Lifting the Hanhanryeong Ban: Right Now but Wrong Then?

Atmosphere of Lifting After 8 Years
China’s Content Industry Experiences Rapid Growth
Even with the Doors Open, a “Big Hit” Remains Elusive

Since the controversy over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in 2017, South Korea has been waiting for the lifting of the Hanhanryeong (限韓令) while only watching China’s decisions. Every time Korean dramas and movies were screened or K-pop concerts were held in China, related industries interpreted these events as signals of lifting the restrictions, but it was only temporary. Eight years have passed with repeated hopes and disappointments over the "gestures of the continent."

This year, the tacitly and firmly imposed Hanhanryeong on South Korea appears quite different. A decisive moment was President Xi Jinping’s remark to Woo Won-shik, the Speaker of the National Assembly, who visited China last month, saying, “There should be no obstacles to cultural exchanges between the two countries.” When Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and reiterated the importance of Korea-China cultural exchanges, domestic media hastily predicted that the sanctions would be completely lifted next month.

The concrete basis for this rosy expectation lies in music and movies, the headliners of K-content. Album sales are the most accurate indicator of popularity. This year, exports to China have more than doubled. Compared to the decline in exports to the U.S. and Japan, this is a meaningful figure. K-pop stars’ local promotion schedules are also lined up one after another. Last month, director Bong Joon-ho’s “Mickey 17” was released nationwide in China, and the upcoming 15th Beijing International Film Festival officially invited four Korean films. There seems to be an intention to historically spotlight Korean cinema with films such as director Yu Hyun-mok’s “Obaltan” (1960), director Lee Chang-dong’s “Green Fish” (1997), and recent works “Pacifier” and “Secret That Cannot Be Told.” The unusually positive review of the drama “Poksak Soksassuda” by the Global Times is surprising. It reported, “Set in 1960s Jeju, the narrative beautifully unfolds with a healing theme,” and “It received a score of 9.4 on the Douban rating platform, the highest score recorded.” The unilateral cancellation of performances that had already signed contracts and demands for social media censorship of webtoon and web novel authors are no longer seen.

Why has China suddenly become more generous, or is it feeling regretful?

China is currently engaged in a tariff war with the second Trump administration, and relations between the two countries are plunging into chaos. After the first U.S.-China trade war in 2018, China significantly reduced its dependence on the U.S. and has been focusing on boosting domestic demand while confronting the U.S. head-on. On the 9th, President Xi announced a “policy to strengthen strategic mutual trust to build a community of shared destiny with neighboring countries.” It appears to be an effort to secure allies among countries harmed by Trump’s tariff bombs. Xi and Foreign Minister Wang’s emphasis on cultural exchanges with South Korea seems to be a preparatory step for this.

Despite U.S. technology sanctions, China has secured independent technologies in AI and semiconductors and has also grown remarkably in the cultural content industry. China’s content market is the world’s second largest, exceeding 2,500 trillion won. Over eight years, it inflicted losses of 22 trillion won on South Korea while continuously investing infinitely in its own content. The animation “Nezha 2,” released during last year’s Lunar New Year, attracted 300 million viewers, the first in Chinese film history, ranking first worldwide in animation box office and exceeding 3 trillion won in revenue. The game “Black Myth: Wukong” topped global charts for three consecutive weeks and achieved 1 trillion won in sales within one month of release. The drama “Chang’an 12 Shijin,” exported to 160 countries, dominated OTT platform viewership in South Korea and Japan. With unlimited government investment yielding results, China has emerged as a powerhouse in popular culture content.

China treats popular culture as a matter of national security. Since the early 2000s, it has included culture alongside political and economic information in its national security strategy. To prevent Western cultural industries from dominating the Chinese market, it strictly controls foreign culture. Hanhanryeong, which has no tangible form but exists as a sanction, is unpredictable in its duration and regulatory methods. Although the atmosphere for lifting Hanhanryeong is more heightened than ever, the situation has completely changed from the past.