South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment stated on the 5th that two Chinese members of popular boy group NCT, Renjun and Chenle, will immediately begin a fan meeting tour in five cities including Hangzhou. Whether this signals an easing of China’s decade-long ‘Korean ban’ remains to be seen.
Renjun and Chenle’s tour of fan meetings in China is titled “ROOMMATE” and kicked off on the 5th in Hangzhou. The following stops are Beijing on the 11th, Chengdu on the 17th, Guangzhou on the 19th, and Shanghai on the 25th. At these five fan meeting events, the two are planning “cordial interactions” with local fans and special performances.
In 2016, after South Korea allowed the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on its territory, the Chinese government implemented a series of countermeasures against South Korea, including an unofficial ban on the broadcast of Korean dramas and movies in China, as well as a ban on performances by Korean entertainers—marking the start of the so-called ‘Korean ban’. Although recent improvements in bilateral relations have led to partial easing, there has yet to be a complete lift of restrictions. This issue has become a stumbling block in China-South Korea relations, and easing the ban remains a priority for the Korean side. Over the past ten years, Korean entertainers have only been able to hold concerts in Hong Kong and Macau, and have not been allowed to perform in mainland China.
Source: Central News Agency