Hopes rise for Hallyu thaw following South Korea President’s China visit
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he expects a gradual relaxation of China's unofficial curbs on South Korean content.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL – Anticipation is rising in South Korea over a possible easing of China’s nearly decade-long restrictions on Korean popular culture, following President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit
The unofficial restrictions, widely seen as a Hallyu ban, were imposed in 2016 following South Korea’s deployment of the US THAAD missile defence system, effectively blocking approval for K-pop performances and the broadcast of Korean entertainment content in China.
Speaking to the travelling press corps in Shanghai on Jan 7, Mr Lee said he expects a gradual relaxation of China’s longstanding unofficial curbs on South Korean content, suggesting progress could come step by step.
Despite renewed diplomatic signals, industry sentiment in Seoul remains cautious, saying nothing is certain when pursuing business in China.
In 2025 alone, at least six K-pop concerts that had raised hopes of a thaw were abruptly cancelled or postponed indefinitely, underscoring the fragility of expectations.
On May 31, 2025, boy band EPEX received approval for a concert in Fuzhou, Fujian province – the first such case in nine years – but the event was postponed indefinitely three weeks before the scheduled date, with “local circumstances” cited.
Similar cases followed, with indie band Say Sue Me failing to secure final authorisation in July and girl group Kep1er postponing a Fujian fan concert in September 2025.
The most prominent setback came later that month, when 2025 Dream Concert, a large-scale joint K-pop show planned for Sanya in Hainan province and expected to draw around 40,000 attendees, was cancelled after failing to obtain final approval two weeks before the event.
While these events were typically scrapped in the final approval stage, limiting immediate financial losses, the repeated refusals on opaque grounds have steadily eroded the willingness of promoters to stage K-pop concerts in China.
Expectations resurfaced in November 2025, when Mr Lee publicly signalled support for easing cultural restrictions during the APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province, where he introduced Mr J.Y. Park, co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, to Chinese President Xi Jinping. That meeting was widely interpreted as a symbolic attempt to restart dialogue on cultural exchanges.
Amid growing hopes, industry insiders say “hard realities” such as recent geopolitical tensions between Japan and China may have further complicated matters. As signs of cultural boycotts emerged between China and Japan over Taiwan-related issues, K-pop groups with Japanese or Chinese members have faced additional scrutiny.
In December 2025, girl group Le Sserafim cancelled a Shanghai fan signing event one day before it was scheduled to take place, citing “unavoidable circumstances”. Industry insiders attributed the decision to heightened sensitivities surrounding the group’s Japanese members amid strained China-Japan relations.
“I’ve heard that Le Sserafim was not booked for performances in the Greater China region due to strained China-Japan relations, and that the presence of a Japanese member was cited as the reason,” a K-pop concert promoter in China told The Korea Herald.
Similar tensions surfaced in Japan, where Aespa’s Chinese member Ningning withdrew from NHK’s annual Kohaku Uta Gassen TV special on Dec 31, 2025, officially due to influenza. Her absence followed renewed online backlash in Japan over a 2022 social media post that some users claimed evoked imagery of an atomic bomb cloud, sparking petitions against her appearance.
According to IFPI’s Global Music Report 2025, China is the world’s fifth-largest music market, ranking two places above South Korea. With annual revenue growth reaching 9.6 per cent in 2024 – the fastest among the top 10 markets – the country remains one of the most attractive yet high-risk destinations for K-pop expansion.
“The expectations are certainly growing,” said an executive at a major K-pop agency. “But uncertainty remains, especially since many idol groups now include Japanese members. Even if the Hallyu ban eases, agencies are facing a new set of challenges.” KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
