[Stock in Focus] JYP Meets Xi Jinping... Entertainment Stocks Surge on Hopes for Lifting of Ban on Korean Pop Culture

Entertainment stocks, including JYP Entertainment, were showing strong performance on the domestic stock market on the morning of November 3. This is interpreted as a result of growing expectations for the lifting of the ban on Korean pop culture in China, following the meeting between Park Jin-young, Chief Producer and CEO of JYP Entertainment and Co-Chairman of the Presidential Public Culture Exchange Committee, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

As of 10:00 a.m. on this day, JYP Entertainment was trading at 85,100 won per share, up 5.19% from the previous session. SM Entertainment was also up 4.44% at 124,800 won. HYBE and YG Entertainment were also showing strong gains.

Park Jin-young, Chairman of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, is seen conversing with President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the state banquet of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held on the 1st. Photo by Park Jin-young Instagram, Yonhap News

This rise in entertainment stocks is analyzed as being driven by expectations for improved relations between the two countries, following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held in Gyeongju, which has led to increased buying in entertainment stocks.

Previously, after meeting with President Xi at the state banquet, Chairman Park posted on his social media account on November 2, "I hope that, through popular culture, the people of both countries will be able to get closer and have more conversations." Immediately after, Assemblyman Kim Youngbae of the Democratic Party of Korea also wrote on social media, "President Xi responded positively to the suggestion of holding a large-scale performance in Beijing and called in Foreign Minister Wang Yi to give instructions. I expect this could be the moment when, beyond the lifting of the ban, a full-scale entry of K-culture into China begins."

However, the Public Culture Exchange Committee drew a line, stating that the conversation between President Xi and Chairman Park was merely a general exchange of pleasantries, and that it is premature to discuss the immediate lifting of the ban on Korean pop culture in China.