K-pop’s return to China stalls as flagship concert delayed

A K-pop concert that was set to be China’s largest in nearly a decade has been indefinitely postponed, highlighting the hurdles to reopening the world’s No. 2 consumer market to South Korean entertainment. The Dream Concert was expected to be a watershed moment for the K-pop industry, with multiple groups set to perform at a 40,000-seat stadium in Hainan — an event seen as a possible end to Beijing’s long-standing informal ban on South Korean acts. Organizers said this week that the show has been postponed without a new date or further explanation. Earlier, girl group Kep1er also said their September 13 show in Fuzhou has been canceled due to “inevitable circumstances.” The back-to-back setbacks cast doubt on hopes that Beijing is ready to fully lift curbs on South Korean cultural exports, which have been restricted since 2016. It also underscored the challenges South Korea’s entertainment industry faces in re-entering the Chinese market. Since 2016, Chinese authorities have largely barred concerts and television appearances by South Korean artists in retaliation for Seoul’s deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system. The scheduling of Dream Concert and Kep1er’s show had raised optimism among investors and promoters that restrictions were easing, coinciding with a political shift in Seoul. Progressive leader Lee Jae Myung, elected this year, has pledged to pursue a more balanced policy toward Beijing, fueling speculation that cultural exchanges might soon resume. Shares of K-pop agencies have been on a roller-coaster ride as hopes rose — then cooled — over China’s reopening. The stocks have still gained significantly since the start of the year along with a boom in the broader South Korean equity market. The last major K-pop concert in China was Big Bang’s 2016 tour stop. Since then, the restrictions often described as an unofficial “K-wave ban” have kept the Chinese market off limits, even as K-pop grew into a global cultural phenomenon. BlackPink’s world tour for this year covers Asian cities including Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta but notably skips mainland China. While major performances have been blocked, small-scale events such as pop-up stores and fan meetings in second-tier cities have been permitted, hinting at China’s cautious and selective stance toward South Korean entertainment. In the meantime, Chinese fans have been traveling to South Korea to meet their favorite pop stars, with a temporary visa-free policy starting at the end of September expected to fuel such demand. Local media have cited a potential visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the APEC summit in Gyeongju during October 31-November 1 as a possible catalyst for improving ties and paving the way for K-pop’s access to the Chinese market. The continued concert bans “reflect the lingering aftershocks of the THAAD deployment — without a policy shift at the top level, these aftereffects will persist,” said Lee Hochul, professor emeritus at Incheon National University. “If Xi Jinping attends APEC in Gyeongju, that visit could provide an opportunity to reset the tone.” By Sohee Kim and Soo-Hyang Choi

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K-pop’s return to China stalls as flagship concert delayed