Sudden Criticism of Korean Celebrities and Portals by China... Concerns Over 'Hanhanryeong Revival'

Jung Yong-hwa's Sudden Cancellation from Local Variety Show Appearance
Also Experiencing Naver Access Issues in China

In China, signs of a resurgence of the 'Hanhanryeong (限韓令·Korean Wave Restriction Order)' are emerging, with scheduled activities of Korean celebrities suddenly being canceled and access to Korean portal sites being blocked.

At BLACKPINK's world tour 'BORN PINK' concert held in Macau on the 20th and 21st, numerous fans from the Chinese-speaking regions as well as famous celebrities such as Chinese actress and model Angela Baby and former WJSN member Seongso attended as audience members.

After the concert, as sightings of these celebrities spread on social networking services (SNS), Chinese SNS Weibo saw public opinion calling to "boycott celebrities who attended the BLACKPINK concert."

Angela Baby attending the BLACKPINK concert [Photo by Weibo]

Chinese netizens created and shared a list of celebrities and influencers who attended BLACKPINK's concert, flooding it with malicious comments questioning, "Is it okay for Chinese celebrities to attend Korean girl group concerts?"

Earlier, on the 23rd, singer and actor Jung Yonghwa visited Beijing, China, to appear on a Chinese variety show, but it was revealed that his appearance was suddenly canceled, sparking controversy.

On the 10th of this month, Chinese media reported that Jung Yonghwa would appear on the Chinese audition program 'Fight, Freshman Class 1.'

However, it was reported that Chinese netizens reported Jung Yonghwa's planned appearance to the broadcasting authorities, resulting in the cancellation of his participation.

Jung Yong-hwa, who visited Beijing for filming a Chinese variety show
[Photo by Instagram]

Recently, in many regions including the Chinese capital Beijing, there have been incidents where access to Naver, Korea's representative portal site, was blocked.

Naver stated, "After confirmation through our Chinese subsidiary, it is true that access has been unstable," but added, "It is difficult to confirm whether China intentionally blocked access or if it is simply a technical error."

At a regular briefing held on the 23rd, Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, evaded the question by saying, "There is no specific information."

Regarding this situation, some analysts interpret it as China trying to check Korea as the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is making efforts to develop trilateral cooperation by holding Korea-US-Japan summits.

There are also predictions that the 'Hanhanryeong,' which began during the THAAD incident in 2017, may be reinforced again.

If relations between Korea and China deteriorate, there is a possibility of economic retaliation from China similar to the THAAD incident, so thorough countermeasures are necessary, according to some opinions.

As these movements are detected, entertainment stocks and Naver have been hit by collateral damage in the stock market.

On the 24th, Naver's stock price fell more than 4%, dropping to the low 200,000 won range. Both foreign and institutional investors sold shares, closing at 203,000 won, down 4.25% from the previous day. This is the first time since March 8 that Naver's stock price has fallen more than 4%.

Entertainment stocks also fell one after another. HYBE dropped 2.01%, SM Entertainment 2.78%, and JYP Entertainment 1.90%. YG Entertainment closed slightly down by 0.22%.