020. Publisher Com2uS’ mobile game Summoners War: Sky Arena became the first and only Korean-made game to receive the green light in 2020. The Korean pool subsequently expanded to eight new games in 2022, nine games in 2023 and 10 games in 2024. The released games, such as Nexon’s Dungeon & Fighter Mobile and NCsoft’s Blade & Soul 2, are both experiencing positive receptions from the local gamers.

“It was definitely difficult to receive the release approval in China for a few years after its ban on Korean culture began,” said a source from a game publisher, who wished to remain anonymous because they perceived the matter as highly sensitive. “But approval seems to be much easier to receive now.”

An uncertain future

But China’s opening of its culture market to Korea, to the level it had reached before the deployment of Thaad, may take longer than many hope, according to experts.

“We can only truly say that the ban will be lifted when the Propaganda Department sends a similar call internally to allow Korean culture back into the country again,” Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Prof. Lim Dae-geun, who specializes in Chinese culture and the exchange of pop culture in Asia, told the Korea JoongAng Daily. In the meantime, Lim says, governmental approval of Korean entertainment will be case-by-case.
 
However, Lim does believe that “Korean culture will regain its position in China in no time.”

Chinese people have been consuming it through various means anyway,” Lim added. “The point is to bring that stuff back officially, linking it to the intellectual property rights and to the industry itself.”

BY CHO YONG-JUN  [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]