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Alyssa Chen

While K-pop has conquered almost every corner of the globe, South Korea’s entertainment industry remains largely locked out of the Chinese market due to a geopolitical chill that has lingered for a decade.
China unofficially banned South Korean entertainment products in 2016 after Seoul deployed the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system (THAAD) despite Beijing’s objections. K-pop concerts were cancelled, South Korean dramas disappeared from Chinese streaming platforms, and South Korean stars were edited out of Chinese variety shows.
Beijing has never officially admitted to the existence of the ban on hallyu – or “Korean wave”, referring to South Korean popular culture. Although Chinese fans have found creative ways to stay connected to South Korean pop culture, Seoul’s entertainment industry is still waiting for the ban to lift.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to China last month failed to achieve a complete reopening of the Chinese market. But slight cracks are appearing in the barriers to Korean content.
In early January, the Chinese remake of the South Korean television series My Mister – featuring singer-actress IU – was released on the streaming platform Youku. The Chinese version, titled Loving Strangers, starred actors Mark Chao Yu-ting and Zhang Zifeng. Media reports noted that it was the first South Korean drama remake to be publicly distributed in China since the ban began.

Earlier this month, South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM partnered with JYP Entertainment’s Chinese subsidiary and Tencent Music Entertainment to launch Onecead, an artist management and music production company with a focus on the Chinese market.
K-pop artists have also been allowed to hold fan meetings and autograph signings in China in recent years, though full-scale concerts remain prohibited.
Last month alone, musical groups Itzy, Ive, Hearts2Hearts and WayV held fan events in China, as did actor Lee Dong-wook. More are expected this month, with NCT Dream, Exo, CNBlue and other bands meeting with Chinese fans.
To navigate the lingering sensitivity around Korean entertainment, these events often maintain a low profile, withholding venue details only after tickets are bought.
Nevvue Jiang, a 24-year-old from Sichuan province who has followed K-pop groups since middle school, said that going to exclusive meet-and-greets and watching concerts were her main ways of indulging her passion.
Since 2022, Jiang has been attending concerts, album release performances and meet-and-greets in South Korea and Japan to see Cortis, her favourite boy band – sometimes at an exorbitant price.
“Cortis’ style is quite different from the boy bands that I’ve always liked, so at the time, I went to the signing event out of pure curiosity – and maybe a little bit because I wanted to connect with them and see if we could vibe like friends,” she said.
Jiang added that fan events in China were more expensive than those in South Korea. With relatively affordable flights from her home in Shanghai, she decided it made more sense to attend the events there instead.
“It is partly because a lot of K-pop fans these days tend to be younger, and for them, travelling abroad isn’t really an option. They can only attend domestic events, thus driving up ticket demand and prices,” she added.
In the world of K-pop, getting face time with an idol works much like a high-stakes lottery system where the lottery tickets are physical albums. Fans will buy albums in bulk to try to secure a spot at meet-and-greet events, though there is always a possibility of missing out. Fans typically get 60 to 90 seconds to talk to a band member at the events.
At a reception in Seoul, Chinese ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing said the term “hallyu ban” was not accurate, according to a Yonhap News Agency report.
He added that the two countries would promote healthy and beneficial cultural exchanges based on the consensus reached by the leaders.
“As relations between the two countries continue to improve and the friendly sentiments between their peoples grow stronger, cultural exchange activities between China and South Korea will become more frequent,” Dai said.

Lee Dong-gyu, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the official position of the Chinese government was that there was no ban.
From the Chinese government’s perspective, he said, “China cannot loosen what does not exist”.
Lee said the imposition of a cultural ban reflected China’s use of economic coercion as a political tool, while also serving as a protective measure for China’s own cultural industry.
“China has made efforts to develop its own cultural industry. For this, it seems to be necessary for China to prevent the import of other countries’ cultures, especially Korean cultures that are popular around the world,” he said.
“Given the current international situation, it is difficult for the two countries to reach an agreement to resolve the ban.”
Meanwhile, for ordinary fans who cannot afford the high prices to see idols in person, Hong Kong and Macau have been “safe zones” to watch concerts by groups including Super Junior, CNBlue, Seventeen and Ive.
Cultural imports were discussed during Lee’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month. The South Korean leader told reporters during his trip that Beijing might address the issue gradually.
“Ice three feet thick does not melt all at once, and fruit ripens and falls when the time is right,” Xi said during the summit, according to Lee.
“That is how they intend to proceed,” Lee said, adding that a sudden reversal would only prove the existence of the ban.
During Lee’s trip, the two leaders agreed to expand exchanges in football and the strategy game Go, and to hold working-level consultations on exchanges related to films and television dramas, according to a South Korean official.
Global K-pop phenomenon BTS has just unveiled plans for their biggest tour yet, spanning around 30 cities worldwide. It will mark the group’s return to the stage following a nearly four-year hiatus for mandatory military service. The tour excludes mainland China, with only three confirmed performances set for March next year in Hong Kong.
Late last month, K-pop supergroup Blackpink held a three-day concert series in Hong Kong, drawing a massive wave of fans. Immigration data showed that on the first day alone, more than 188,100 visitors from mainland China flooded into the city – a number that surpassed the New Year’s Eve record of roughly 148,400 arrivals.


Liu Tong, a doctoral student in Shanghai and long-time follower of the boy band Seventeen, said the hallyu restrictions continued to pose challenges, especially when it came to watching Korean television shows and variety shows, as well as attending concerts.
She added that she had to find alternative ways to watch Korean films and dramas, as they were not distributed on Chinese streaming platforms.
To see her favourite group perform, Liu has travelled to places such as Hong Kong and Thailand.
“Ticket competition in Hong Kong can be more intense than overseas destinations,” she said. “Because the city is so close to the mainland, many fans from China flock there for concerts.
“Of course, you could travel further abroad to avoid the ticket frenzy, but most of the time, you don’t have the extra time or budget to make that happen frequently,” she said.
However, even K-pop concerts in Hong Kong and Macau sometimes face difficulties.
Earlier this month, Macau performances of Show! Music Core, a K-pop showcase that airs on South Korea’s MBC, were cancelled – reportedly due to visa issues for Japanese performers and what the broadcaster described as “local circumstances”. But the Chinese organiser said it was due to funding issues on the part of the South Korean partner.
Around the same time, Dream Concert 2026, a K-pop music festival that was scheduled to make its Hong Kong debut on February 6 and 7, was postponed indefinitely, despite having no Japanese performers in its line-up.
Chinese fans continue to find ways to support their idols, underscoring the enduring pull of K-pop, even in the face of political and logistical barriers.
“For me, concerts are unmatched,” Liu said.
“The artists are completely immersed in their performances – singing and dancing with so much passion – and you can truly feel the vibes from the audience.”
Lee, the Seoul-based researcher, said South Koreans viewed the hallyu ban as a form of economic coercion, and the distrust of China would remain as long as it stayed in place.
“When the ban is lifted, South Koreans can think China is truly striving to develop Korea-China relations. It can be difficult to resolve this perception through group tourist visits and cultural exchanges.”


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A decade-long geopolitical chill has kept South Korean entertainers largely locked out of the Chinese market, but fans find ways to connect


A decade-long geopolitical chill has kept South Korean entertainers largely locked out of the Chinese market, but fans find ways to connect.


K-pop’s big freeze: are cracks in China’s cultural blockade a thaw?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A decade-long geopolitical chill has kept South Korean entertainers largely locked out of the Chinese market, but fans find ways to connect

A decade-long geopolitical chill has kept South Korean entertainers largely locked out of the Chinese market, but fans find ways to connect